Matthew 10:15

10:15 I tell you the truth, ¹  it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom and Gomorrah ²  on the day of judgment than for that town!

Matthew 11:22

11:22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you!

Matthew 11:24

11:24 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom ³  on the day of judgment than for you!”

Matthew 12:36

12:36 I ⁴  tell you that on the day of judgment, people will give an account for every worthless word they speak.

Matthew 12:2

12:2 But when the Pharisees ⁵  saw this they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is against the law to do on the Sabbath.”

Matthew 2:9

2:9 After listening to the king they left, and once again ⁶  the star they saw when it rose ⁷  led them until it stopped above the place where the child was.

Matthew 3:7

3:7 But when he saw many Pharisees ⁸  and Sadducees ⁹  coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

¹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

² sn The allusion to Sodom and Gomorrah, the most wicked of OT cities from Gen 19:1-29, shows that to reject the current message is even more serious than the worst sins of the old era and will result in more severe punishment.

³ sn The allusion to Sodom, the most wicked of OT cities from Gen 19:1-29, shows that to reject the current message is even more serious, and will result in more severe punishment, than the worst sins of the old era. The phrase region of Sodom is in emphatic position in the Greek text.

⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁵ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

⁶ tn Grk “and behold the star.”

⁷ tn See the note on the word “rose” in 2:2.

⁸ sn Pharisees were members of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.

⁹ sn The Sadducees controlled the official political structures of Judaism at this time, being the majority members of the Sanhedrin. They were known as extremely strict on law and order issues (Josephus, J. W. 2.8.2 [2.119], 2.8.14 [2.164-166]; Ant. 13.5.9 [13.171-173], 13.10.6 [13.293-298], 18.1.2 [18.11], 18.1.4 [18.16-17], 20.9.1 [20.199]; Life 2 [10-11]). See also Matt 16:1-12; 22:23-34; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38; Acts 5:17; 23:6-8.