Mat 23:15

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made one, you make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

Mat 23:16
Woe unto you, you blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!

Mat 23:17


You fools and blind: for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold?

Mat 23:18

And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever swears by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.

Mat 23:19



Fools and blind: for whether [is] greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift?

Alternative: Sadly, you religious writers and authorities are just actors. Because you go about the sea and land to produce one convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice the son of your hell. Sadly, you are blind guides who say that those who promise in the temple are nothing, but those who swear on temple gold are owed [something in return]. Foolish and blind because which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred? And those who promise at the altar are nothing but those who swear by [putting] gifts on it are owed [something in return]. Foolish and blind because which is greater, the gifts or the altar that makes the gift holy?

These verses continue Christ's explanation of the problems with all religious leaders, even Christian leaders today. The KJV English translation is more than a little confusing, which is why I offer an alternative, which is much closer, word-for-word, to the original Greek. I would not, of course, suggest that those who did the translation originally had some self-interest in making it confusing.

Christ is clearly saying that religious leaders are motivated by greed. He starts by saying that they make converts in order to enslave those coverts to their authority and for their support. He criticizes these religious leader for teaching that are our promises to God don't count unless they are made in the form of gifts, which are, of course, enjoyed by the priests themselves. Christ points out that devotion to God must be more important than financial support of earthly religious leaders.

Of course, we see the same thing today. Religious leaders constantly tell us that God favors those give to them. TV evangelists will run literally hours of testimonials from people who gave money to their church only to have their prayers answered and even to get more money in return.

How Christ hated this whole line of thought. First, he didn't like people making promises to God at all. Doing so in return for favors was even worse. Teaching people to make promises to God in the form of gifts that you use for your own benefit is the worst yet. For Christ, this was as far as you can get from understanding God and our roles in the plan of God.

"Compass" is from periago, which means "to lead around," "to lead about with oneself," "to go about," and "to walk about."

"Proselyte" is from proselutos, which means "a stranger," "a newcomer," and "one who has come from the Gentiles to become a Jew."

"Make" is from
poieo, which means "to make," "to produce," or "to do."

"Hell" is
geenna, which is Greek for Gehenna, the valley of Hinnom (the Hebrew word), south of Jeruselem where trash, including diseased animals and human corpses was burned. A constant fires was kept burning there. This area was originally where children were sacrificed to Baal, and Baal (Beelzebub, "lord of the flies") is the name that Christ says others call him as the personification of evil.

"Swear" is omnuo (omoô, omnumi), which means "to swear," "to promise," and "to threaten with an oath."

"Debtor" and "guilty" are both from
opheilô, which means "to owe," "to have to pay," and "to account for."