Matius 21:11-13

21:11 And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth ¹  in Galilee.”

Cleansing the Temple

21:12 Then ²  Jesus entered the temple area ³  and drove out all those who were selling and buying in the temple courts, ⁴  and turned over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. 21:13 And he said to them, “It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ ⁵  but you are turning it into a den ⁶  of robbers!” ⁷ 

Matius 23:37

Judgment on Israel

23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, ⁸  you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! ⁹  How often I have longed ¹⁰  to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but ¹¹  you would have none of it! ¹² 

[21:11]  ¹ map For location see Map1 D3; Map2 C2; Map3 D5; Map4 C1; Map5 G3.

[21:12]  ² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[21:12]  ³ tn Grk “the temple.”

[21:12]  sn The merchants (those who were selling) would have been located in the Court of the Gentiles.

[21:12]  ⁴ tn Grk “the temple.”

[21:12]  sn Matthew (here, 21:12-27), Mark (11:15-19) and Luke (19:45-46) record this incident of the temple cleansing at the end of Jesus’ ministry. John (2:13-16) records a cleansing of the temple at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. See the note on the word temple courts in John 2:14 for a discussion of the relationship of these accounts to one another.

[21:13]  ⁵ sn A quotation from Isa 56:7.

[21:13]  ⁶ tn Or “a hideout” (see L&N 1.57).

[21:13]  ⁷ sn A quotation from Jer 7:11. The meaning of Jesus’ statement about making the temple courts a den of robbers probably operates here at two levels. Not only were the religious leaders robbing the people financially, but because of this they had also robbed them spiritually by stealing from them the opportunity to come to know God genuinely. It is possible that these merchants had recently been moved to this location for convenience.

[23:37]  ⁸ sn The double use of the city’s name betrays intense emotion.

[23:37]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[23:37]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[23:37]  ¹² tn Grk “you were not willing.”