Matthew 23:15

An Understandable Version (2005 edition)

“It is too bad for you hypocritical experts in the Law of Moses and [you] Pharisees! For you travel over land and sea [in hope of] making one person a proselyte [i.e., a convert to the Jewish religion]. And when you do convert one, you make him twice as deserving of hell as yourselves.

Cross References

Ephesians 2:3

All of us [Jews] also once lived among such people, fulfilling the improper cravings of our physical being and doing what our bodies and minds desired. In this natural [unconverted] state we were deserving of [God’s] wrath, just like the rest [of mankind].

Acts 13:43

Now when the synagogue service was over, many of the Jews and devoted proselytes [i.e., converts to the Jewish religion] followed Paul and Barnabas, who urged them to continue accepting the unearned favor of God.

Acts 13:10

and said, “You child of the devil; you enemy of all that is right; you are full of deceit and every kind of evil [thing]. When will you stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?

Acts 14:2

But the Jews who did not obey [the Gospel message] incited the spirits of the [unconverted] Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.

John 8:44

You belong to your father the devil, and you are [always] wanting to do what your father desires. He was a murderer from the [very] beginning [Note: This is probably a reference to Satan’s influence on Adam, Eve and Cain in the Garden of Eden] and does not stand for the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he only speaks what is part of his nature, because he is a liar and the father of [all] liars.

Galatians 6:12

Those who attempt to make a good impression by trying to force you to be circumcised really want only to avoid being persecuted for their commitment to Christ.

Galatians 4:17

Certain people are showing quite an interest in you, but it is not for your benefit. Instead, they are trying to separate you [from me], in hope that you will seek them out [for help].

Matthew 5:22

But I say to you that every person who is angry toward his brother will be subject to judgment; and whoever calls his brother ‘stupid idiot’ is subject to [being sentenced by] the [Jewish] Council, and whoever says, ‘go to hell’ is subject to going to the fire of hell [himself].

Acts 17:13

But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that Paul was proclaiming the message of God at Berea also, they went there too, and incited and upset the crowds.

Acts 14:19

But Jews came to [Lystra] from Antioch [in Pisidia] and Iconium. When they persuaded the crowds [to reject Paul’s message] they stoned him and dragged him out of town, assuming he was dead.

Acts 2:10

Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt and areas of Libya around Cyrene, Jewish and proselyte travelers from Rome,

Acts 6:5

This arrangement pleased the whole group, so they selected Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolaus, a proselyte [i.e., convert to the Jewish religion] from Antioch.

Matthew 5:29

And if your right eye is what ensnares you into falling away [from God], gouge it out and throw it away from you. For it would be better for you to lose a part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. [Note: This is the word “Gehenna,” and because of its Old Testament connotation of burning bodies, II Chron. 33:6, it is used figuratively here, and elsewhere, to describe the place of future, final punishment of the wicked].

Matthew 3:7

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to be immersed, John said to them, “You children of snakes, who warned you to run away from the coming wrath [of God]?

Matthew 23:13

“But it is too bad for you hypocritical experts in the Law of Moses and [you] Pharisees! [It is] because you withhold the kingdom of heaven from people, for you do not enter it yourselves, nor [do you] allow those who are trying to enter it to get in.