Matthew 23:32
What does Matthew 23:32 mean?
A plain-English look at Matthew 23:32 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Matthew 23:32 means
Jesus issues an ironic and condemning imperative: "Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers." This is not a command to sin, but a prophetic declaration that the scribes and Pharisees, by their continued rejection and impending murder of God's final messenger, Jesus, will complete the full measure of their ancestors' guilt. They will bring the sins of generations upon themselves, culminating in the ultimate act of rejecting God's Son and incurring ultimate judgment.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
KJV
King James Version · 1611Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Make full, then, the measure of your fathers.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862and ye--ye fill up the measure of your fathers.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890and ye, fill ye up the measure of your fathers.
Context
Following the revelation of their spiritual lineage of persecutors, this verse delivers a chilling, ironic command: to "fill up the measure of your fathers." This is a prophetic statement of their impending judgment, not an encouragement to sin. It immediately sets the stage for the stark and severe condemnation that follows, where Jesus identifies them with the most venomous creatures and warns of unavoidable hellish judgment, intensifying the sense of ultimate consequence.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Numbers 32:14
And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers’ stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of Jehovah toward Israel.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:16
forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved; to fill up their sins always: but the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.
- Genesis 15:16
And in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.
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