Matthew 21 · Verse 13

Matthew 21:13

And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

Matthew 21:13, King James Version

Matthew 21:13 in other translations

BSB	And He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer.’ But you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”
WEB	He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers!”
ASV	and he saith unto them, It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer: but ye make it a den of robbers.
YLT	and he saith to them, ‘It hath been written, My house a house of prayer shall be called, but ye did make it a den of robbers.'
DARBY	And he says to them, It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of robbers.
BBE	And he said to them, It is in the Writings, My house is to be named a house of prayer, but you are making it a hole of thieves.
Webster	And said to them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves.

What does Matthew 21:13 mean?

Barnes' Notes

Verse 13. And said--It is written, etc. This is written in Is 56:7. The first part of this verse only is quoted from Isaiah. The rest, "but ye have made it a den of thieves," was added by Jesus, denoting their abuse of the temple. Thieves and robbers live in dens and caves. Judea was then much infested with them. In their dens, thieves devise and practise iniquity. These buyers and sellers imitated them. They made the temple a place of gain; they cheated and defrauded; they took advantage of the poor, and by their being under a necessity of purchasing these articles for sacrifice, they robbed them, by selling what they had at an enormous price.

The following reasons may be given why this company of buyers and sellers obeyed Christ:

(1.) They were overawed by his authority; and struck with the consciousness that he had a right to command.

(2.) Their own consciences reproved them; they knew they were guilty, and dared make no resistance.

(3.) The people generally were then on the side of Jesus, believing him to be the Messiah.

(4.) It had always been the belief of the Jews that a prophet had a right to change, regulate, and order the various affairs relating to external worship, They supposed Jesus to be such, and they dared not resist him.

Mark and Luke add, that in consequence of this, the scribes and chief priests attempted to put him to death, Mk 11:18,10 Lk 19:47,48. This they did from envy, Mt 27:18. He drew off the people from them, and they envied and hated him. They were restrained then for fear of the people; and this was the reason why they plotted secretly to put him to death, and why they afterwards so gladly heard the proposals of the traitor, Mt 26:14,15.

(c) "is written" Is 56:7 (d) "den of thieves" Je 7:11

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 13 My house shall be called the house of prayer - This is taken from Isa 56:7. But ye have made it a den of thieves - This is taken from Jer 7:11. Our Lord alludes here to those dens and caves in Judea, in which the public robbers either hid or kept themselves fortified. They who are placed in the Church of Christ to serve souls, and do it not, and they who enjoy the revenues of the Church, and neglect the service of it, are thieves and robbers in more senses than one. Our Lord is represented here as purifying his temple; and this we may judge he did in reference to his true temple, the Church, to show that nothing that was worldly or unholy should have any place among his followers, or in that heart in which he should condescend to dwell. It is marvellous that these interested, vile men did not raise a mob against him: but it is probable they were overawed by the Divine power, or, seeing the multitudes on the side of Christ, they were afraid to molest him. I knew a case something similar to this, which did not succeed so well. A very pious clergyman of my acquaintance, observing a woman keeping a public standing to sell nuts, gingerbread, etc., at the very porch of his Church, on the Lord's day, "desired her to remove thence, and not defile the house of God, while she profaned the Sabbath of the Lord." She paid no attention to him. He warned her the next Sabbath, but still to no purpose. Going in one Lord's day to preach, and finding her still in the very entrance, with her stall, he overthrew the stall, and scattered the stuff into the street. He was shortly after summoned to appear before the royal court, which, to its eternal reproach, condemned the action, and fined the man of God in a considerable sum of money!

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Matthew 21:12-17

Christ found some of the courts of the temple turned into a market for cattle and things used in the sacrifices, and partly occupied by the money-changers. Our Lord drove them from the place, as he had done at his entering upon his ministry, Joh 2:13-17. His works testified of him more than the hosannas; and his healing in the temple was the fulfilling the promise, that the glory of the latter house should be…

Read the full comment on Matthew 21:12-17 →

Matthew 21:13 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

καὶkaiAndG2532

λέγειlegeiHe saysG3004

αὐτοῖς·autoisto them;G846

γέγραπται·gegraptaiIt has been written:G1125

ὁhoTheG3588

οἶκόςoikoshouseG3624

μουmouof MineG3165

οἶκοςoikosa houseG3624

προσευχῆςproseuchēsof prayerG4335

κληθήσεται,klēthēsetaiwill be called,’G2564

ὑμεῖςhumeisYou yourselvesG4771

δὲdehoweverG1161

αὐτὸνautonitG846

ποιεῖτεpoieitemakeG4160

σπήλαιονspēlaiona denG4693

λῃστῶν.lēstōnof robbers.’G3027

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Matthew 21:13

Jeremiah 7:11
Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the Lord.
Isaiah 56:7
Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.
Luke 19:46
Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves.
Mark 11:17
And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.
Psalms 93:5
Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever.
John 15:25
But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
Matthew 2:5
And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it is written by the prophet,

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

It is.
2:5; Joh 15:25
My.
Ps 93:5; Isa 56:7
ye.
Jer 7:11; Mr 11:17; Lu 19:46

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Matthew 21:12
And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
Matthew 21:13
And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
Matthew 21:14
And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.

Read all of Matthew 21

Matthew 21:13 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y les dice: Escrito está: Mi casa, casa de oración será llamada; mas vosotros cueva de ladrones la habéis hecho.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	et il leur dit: Il est écrit: « Ma maison sera appelée une maison de prière »; mais vous, vous en avez fait une caverne de voleurs.
German Elberfelder 1871	Und er spricht zu ihnen: Es steht geschrieben: "Mein Haus wird ein Bethaus genannt werden"; "ihr aber habt es zu einer Räuberhöhle gemacht".
Latin Clementine Vulgate	et dicit eis: Scriptum est: Domus mea domus orationis vocabitur: vos autem fecistis illam speluncam latronum.