Matthew 23:31 kjv
Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
Matthew 23:31 nkjv
"Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
Matthew 23:31 niv
So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.
Matthew 23:31 esv
Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
Matthew 23:31 nlt
"But in saying that, you testify against yourselves that you are indeed the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.
Matthew 23 31 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Dt 9:7 | Remember how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness... | Israel's history of rebellion. |
| 1 Ki 19:10 | "I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of Hosts... the Israelites have forsaken your covenant... killed your prophets with the sword..." | Elijah laments Israel's persecution of prophets. |
| 2 Chr 24:19-22 | Yet he sent prophets among them... but they would not listen. They conspired against Zechariah... stone him... | King Joash killing Zechariah. |
| 2 Chr 36:15-16 | The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them again and again by his messengers, for he had pity... But they mocked God's messengers... until the wrath of the Lord rose against his people... | God's repeated warnings and Israel's rejection. |
| Neh 9:26 | But they were disobedient and rebelled against you; they turned their backs on your law. They killed your prophets, who had admonished them... | Levites' confession of Israel's rejection of prophets. |
| Jer 2:30 | In vain I have struck down your children; they received no correction. Your own sword has devoured your prophets like a ravening lion. | Judah's persecution of prophets. |
| Jer 26:20-23 | Uriah... prophesied against this city... But King Jehoiakim... struck him down with the sword... | Uriah's murder for prophecy. |
| Amos 7:10-17 | Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent word to Jeroboam... "Amos has plotted against you..." | Amos's persecution. |
| Zec 1:4-6 | "Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the former prophets cried out..." | Warning not to repeat ancestral disobedience. |
| Mt 21:33-46 | "The Parable of the Tenants" ...killed his son. | Parable directly linking rejection of prophets to rejection of Jesus. |
| Mt 23:13-36 | Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! ...You shut the kingdom of heaven against men. | The wider context of Jesus's woes, accusing hypocrisy. |
| Mt 23:34-36 | Therefore I send you prophets... some of whom you will kill... So that on you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth... | Direct follow-up, identifying current generation with those who murder prophets. |
| Lk 11:47-48 | "Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors murdered. So you testify... you approve of the deeds of your ancestors." | Parallel passage affirming their approval through action. |
| Lk 11:49-51 | "...so that the blood of all the prophets, shed since the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation..." | The culminating guilt falling on "this generation." |
| Jn 8:39-44 | If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works of Abraham... You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning... | Contrasting spiritual lineage: Abraham vs. Devil. |
| Acts 7:51-52 | "You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts... You always resist the Holy Spirit... Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even murdered those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One..." | Stephen's direct accusation against the Sanhedrin. |
| Rom 11:3 | "Lord, they have killed your prophets; they have torn down your altars..." | Elijah's lament echoed, demonstrating the pattern. |
| 1 Thess 2:14-16 | ...you suffered from your own people the same things that the churches... suffered from the Jews, who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets... | Paul identifies Jews as those who historically killed prophets and Jesus. |
| Heb 11:36-38 | Some were tortured, refusing to be released... Others were jeered at and flogged, and even put in chains and imprisoned. They were stoned, they were sawn in two; they were killed by the sword... | Examples of prophets' sufferings. |
| Jas 5:10 | Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. | Recognizes prophets often faced suffering. |
Matthew 23 verses
Matthew 23 31 Meaning
This verse states that by their actions, specifically by building and adorning the tombs of the prophets their ancestors murdered, the religious leaders (scribes and Pharisees) implicitly testify against themselves. Their hypocrisy reveals them to be spiritual descendants who inherit and continue the same murderous disposition of those who rejected and killed God's prophets throughout history, ironically validating their shared character with those they outwardly condemn.
Matthew 23 31 Context
Matthew 23 records Jesus's strong condemnation, pronounced as "woes," against the scribes and Pharisees. This chapter exposes their severe hypocrisy: their outward show of righteousness contrasting with their inner corruption, pride, love of honor, and ultimate rejection of God's true messengers. Verse 31 builds on previous accusations, particularly the charge that they build and decorate the tombs of the prophets (Mt 23:29-30) while failing to genuinely honor God's present message. Historically, Jewish tradition revered the prophets, but the current leaders paradoxically continued the pattern of their ancestors by resisting the divine message delivered through Jesus. This specific woe highlights the ironic self-incrimination of the leaders: their actions intended to show piety unwittingly confirmed their inherited character of hostility towards divine truth. It sets the stage for Jesus's lament over Jerusalem and the coming judgment upon "this generation."
Matthew 23 31 Word analysis
- So (Greek: hoste - ὥστε): This conjunction acts as a logical consequence, linking the Pharisees' actions (building tombs of prophets) to the inescapable conclusion drawn by Jesus. It means "consequently" or "therefore," emphasizing the inevitable conclusion of their behavior.
- you testify (Greek: martyreite - μαρτυρεῖτε): From martyreo, meaning "to bear witness," "to give evidence." Here, it's used ironically. Their actions (honoring dead prophets) paradoxically serve as damning evidence against themselves, not for their piety. It signifies a public acknowledgment or proof, even if unintended.
- against yourselves (Greek: kath' heautōn - καθ’ ἑαυτῶν): This prepositional phrase emphasizes self-incrimination. They are proving their own guilt through their conduct and their rejection of God's present truth, making themselves accountable.
- that you are the descendants of those (Greek: hoti huioi este tōn - ὅτι υἱοί ἐστε τῶν): descendants of (huioi - υἱοί): Literally "sons of." In Hebrew and Greek thought, "sons of" often denotes character or disposition rather than purely physical lineage. To be "sons of those who murdered" means they exhibit the same character, spirit, and murderous tendency towards God's messengers as their ancestors. It points to a spiritual rather than solely genetic inheritance of sin. those (tōn): Refers to a specific group, identifiable as the historical persecutors.
- who murdered (Greek: apokteinantōn - ἀποκτεινάντων): From apokteino, meaning "to kill," "to put to death," "to murder." The strong aorist participle indicates a decisive action by the ancestors, and the charge is specifically of murder, emphasizing the grave nature of their hostility towards God's messengers. It signifies the continuous pattern of bloodshed against those who speak for God.
- the prophets (Greek: tous prophētas - τοὺς προφήτας): Refers to God's divinely inspired messengers throughout Israelite history, from the Old Testament period until the present time of Jesus, who himself is the greatest Prophet (Dt 18:15). These were individuals chosen by God to speak His truth, warn His people, and call them to repentance, often at great personal cost.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- "So you testify against yourselves": This phrase carries profound irony. The very acts the Pharisees undertook to appear pious (venerating past prophets) inadvertently became a witness to their guilt. Their outward show of righteousness served to condemn them, revealing their true character. Their rejection of Jesus, the ultimate Prophet, was the most damning evidence.
- "that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets": This declaration highlights a spiritual lineage of opposition to God's will. It's not just physical ancestry, but a perpetuation of a moral and spiritual character – a spirit of resistance to divine authority and a willingness to eliminate those who challenge their self-serving interpretation of faith. Their actions were consistent with, and climaxed, the long history of Israel's rejection of God's messengers.
Matthew 23 31 Bonus section
This verse functions as a rhetorical question by Jesus in some interpretations (cf. Luke 11:48, "You approve of the deeds of your fathers"). By their actions, they affirm what their ancestors did, making them complicit in the long history of shedding innocent blood. The severity of the "woes" (Mt 23:13-36) indicates Jesus's profound sorrow and righteous anger at the spiritual blindness and self-deception of the religious elite, whose influence was leading the people astray. Their guilt was magnified because they, unlike their ancestors, stood before the Messiah Himself, the culmination of all prophecy, yet chose to reject Him. This sets the stage for the eschatological pronouncements in Matthew 23:37-39 concerning Jerusalem's ultimate desolation.
Matthew 23 31 Commentary
Matthew 23:31 delivers a scathing indictment of the scribes and Pharisees, accusing them of profound hypocrisy. Jesus's charge cuts to the heart of their religious facade: while they outwardly honor deceased prophets by building tombs for them (vv. 29-30), their inner disposition aligns perfectly with their ancestors who actually persecuted and murdered those same prophets. Their current rejection and impending murder of Jesus Himself, the greatest prophet and Son of God, proves they are "sons" not merely by blood, but by inheriting and perpetuating the same rebellious spirit. Their acts of false piety ironically served as a self-indictment, demonstrating that their supposed veneration was empty and that they shared the same murderous heart as those who silenced God's voice in the past. This verse powerfully underscores the dangerous truth that actions speak louder than words, and that a heart hostile to God's present truth cannot genuinely honor His past messengers.
Examples:
- A person who proudly declares adherence to a strict moral code while secretly engaging in corrupt practices.
- Someone who praises historical figures for their fight against injustice, yet actively ignores or perpetuates injustice in their own time.