Luke 11:43

Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues, and the greetings in the marketplaces.

World English Bible
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Other translations

WEBBE

Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces.

BSB

Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the chief seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces.

KJV

Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.

ASV

Woe unto you Pharisees! for ye love the chief seats in the synagogues, and the salutations in the marketplaces.

BBE

A curse is on you, Pharisees! for your desires are for the most important seats in the Synagogues and for words of respect said to you in the market-place.

Original Greek

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Οὐαὶ Ouai Woe G3759 ὑμῖν humin to you G4771 τοῖς tois (the) G3588 Φαρισαίοις Pharisaiois Pharisees G5330 ὅτι hoti for G3754 ἀγαπᾶτε agapate you love G25 τὴν tēn the G3588 πρωτοκαθεδρίαν prōtokathedrian first seat G4410 ἐν en in G1722 ταῖς tais the G3588 συναγωγαῖς sunagōgais synagogues G4864 καὶ kai and G2532 τοὺς tous the G3588 ἀσπασμοὺς aspasmous greetings G783 ἐν en in G1722 ταῖς tais the G3588 ἀγοραῖς.¶ agorais marketplaces G58

The early church

He reproves also the arrogance of the boasting Jews in seeking the preeminence: for it follows, Woe unto you, Pharisees, for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, &c.
Ambrose of Milan · d. 397Catena Aurea (Aquinas, 1274)
By means of those things for which He blames us He makes us better. For He would have us be free from ambition, and not desire after vain show rather than the reality, which the Pharisees were then doing. For the greetings of men, and the rule over them, do not move us to be really useful, for these things fall to men though they be not good men. Therefore he adds, Woe unto you, who are as graves which appear not. For in wishing to receive greetings from men and to exercise authority over them, that they might be accounted great, they differ not from hidden graves, which glitter indeed with outward ornaments, but within are full of all uncleanness. (con. Julian. lib. 10.) Now here the apostate Julian says, that we must avoid graves which Christ says are unclean; but he knew not the force of our Saviour's words, for He did not command us to depart from the graves, but likened to them the hypocritical people of the Pharisees.
Cyril of Alexandria · d. 444Catena Aurea (Aquinas, 1274)
Or He means, "That which is uppermost." For wealth rules the covetous man's heart.
Theophylact of Ohrid · d. 1107Catena Aurea (Aquinas, 1274)

Commentary

Matthew Henry · Verses 37–54

We should all look to our hearts, that they may be cleansed and new-created; and while we attend to the great things of the law and of the gospel, we must not neglect the smallest matter God has appointed. When any wait to catch something out of our mouths, that they may insnare us, O Lord, give us thy prudence and thy patience, and disappoint their evil purposes. Furnish us with such meekness and patience that we may glory in reproaches, for Christ's sake, and that thy Holy Spirit may rest upon us.

Read Matthew Henry on Luke 11 →

Parallel passages

3

The same words or events elsewhere.

Matthew 23:6–7Mark 12:38–39Luke 20:46

Cross-references

9

Topics

PrideAmbition

Cross-references: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. Hebrew and Greek data from STEPBible.org (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0. Library: sources.