Matthew 9:11

9:11 When the Pharisees ¹  saw this they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” ² 

Matthew 9:14

The Superiority of the New

9:14 Then John’s ³  disciples came to Jesus ⁴  and asked, “Why do we and the Pharisees ⁵  fast often, ⁶  but your disciples don’t fast?”

Matthew 12:2

12:2 But when the Pharisees ⁷  saw this they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is against the law to do on the Sabbath.”

Matthew 12:24

12:24 But when the Pharisees ⁸  heard this they said, “He does not cast out demons except by the power of Beelzebul, ⁹  the ruler ¹⁰  of demons!”

Matthew 16:11-12

16:11 How could you not understand that I was not speaking to you about bread? But beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!” 16:12 Then they understood that he had not told them to be on guard against the yeast in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Matthew 19:3

19:3 Then some Pharisees ¹¹  came to him in order to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful ¹²  to divorce a wife for any cause?” ¹³ 

Matthew 23:25-27

23:25 “Woe to you, experts in the law ¹⁴  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 23:26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, ¹⁵  so that the outside may become clean too!

23:27 “Woe to you, experts in the law ¹⁶  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean. ¹⁷ 

Matthew 23:29

23:29 “Woe to you, experts in the law ¹⁸  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You ¹⁹  build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves ²⁰  of the righteous.

[9:11]  ¹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[9:11]  ² sn The issue here is inappropriate associations. Jews were very careful about personal associations and contact as a matter of ritual cleanliness. Their question borders on an accusation that Jesus is ritually unclean.

[9:14]  ³ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[9:14]  ⁴ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:14]  ⁵ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[9:14]  ⁶ sn John’s disciples and the Pharisees followed typical practices with regard to fasting and prayer. Many Jews fasted regularly (Lev 16:29-34; 23:26-32; Num 29:7-11). The zealous fasted twice a week on Monday and Thursday.

[12:2]  ⁵ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[12:24]  ⁷ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[12:24]  ⁸ tn Grk “except by Beelzebul.”

[12:24]  ⁹ tn Or “prince.”

[19:3]  ⁹ tn Grk “And Pharisees.”

[19:3]  ¹⁰ tc ‡ Most mss have either ἀνθρώπῳ (anqrwpw, “for a man” [so א² C D W Θ 087 Ë^1,13 33 Ï latt]) or ἀνδρί (andri, “for a husband” [1424^c pc]) before the infinitive ἀπολῦσαι (apolusai, “to divorce”). The latter reading is an assimilation to the parallel in Mark; the former reading may have been motivated by the clarification needed (especially to give the following αὐτοῦ [autou, “his”] an antecedent). But a few significant mss (א* B L Γ 579 [700] 1424* pc) have neither noun. As the harder reading, it seems to best explain the rise of the others. NA²⁷, however, reads ἀνθρώπῳ here.

[19:3]  ¹¹ sn The question of the Pharisees was anything but sincere; they were asking it to test him. Jesus was now in the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas (i.e., Judea and beyond the Jordan) and it is likely that the Pharisees were hoping he might answer the question of divorce in a way similar to John the Baptist and so suffer the same fate as John, i.e., death at the hands of Herod (cf. 14:1-12). Jesus answered the question not on the basis of rabbinic custom and the debate over Deut 24:1, but rather from the account of creation and God’s original design.

[23:25]  ¹¹ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:26]  ¹³ tc A very difficult textual problem is found here. The most important Alexandrian and Byzantine, as well as significant Western, witnesses (א B C L W 0102 0281 ˹³ 33 Ï lat co) have “and the dish” (καὶ τῆς παροψίδος, kai th" paroyido") after “cup,” while few important witnesses (D Θ Ë¹ 700 and some versional and patristic authorities) omit the phrase. On the one hand, scribes sometimes tended to eliminate redundancy; since “and the dish” is already present in v. 25, it may have been deleted in v. 26 by well-meaning scribes. On the other hand, as B. M. Metzger notes, the singular pronoun αὐτοῦ (autou, “its”) with τὸ ἐκτός (to ekto", “the outside”) in some of the same witnesses that have the longer reading (viz., B* ˹³ al) hints that their archetype lacked the words (TCGNT 50). Further, scribes would be motivated both to add the phrase from v. 25 and to change αὐτοῦ to the plural pronoun αὐτῶν (aujtwn, “their”). Although the external evidence for the shorter reading is not compelling in itself, combined with these two prongs of internal evidence, it is to be slightly preferred.

[23:27]  ¹⁵ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:27]  ¹⁶ sn This was an idiom for hypocrisy – just as the wall was painted on the outside but something different on the inside, so this person was not what he appeared or pretended to be (for discussion of a similar metaphor, see L&N 88.234; BDAG 1010 s.v. τοῖχος). See Deut 28:22; Ezek 13:10-16; Acts 23:3.

[23:29]  ¹⁷ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:29]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “Because you.” Here ὅτι (Joti) has not been translated.

[23:29]  ¹⁹ tn Or perhaps “the monuments” (see L&N 7.75-76).