Discovery BoxMatthew 23:29-33 
Context23:29 “Woe to you, experts in the law 1 and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You 2 build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves 3 of the righteous. 23:30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, 4 we would not have participated with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 23:31 By saying this you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 23:32 Fill up then the measure of your ancestors! 23:33 You snakes, you offspring of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 5
1 tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.
2 tn Grk “Because you.” Here ὅτι (Joti) has not been translated.
3 tn Or perhaps “the monuments” (see L&N 7.75-76).
4 tn Grk “fathers” (so also in v. 32).
5 tn Grk “the judgment of Gehenna.”
sn See the note on the word hell in 5:22.
