Matthew 23:27

25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity.

28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous.

Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity.
KJV
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
WEB
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitened tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones and of all uncleanness.
ASV
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men`s bones, and of all uncleanness.
DARBY
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye are like whited sepulchres, which appear beautiful outwardly, but within are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.
BLB
Woe to you⁺, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you⁺ are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed on the outside appear beautiful, but on the inside they are full of bones of the dead and of all uncleanness.
ÅB
Ve dere, skriftlærde og fariseere, hyklere! Dere er som kalkede graver; vakre å se på utvendig, men innvendig er de fulle av dødningebein og all slags urenhet!
OTB
Ve dere, skriftlærde og fariseere, hyklere! Dere er som kalkede graver, som ser vakre ut på utsiden, men inni er fulle av de dødes knokler og all slags urenhet.
B1930
Ve eder, I skriftlærde og fariseere, I hyklere, I som ligner kalkede graver, som utvendig er fagre å se til, men innvendig er fulle av dødningeben og all urenhet!

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Luke 11:44

    Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without even noticing.”

    Read in context
  • Acts 23:3

    Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit here to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck.”

    Read in context
  • Numbers 19:16

    Anyone in the open field who touches someone who has been killed by the sword or has died of natural causes, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.

    Read in context
  • Isaiah 58:1–2

    “Cry aloud, do not hold back! Raise your voice like a ram’s horn. Declare to My people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins.

    Read in context