Matthew 23 · Verse 27

Matthew 23:27

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.

Matthew 23:27, King James Version

Matthew 23:27 in other translations

BSB	Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity.
WEB	“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitened tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones and of all uncleanness.
ASV	Woe 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.
YLT	‘Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye are like to whitewashed sepulchres, which outwardly indeed do appear beautiful, and within are full of bones of dead men, and of all uncleanness;
DARBY	Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye are like whited sepulchres, which appear beautiful outwardly, but within are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.
BBE	A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you are like the resting-places of the dead, which are made white, and seem beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and of all unclean things.
Webster	Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like whitened sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

What does Matthew 23:27 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

27. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like whited sepulchres--or, whitewashed sepulchres. (Compare Ac 23:3). The process of whitewashing the sepulchres, as Lightfoot says, was performed on a certain day every year, not for ceremonial cleansing, but, as the following words seem rather to imply, to beautify them. which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness--What a powerful way of conveying the charge, that with all their fair show their hearts were full of corruption! (Compare Psa 5:9; Ro 3:13). But our Lord, stripping off the figure, next holds up their iniquity in naked colors. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets--that is, "ye be witnesses that ye have inherited, and voluntarily served yourselves heirs to, the truth-hating, prophet-killing, spirit of your fathers." Out of pretended respect and honor, they repaired and beautified the sepulchres of the prophets, and with whining hypocrisy said, "If we had been in their days, how differently should we have treated these prophets?" While all the time they were witnesses to themselves that they were the children of them that killed the prophets, convicting themselves daily of as exact a resemblance in spirit and character to the very classes over whose deeds they pretended to mourn, as child to parent. In Lu 11:44 our Lord gives another turn to this figure of a grave: "Ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them." As one might unconsciously walk over a grave concealed from view, and thus contract ceremonial defilement, so the plausible exterior of the Pharisees kept people from perceiving the pollution they contracted from coming in contact with such corrupt characters.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes

Verse 27. Like unto whited sepulchres. For the construction of sepulchres, Mt 8:28. Those tombs were annually white- washed, to prevent the people from accidentally coming in contact with them as they went up to Jerusalem, The law considered those persons unclean who had touched anything belonging to the dead, Nu 19:16. Sepulchres were therefore often whitewashed, that they might be distinctly seen. Thus "whited," they appeared beautiful; but within they contained the bones and corrupting bodies of the dead. So the Pharisees. Their outward conduct appeared well; but their hearts were full of hypocrisy, envy, pride, lust, and malice--fitly represented by the corruption within a whited tomb.

(m) "whited sepulchres" Lk 11:44, Acts 23:3

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 27 For ye are like - Παρομοιαζετε, ye exactly resemble - the parallel is complete. Whited sepulchres - White-washed tombs. As the law considered those unclean who had touched any thing belonging to the dead, the Jews took care to have their tombs white-washed each year, that, being easily discovered, they might be consequently avoided.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Matthew 23:13-33

The scribes and Pharisees were enemies to the gospel of Christ, and therefore to the salvation of the souls of men. It is bad to keep away from Christ ourselves, but worse also to keep others from him. Yet it is no new thing for the show and form of godliness to be made a cloak to the greatest enormities. But dissembled piety will be reckoned double iniquity. They were very busy to turn souls to be of their party…

Read the full comment on Matthew 23:13-33 →

Matthew 23:27 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.

ΟὐαὶOuaiWoeG3759

ὑμῖν,huminto you,G4771

γραμματεῖςgrammateisscribesG1122

καὶkaiandG2532

ΦαρισαῖοιPharisaioiPhariseesG5330

ὑποκριταί,hupokritaihypocrites!G5273

ὅτιhotiForG3754

παρομοιάζετεparomoiazeteyou resembleG3945

τάφοιςtaphoistombsG5028

κεκονιαμένοιςkekoniamenoiswhitewashedG2867

οἵτινεςoitineswhichG3748

ἔξωθενexōthenoutsideG1855

μὲνmenindeedG3303

φαίνονταιphainontaiappearG5316

ὡραῖοι,hōraioibeautiful,G5611

ἔσωθενesōthenInsideG2081

δὲdehoweverG1161

γέμουσινgemousinthey are fullG1073

ὀστέωνosteōnof bonesG3747

νεκρῶνnekrōnof [the] deadG3498

καὶkaiandG2532

πάσηςpasēsof allG3956

ἀκαθαρσίας.akatharsiasimpurity.G167

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

Cross references for Matthew 23:27

Luke 11:44
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.
Acts 23:3
Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?
Numbers 19:16
And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
Isaiah 58:1-2
Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

like.
Isa 58:1,2; Lu 11:44; Ac 23:3
sepulchres.
Nu 19:16

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

Context

Matthew 23:26
Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
Matthew 23:27
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
Matthew 23:28
Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Read all of Matthew 23

Matthew 23:27 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	¡Ay de vosotros, escribas y Fariseos, hipócritas! porque sois semejantes á sepulcros blanqueados, que de fuera, á la verdad, se muestran hermosos, mas de dentro están llenos de huesos de muertos y de toda suciedad.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Malheur à vous, scribes et pharisiens hypocrites! car vous ressemblez à des sépulcres blanchis, qui paraissent beaux au-dehors, mais qui, au-dedans, sont pleins d’ossements de morts et de toute sorte d’impureté.
German Elberfelder 1871	Wehe euch, Schriftgelehrte und Pharisäer, Heuchler! denn ihr gleichet übertünchten Gräbern, die von außen zwar schön scheinen, inwendig aber voll Totengebeine und aller Unreinigkeit sind.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Væ vobis scribæ et pharisæi hypocritæ, quia similes estis sepulchris dealbatis, quæ a foris parent hominibus speciosa, intus vero pleni sunt ossibus mortuorum, et omni spurcitia!