Matthew 23 · Verse 35

Matthew 23:35

That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Matthew 23:35, King James Version

Matthew 23:35 in other translations

BSBAnd so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
WEBthat on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the sanctuary and the altar.
ASVthat upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous unto the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the altar.
YLTthat on you may come all the righteous blood being poured out on the earth from the blood of Abel the righteous, unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the altar:
DARBYso that all righteous blood shed upon the earth should come upon you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
BBESo that on you may come all the blood of the upright on the earth, from the blood of upright Abel to the blood of Zachariah, son of Barachiah, whom you put to death between the Temple and the altar.
WebsterThat upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel, to the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.

What does Matthew 23:35 mean?

Barnes' Notes
Verse 35. That upon you may come, etc. That is, the nation is guilty Your fathers were guilty. You have shown yourselves to be like them. You are about, by slaying the Messiah and his messengers, to fill up the iniquity of the land. The patience of God is exhausted; and the nation is about to be visited with signal vengeance. These national crimes deserve national judgments; and the proper judgments for all these crimes are about to come upon you in the destruction of your temple and city.

All the righteous blood. That is, all the judgments due for shedding that blood. God did not hold them guilty for what their fathers did; but temporal judgments descend on children in consequence of the wickedness of parents--as in the case of drunken and profligate parents. A drunken father wastes the property that his children might have possessed. A gambler reduces his children to poverty and want. An imprudent and foolish parent is the occasion of leading his sons into places of poverty, ignorance, and crime, materially affecting their character and destiny. Rom 5:12, also Rom 5:13-19. So of the Jews. The appropriate effects of their fathers' crimes were coming on the nation, and they would suffer.

Upon the earth. Upon the land of Judea. The word is often used with this limitation. See Mt 4:8.

Righteous Abel. Slain by Cain, his brother, Gen 4:8,9. Zacharias son of Barschias. It is not certainly known who this was. Some have thought it was the Zechariah whose death is recorded in 2Chr 24:20,21. He is there called the son of Jehoiada; but it is known that it was common among the Jews to have two names, as Matthew is called Levi; Lebbeus, Thaddeus; and Simon, Cephas. Others have thought he referred to Zechariah the prophet, who might have been massacred by the Jews, though no account of his death is recorded. It might have been known by tradition.

Whom ye slew. Whom you, Jews, slew. Whom your nation killed.

Between the temple and the altar. Between the temple, properly so called, the sanctuary, and the altar of burnt-offering in the court of the priests. See the plan of the temple, Mt 21:12.

(u) "Abel" Gen 4:8 (v) "Zacharias" 2Chr 24:20,21

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 35 Upon the earth - Επι της γης, upon this land, meaning probably the land of Judea; for thus the word is often to be understood. The national punishment of all the innocent blood which had been shed in the land, shall speedily come upon you, from the blood of Abel the just, the first prophet and preacher of righteousness, Heb 11:4; 2Pet 2:5, to the blood of Zachariah, the son of Barachiah. It is likely that our Lord refers to the murder of Zachariah, mentioned 2Chr 24:20, who said to the people, Why transgress ye the commandments of God, so that ye cannot prosper? Because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath forsaken you. And they conspired against him and stoned him - at the commandment of the king, in the court of the house of the Lord. And when he died, he said, The Lord look upon and require it: 2Chr 24:21, 2Chr 24:22. But it is objected, that this Zachariah was called the son of Jehoiada, and our Lord calls this one the son of Barachiah. Let it be observed, 1. That double names were frequent among the Jews; and sometimes the person was called by one, sometimes by the other. Compare 1Sam 9:1, with 1Chr 8:33, where it appears that the father of Kish had two names, Abiel and Ner. So Matthew is called Levi; compare Mat 9:9, with Mar 2:14. So Peter was also called Simon, and Lebbeus was called Thaddeus. Mat 10:2, Mat 10:3. 2. That Jerome says that, in the Gospel of the Nazarenes, it was Jehoiada, instead of Barachiah. 3. That Jehoiada and Barachiah have the very same meaning, the praise or blessing of Jehovah. 4. That as the Lord required the blood of Zachariah so fully that in a year all the princes of Judah and Jerusalem were destroyed by the Syrians, and Joash, who commanded the murder, slain by his own servants, 2Chr 24:23-25, and their state grew worse and worse, till at last the temple was burned, and the people carried into captivity by Nebuzaradan: - so it should also be with the present race. The Lord would, after the crucifixion of Christ, visit upon them the murder of all those righteous men, that their state should grow worse and worse, till at last the temple should be destroyed, and they finally ruined by the Romans. See this prediction in the next chapter: and see Dr. Whitby concerning Zachariah, the son of Barachiah. Some think that our Lord refers, in the spirit of prophecy, to the murder of Zacharias, son of Baruch, a rich Jew, who was judged, condemned, and massacred in the temple by Idumean zealots, because he was rich, a lover of liberty, and a hater of wickedness. They gave him a mock trial; and, when no evidence could be brought against him of his being guilty of the crime they laid to his charge, viz. a design to betray the city to the Romans, and his judges had pronounced him innocent, two of the stoutest of the zealots fell upon him and slew him in the middle of the temple. See Josephus, War, b. iv. chap. 5. s. 5. See Crevier, vol. vi. p. 172, History of the Roman Emperors. Others imagine that Zachariah, one of the minor prophets, is meant, who might have been massacred by the Jews; for, though the account is not come down to us, our Lord might have it from a well known tradition in those times. But the former opinion is every way the most probable. Between the temple and the altar - That is, between the sanctuary and the altar of burnt-offerings.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Matthew 23:34-39

Our Lord declares the miseries the inhabitants of Jerusalem were about to bring upon themselves, but he does not notice the sufferings he was to undergo. A hen gathering her chickens under her wings, is an apt emblem of the Saviour's tender love to those who trust in him, and his faithful care of them. He calls sinners to take refuge under his tender protection, keeps them safe, and nourishes them to eternal life…

Read the full comment on Matthew 23:34-39 →

Matthew 23:35 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.

ὅπωςhopōsso thatG3704
ἔλθῃelthēmay comeG2064
ἐφ᾽eph᾽uponG1909
ὑμᾶςhumasyouG4771
πᾶνpanall [the]G3956
αἷμαhaimabloodG129
δίκαιονdikaionrighteousG1342
ἐκχυννόμενονekchunnomenonbeing poured outG1632
ἐπὶepiuponG1909
τῆςtēstheG3588
γῆς,gēsearth,G1093
ἀπὸapofromG575
τοῦtoutheG3588
αἵματοςaimatosbloodG129
ἍβελHabelof AbelG6
τοῦtoutheG3588
δικαίουdikaiourighteousG1342
ἕωςhe'ōsuntilG2193
τοῦtoutheG3588
αἵματοςaimatosbloodG129
ΖαχαρίουZachariouof ZechariahG2197
υἱοῦhuiousonG5207
ΒαραχίουBarachiouof BerekiahG914
ὃνhonwhomG3739
ἐφονεύσατεephoneusateyou murderedG5407
μεταξὺmetaxubetweenG3342
τοῦtoutheG3588
ναοῦnaoutempleG3485
καὶkaiandG2532
τοῦtoutheG3588
θυσιαστηρίου.thusiastērioualtar.G2379

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

Cross references for Matthew 23:35

  • 2 Chronicles 24:20-22

    And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you. And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the Lord. Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The Lord look upon it, and require it.

  • Hebrews 11:4

    By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

  • Zechariah 1:1

    In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,

  • Genesis 4:8

    And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

  • Revelation 18:24

    And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

  • Jeremiah 26:15

    But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the Lord hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.

  • 2 Kings 21:16

    Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.

  • 2 Kings 24:4

    And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the Lord would not pardon.

  • Hebrews 12:24

    And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

  • Luke 11:51

    From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

  • Jeremiah 26:23

    And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people.

  • Isaiah 26:21

    For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
upon.
Ge 9:5,6; Nu 35:33; De 21:7,8; 2Ki 21:16; 24:4; Isa 26:21
Jer 2:30,34; 26:15,23; La 4:13,14; Re 18:24
the blood of righteous.
Ge 4:8; Heb 11:4; 12:24; 1Jo 3:11,12
unto.
2Ch 24:20-22; Zec 1:1; Lu 11:51

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

Context

  • Matthew 23:34

    Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:

  • Matthew 23:35

    That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.

  • Matthew 23:36

    Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

Read all of Matthew 23

Matthew 23:35 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Para que venga sobre vosotros toda la sangre justa que se ha derramado sobre la tierra, desde la sangre de Abel el justo, hasta la sangre de Zacarías, hijo de Barachîas, al cual matasteis entre el templo y el altar.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		en sorte que vienne sur vous tout le sang juste versé sur la terre, depuis le sang d’Abel le juste, jusqu’au sang de Zacharie, fils de Barachie, que vous avez tué entre le temple et l’autel.
German
Elberfelder 1871		damit über euch komme alles gerechte Blut, das auf der Erde vergossen wurde, von dem Blute Abels, des Gerechten, bis zu dem Blute Zacharias, des Sohnes Barachias, den ihr ermordet habt zwischen dem Tempel und dem Altar.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		ut veniat super vos omnis sanguis justus, qui effusus est super terram, a sanguine Abel justi usque ad sanguinem Zachariæ, filii Barachiæ, quem occidistis inter templum et altare.