Devine Scripture

Matthew 23:27

What does Matthew 23:27 mean?

A plain-English look at Matthew 23:27 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What Matthew 23:27 means

Jesus delivers the sixth woe, likening the scribes and Pharisees to "whited sepulchres" – tombs deliberately whitewashed to look clean and beautiful on the outside, but which are full of decaying bones and filth within. This powerful image exposes their profound hypocrisy: they outwardly project an image of righteousness and piety to men, yet inwardly their spirits are filled with spiritual rot, moral corruption, and uncleanness. They are spiritual dead men, deceptively beautiful on the surface.

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

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.

KJV

King James Version · 1611

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.

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

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.

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

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.

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

`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;

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because you are like to whited sepulchres, which outwardly appear to men beautiful but within are full of dead men's bones and of all filthiness.

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

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.

Context

Building on the theme of external religious facade versus internal corruption, this verse introduces the sixth woe. It uses the potent and highly visual metaphor of whitewashed tombs to vividly portray the Pharisees' hypocrisy. This image of outward beauty concealing inward decay effectively summarizes their spiritual condition and serves as a powerful illustration of the principle introduced in the previous woe, preparing for the explicit statement of their internal state in the next verse.

v.26Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and of the platter, that the outside thereof may become clean also.

v.27This passage

v.28Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but inwardly ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Cross references

Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  • Isaiah 58:1

    Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and declare unto my people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sins.

  • Luke 11:44

    Woe unto you! for ye are as the tombs which appear not, and the men that walk over them know it not.

  • Acts 23:3

    Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: and sittest thou to judge me according to the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?

  • Numbers 19:16

    And whosoever in the open field toucheth one that is slain with a sword, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.

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