Matthew 23:5
New International Version
“Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long;

New Living Translation
“Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels.

English Standard Version
They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long,

Berean Standard Bible
All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.

Berean Literal Bible
And they do all their deeds in order to be seen by men. For they broaden their phylacteries and enlarge their tassels,

King James Bible
But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,

New King James Version
But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.

New American Standard Bible
And they do all their deeds to be noticed by other people; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.

NASB 1995
“But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.

NASB 1977
“But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries, and lengthen the tassels of their garments.

Legacy Standard Bible
But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.

Amplified Bible
They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries (tefillin) wide [to make them more conspicuous] and make their tassels long.

Christian Standard Bible
They do everything to be seen by others: They enlarge their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
They do everything to be observed by others: They enlarge their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.

American Standard Version
But all their works they do to be seen of men: for they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And they do all their works to be seen by the children of men, for they enlarge their phylacteries and they extend the blue fringes of their robes.

Contemporary English Version
Everything they do is just to show off in front of others. They even make a big show of wearing Scripture verses on their foreheads and arms, and they wear big tassels for everyone to see.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And all their works they do for to be seen of men. For they make their phylacteries broad, and enlarge their fringes.

English Revised Version
But all their works they do for to be seen of men: for they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"They do everything to attract people's attention. They make their headbands large and the tassels on their shawls long.

Good News Translation
They do everything so that people will see them. Look at the straps with scripture verses on them which they wear on their foreheads and arms, and notice how large they are! Notice also how long are the tassels on their cloaks!

International Standard Version
"They do everything to be seen by people. They increase the size of their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.

Literal Standard Version
And all their works they do to be seen by men, and they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the fringes of their garments,

Majority Standard Bible
All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.

New American Bible
All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.

NET Bible
They do all their deeds to be seen by people, for they make their phylacteries wide and their tassels long.

New Revised Standard Version
They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long.

New Heart English Bible
But all their works they do to be seen by others. They make their tefillin broad and enlarge the fringe of their garments,

Webster's Bible Translation
But all their works they do to be seen by men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,

Weymouth New Testament
And everything they do they do with a view to being observed by men; for they widen their phylacteries and make the tassels large,

World English Bible
But they do all their works to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the fringes of their garments,

Young's Literal Translation
'And all their works they do to be seen by men, and they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the fringes of their garments,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Woes to Scribes and Pharisees
4They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. 5 All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. 6They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues,…

Cross References
Exodus 13:9
It shall be a sign for you on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the Law of the LORD is to be on your lips. For with a mighty hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt.

Numbers 15:38
"Speak to the Israelites and tell them that throughout the generations to come they are to make for themselves tassels for the corners of their garments, with a blue cord on each tassel.

Deuteronomy 6:8
Tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.

Deuteronomy 11:18
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.

Deuteronomy 22:12
You are to make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear.

Matthew 6:1
"Be careful not to perform your righteous acts before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

Matthew 6:2
So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.


Treasury of Scripture

But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,

all.

Matthew 6:1-16
Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven…

2 Kings 10:16
And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD. So they made him ride in his chariot.

Luke 16:15
And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

they make.

Deuteronomy 6:8
And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

Proverbs 3:3
Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:

Proverbs 6:21-23
Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck…

the borders.

Matthew 9:20
And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:

Numbers 15:38,39
Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: …

Deuteronomy 22:12
Thou shalt make thee fringes upon the four quarters of thy vesture, wherewith thou coverest thyself.

Jump to Previous
Borders Broad Broaden Deeds Edges Enlarge Fringes Garments Large Noticed Observed Phylacteries Tassels View Widen Works
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Borders Broad Broaden Deeds Edges Enlarge Fringes Garments Large Noticed Observed Phylacteries Tassels View Widen Works
Matthew 23
1. Jesus admonishes the people to follow good doctrine, not bad examples
5. His disciples must beware of their ambition.
13. He denounces eight woes against their hypocrisy and blindness,
34. and prophesies of the destruction of Jerusalem.














(5) To be seen of men.--As with a clear insight into the root-evil of Pharisaism, and of all kindred forms of the religious life, our Lord fixes, as before in Matthew 6:1-18, on the love of man's applause as that which vitiated the highest ethical teaching and the most rigorous outward holiness. The fact, which we learn from John 12:42-43, that many "among the chief rulers" were in their hearts convinced of His claims, and yet were afraid to confess Him, gives a special emphasis to the rebuke. They may have been among those who listened to it with the consciousness that He spake of them.

Phylacteries.--The Greek word (phylacterion) from which the English is derived signifies "safe-guard or preservative," and was probably applied under the idea that the phylacteries were charms or amulets against the evil eye or the power of evil spirits. This was the common meaning of the word in later Greek, and it is hardly likely to have risen among the Hellenistic Jews to the higher sense which has sometimes been ascribed to it, of being a means to keep men in mind of the obligations of the Law. Singularly enough, it is not used by the LXX. translators for the "frontlets" of Exodus 13:16, Deuteronomy 6:8; Deuteronomy 11:18 and the only place in the Old Testament where it is found is for the "cushions" of Ezekiel 13:18. The Hebrew word in common use from our Lord's time onward has been tephillin, or Prayers. The things so named were worn by well-nigh all Jews as soon as they became Children of the Law, i.e., at thirteen. They consisted of a small box containing the four passages in which frontlets are mentioned (Exodus 13:2-16; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Deuteronomy 11:13-22), written on four slips of vellum for the phylactery of the head, and on one for that of the arm. This is fastened by a loop to thin leather straps, which are twisted in the one case round the arm, with the box on the heart, in the other, round the head, with the box on the brow. They were worn commonly during the act of prayer (hence the Hebrew name), and by those who made a show of perpetual devotion and study of the Law, during the whole day. The Pharisees, in their ostentatious show of piety, made either the box or the straps wider than the common size, and wore them as they walked to and fro in the streets, or prayed standing (Matthew 6:5), that men might see and admire them. . . .

Verse 5. - For to be seen of men. The second bad principle in their religion was ostentation and vanity. Acts done professedly in the honour of God were animated by self-seeking and ambition. They never penetrated beyond externalism. See this spirit reproved in the sermon on the mount (Matthew 6:1, 2, etc.). "They loved the glory of men more than the glory of God" (John 12:43). Christ then gives proofs of this spirit of ostentation in religion and in private life. Phylacteries; φυλακτήρια: literally, preservatives; equivalent to "amulets;" the translation of the Hebrew word tephillin, "prayer fillets." These were either strips of parchment or small cubes covered with leather, on or in which were written four sections of the Law, viz. Exodus 13:1-10, 11-16; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Deuteronomy 11:13-21. They were worn fastened either to the forehead, or inside the left arm, so as to be near the heart. Their use arose from a literal and superstitious interpretation of Exodus 13:9; Deuteronomy 6:8; Deuteronomy 11:18. Their dimensions were defined by rabbinical rules, but the extra pious formalists of the day set these at naught, and increased the breadth of the strips or of the bands by which they were fastened, in order to draw attention to their religiousness and their strict attention to the least observances of the Law. These phylacteries are still in use among the Jews. Thus in a 'Class Book for Jewish Youth' we read, "Every boy, three months before he attains the age of thirteen, commences to make use of the tephillin, which must be worn at least during the time of the morning prayers. The ordinance of the tephillin is one of the signs of the covenant existing between the Almighty and ourselves, that we may continually bear in mind the miracles God wrought for our forefathers." Enlarge the borders of their garments; τὰ κράσπεδα τῶν ἱματίων αὐτῶν, the fringes of their outer garments. The best manuscripts have merely their fringes. So the Vulgate, magnificant fimbrias. These fringes or tassels (zizith, zizijoth) were fastened to the corners of the garments, in accordance with Numbers 15:38-41, and were composed of white and blue threads. They were intended to remind the wearers of the commandments of the Lord, and were regarded as peculiarly sacred (see Matthew 9:20). Christ condemns the ostentatious enlargement of these fringes as a badge of extraordinary piety and obedience. We quote again from the Jewish 'Class. Book:' "Every male of the Jewish nation must wear a garment [not usually an undergarment] made with four corners, having fringes fixed at each corner. These fringes are called tsetsis, or, memorial fringes. In the synagogue, during the morning prayers, a scarf with fringes attached to it is worn, which is called tollece, 'scarf or veil.' These memorial fringes typically point out the six hundred and thirteen precepts contained in the volume of the sacred Law. They are also intended to remind us of the goodness of the Almighty in having delivered our forefathers from the slavery in Egypt."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
All
Πάντα (Panta)
Adjective - Accusative Neuter Plural
Strong's 3956: All, the whole, every kind of. Including all the forms of declension; apparently a primary word; all, any, every, the whole.

their
αὐτῶν (autōn)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

deeds
ἔργα (erga)
Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural
Strong's 2041: From a primary ergo; toil; by implication, an act.

are done
ποιοῦσιν (poiousin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 4160: (a) I make, manufacture, construct, (b) I do, act, cause. Apparently a prolonged form of an obsolete primary; to make or do.

for
πρὸς (pros)
Preposition
Strong's 4314: To, towards, with. A strengthened form of pro; a preposition of direction; forward to, i.e. Toward.

men
ἀνθρώποις (anthrōpois)
Noun - Dative Masculine Plural
Strong's 444: A man, one of the human race. From aner and ops; man-faced, i.e. A human being.

to see.
θεαθῆναι (theathēnai)
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Passive
Strong's 2300: A prolonged form of a primary verb; to look closely at, i.e. perceive; by extension to visit.

They broaden
πλατύνουσιν (platynousin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 4115: To enlarge, make broad; met: of the growth of tenderness and love. From platus; to widen.

their
αὐτῶν (autōn)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

phylacteries
φυλακτήρια (phylaktēria)
Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural
Strong's 5440: Neuter of a derivative of phulasso; a guard-case, i.e. 'phylactery' for wearing slips of Scripture texts.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

lengthen
μεγαλύνουσιν (megalynousin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 3170: (a) I enlarge, lengthen, (b) I increase, magnify, extol. From megas; to make great, i.e. Increase or extol.

their
τὰ (ta)
Article - Accusative Neuter Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

tassels.
κράσπεδα (kraspeda)
Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural
Strong's 2899: The fringe, edge, corner, tassel. Of uncertain derivation; a margin, i.e., a fringe or tassel.


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