Matthew 23:37-39

Judgment on Israel

23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, ¹  you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! ²  How often I have longed ³  to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but ⁴  you would have none of it! ⁵  23:38 Look, your house is left to you desolate! 23:39 For I tell you, you will not see me from now until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’” ⁶ 

[23:37]  ¹ sn The double use of the city’s name betrays intense emotion.

[23:37]  ² tn Although the opening address (“Jerusalem, Jerusalem”) is direct (second person), the remainder of this sentence in the Greek text is third person (“who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her”). The following sentences then revert to second person (“your… you”), so to keep all this consistent in English, the third person pronouns in the present verse were translated as second person (“you who kill… sent to you”).

[23:37]  ³ sn How often I have longed to gather your children. Jesus, like a lamenting prophet, speaks for God here, who longed to care tenderly for Israel and protect her.

[23:37]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[23:37]  ⁵ tn Grk “you were not willing.”

[23:39]  ⁶ sn A quotation from Ps 118:26.