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Matthew 23:28

New Testament Gospel ASV (1901)

What does Matthew 23:28 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but inwardly ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but inwardly ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
Matthew 23:28 — American Standard Version

Context — Matthew 23

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
25Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full from extortion and excess.
26Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and of the platter, that the outside thereof may become clean also.
27Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men`s bones, and of all uncleanness.
28Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but inwardly ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
29Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and garnish the tombs of the righteous,
30and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we should not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
31Wherefore ye witness to yourselves, that ye are sons of them that slew the prophets.
← Matthew 23:27Matthew 23:29 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous, etc.] By making broad their phylacteries, enlarging the borders of their garments, praying long prayers, compassing sea and land to make one proselyte, paying tithes of all manner of herbs, and cleansing the outside of the cup and platter, and doing all their works, prayers, fastings, and alms deeds, to be seen of men. This is the accommodation of the above simile; by reason of these things they looked like whited sepulchres, outwardly beautiful: so these appeared outwardly righteous, they looked like righteous persons, and were not; they were what Hagar, as the Jews say, charged her mistress with being; for so they interpret these words, “her…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“ye also: Mat 23:5; Sa1 16:7; Psa 51:6; Jer 17:9, Jer 17:10; Luk 16:15; Heb 4:12, Heb 4:13 but: Mat 12:34, Mat 12:35, Mat 15:19, Mat 15:20; Mar 7:21-23 Matthew 23:29”
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Related study paths

Read Matthew 23 in contextBrowse Greek word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification