Matthew 23 — Clausal Layout (English)

independentparticipialrelativepurposecausecomparativecontentconditionalphrase modifierdashed = verbless / suspended

Flush-left = a main (independent) clause. Each dependent line begins directly beneath the word it attaches to in the line above — the anchor word is dotted-underlined, and lights up when you hover its dependent clause; each tag also names the attachment. A dashed border marks verbless, elliptical, or suspended lines. Where a long sentence's staircase runs wider than the page, the diagram scrolls sideways. (In print, or without JavaScript, lines fall back to stepped indent columns.)

The frame, the seven woes, and the lament over Jerusalem 23:1–39

vv. 1–4 — the frame, Moses' seat, and the say/do wedge

Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples,independent — the chapter's only narrative clause — Matthean Τότε; a double audience, though the indicted stay third-person until v. 13

saying:participial — recitative participle — all thirty-eight verses of the speech hang from this one word

'On the seat of Moses the scribes and the Pharisees have sat down.content — the concession — Moses' καθέδρα, the synagogue's chair of authoritative instruction; culminative aorist ἐκάθισαν: seated, and still there

So do and observe everything whatever they tell you,content — the fronted indefinite relative kept in line — their word honored for the seat's sake

but do not act according to their works;content — the wedge — word received, works refused

for they say and do not do.cause — the ground — the chapter's thesis in four words: saying without doing

They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,content — the load pictured as roped freight — δυσβάστακτα is bracketed by some editions, printed here

and lay them on people's shoulders,content — the burden transferred to other backs

but they themselves are unwilling to move them with their finger.content — αὐτοὶ δέ — shoulder against finger: not even the least effort willed

vv. 5–7 — everything for show: phylacteries, first places, 'Rabbi'

And all their works they docontent — the root diagnosis — such works as there are, done for an audience

to be seen by people;purpose — πρός + articular infinitive of purpose — θεαθῆναι, the theater-verb (cf. 6:1)

for they broaden their phylacteriescause — the evidence — tefillin (Exod 13:9; Deut 6:8) widened for visibility

and enlarge the tassels,cause — coordinate in the ground — the tzitzit (Num 15:38–39) lengthened: the lawful made theatrical

and they love the place of honor at the banquets and the chief seats in the synagoguescontent — φιλοῦσιν — the settled appetite; πρωτο- doubled: first couch, front bench

and the greetings in the marketplacesphrase modifier — third object of φιλοῦσιν, the verb gapped — deference performed in public

and to be called 'Rabbi' by people.content — complementary infinitive under φιλοῦσιν — the craved title that triggers vv. 8–10

vv. 8–12 — but not you: one Teacher, one Father, one Instructor; greatness is service

But you — do not be called 'Rabbi';content — emphatic ὑμεῖς turns from them to the community — the passive: refuse the title even when offered

for one is your Teacher,cause — the ground — εἷς fronted; διδάσκαλος read here, the later καθηγητής reserved by the best text for v. 10

and you are all brothers.cause — coordinate in the ground — one Teacher levels all the rest to siblings

And call no one your father on earth,content — the second title refused — 'father' as a rank of religious paternity, not the household word

for one is your Father, the heavenly one.cause — the same εἷς-formula — paternity reserved for heaven

Nor be called instructors,content — the third title — καθηγητής, 'guide, master-teacher'; the triad complete

because your Instructor is one, the Christ.cause — the only ὅτι among the three grounds — and the only one naming ὁ Χριστός: a rare titular self-designation

And the greatest among you shall be your servant.content — the kingdom inversion (cf. 20:26) — a future with imperatival force: rank measured by service

And whoever exalts himself will be humbled,content — chiastic maxim, first arm — divine passive: God does the humbling

and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.content — the answering arm — the reversal sealed just before the woes begin

vv. 13, 15 — woes 1–2: the shut kingdom and the proselyte (the critical text prints no v. 14)

But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!content — the first of seven verbless woes — the refrain-address; ὑποκριτής, the stage-word for the whole series

because you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces;cause — each woe's ὅτι-ground hangs one step deeper — the would-be keyholders slam the door (cf. 16:19)

for you yourselves do not enter,cause — the shutting specified — doorkeepers standing outside their own door

nor do you allow those entering to go in.cause — conative εἰσερχομένους — those trying to enter, barred. After this verse the critical text prints NO v. 14: the widows'-houses woe is a Mark 12:40 / Luke 20:47 interpolation absent from א B D L Z Θ f1, and the numbering jumps from 13 to 15

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!content — the second woe — asyndeton now, and so through the series; the count runs 13, 15 across the omitted verse

because you go about the sea and the dry landcause — the ground — a merism: half the map crossed for one convert

to make one proselyte,purpose — purpose infinitive — ἕνα: the zeal real, the arithmetic tiny

and when he becomes one,conditional — fronted ὅταν (typed cnd; no temporal key) — forward-leaning on ποιεῖτε

you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.cause — the apodosis, continuing the ground — υἱὸς γεέννης, a Semitism; διπλότερον: the convert outdoes his makers

vv. 16–22 — woe 3: blind guides and the oath casuistry

Woe to you, blind guides,content — the third woe swaps the refrain-address for ὁδηγοὶ τυφλοί (cf. 15:14) — sight-language runs through the whole woe

who say:participial — attributive participle — their own ruling quoted back at them

'Whoever swears by the temple,conditional — indefinite-relative protasis (ὃς ἄν = 'if anyone') — forward-leaning on its apodosis, as throughout vv. 16–18

it is nothing;content — the ruling — an oath by the sanctuary itself declared non-binding

but whoever swears by the gold of the templeconditional — the paired protasis — the treasure ranked above the house

is bound.'content — ὀφείλει — the casuistry's operative verb: obligated by the lesser, loosed from the greater

Fools and blind!content — the rebuke, verbless — μωρός, the very word banned in 5:22, here wielded in prophetic judgment

For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold?cause — the ground — ὁ ἁγιάσας: the sanctuary sanctifies the gold, so their ranking runs backwards

And:content — elliptical — the quoting λέγοντες of v. 16 resumed for the second ruling

'Whoever swears by the altar,conditional — protasis again forward-leaning — the same formula moved from temple to altar

it is nothing;content — the ruling repeated — the altar itself counted for nothing

but whoever swears by the gift on itconditional — the paired protasis — the offering ranked above the altar

is bound.'content — ὀφείλει once more — obligation hung on the lesser thing

Blind!content — the rebuke shortened — some witnesses prefix μωροὶ καί, not printed

For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?cause — the parallel ground, verbless — present ἁγιάζον: the altar keeps sanctifying every gift laid on it

So the one who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it;content — the correction begins — οὖν: the whole carries its parts; no oath can be sliced free

and the one who swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it;content — τῷ κατοικοῦντι — the temple reaches its Occupant: every temple-oath invokes God

and the one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits on it.content — the climax (cf. 5:34; Isa 66:1) — the ladder ends at the enthroned God: no oath escapes him, and the casuistry collapses

vv. 23–24 — woe 4: mint, dill, and cumin against justice, mercy, and faithfulness

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!content — the fourth woe — the full refrain returns

because you tithe the mint and the dill and the cumin,cause — the ground — garden herbs tithed beyond the letter (Deut 14:22–23): scrupulosity at its smallest

and have left undone the weightier matters of the law — justice and mercy and faithfulness.cause — τὰ βαρύτερα — the Mic 6:8 triad; ἀφήκατε against the βαρέα φορτία of v. 4: they bind burdens and drop the weighty

These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.content — the balance — both/and, not either/or: the tithe stands, the triad rules

Blind guides,content — the address of v. 16 returns as verdict

who strain out the gnatparticipial — the smallest unclean thing filtered from the cup (Lev 11:41)

but swallow the camel!participial — coordinate participle — the largest unclean beast gulped whole; an Aramaic wordplay (qalmā/gamlā) likely underneath

vv. 25–26 — woe 5: the outside of the cup

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!content — the fifth woe — the inside/outside antithesis begins

because you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish,cause — vessel-purity, a live debate between the schools — the surface scoured

but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.cause — γέμουσιν — the actual contents: ἁρπαγή, what was seized; ἀκρασίας read over the variant ἀδικίας

Blind Pharisee! First cleanse the inside of the cup,content — singular vocative — the rebuke individualized; πρῶτον: the order of cleansing reversed

so that its outside also may become clean.purpose — ἵνα-purpose — outward purity as by-product of inward; some witnesses add καὶ τῆς παροψίδος, not printed

vv. 27–28 — woe 6: whitewashed tombs

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!content — the sixth woe — the antithesis driven to its darkest image

because you are like whitewashed tombs,cause — κεκονιαμένοις — tombs limed before the feasts to warn pilgrims off corpse-defilement (cf. Num 19:16)

which outwardly appear beautifulrelative — the μέν arm — beauty on the surface

but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.relative — the δέ arm, continuing the relative — γέμουσιν again (v. 25): the most defiling contents Judaism knew

So you also outwardly appear righteous to people,content — the simile applied — φαίνεσθε: appearance is their element (vv. 5, 27)

but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.content — the diagnosis of the whole series — μεστοί: filled with the stage-craft itself, and with ἀνομία

vv. 29–33 — woe 7: the prophets' tombs and the murderers' sons

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!content — the seventh and climactic woe

because you build the tombs of the prophetscause — the ground — monument-piety for the martyrs their fathers made

and adorn the monuments of the righteous,cause — coordinate in the ground — κοσμέω: graves beautified like the whitewashed tombs of v. 27

and say:cause — the third coordinate in the ground — their pious disavowal quoted

'If we had lived in the days of our fathers,conditional — contrary-to-fact protasis — forward-leaning on the apodosis; 'our fathers' already concedes the descent

we would not have been their partners in the blood of the prophets.'content — the apodosis — κοινωνοί: partnership in blood disclaimed by the men about to shed it

So you testify against yourselvescontent — ὥστε + indicative — the trap springs: the disavowal is a deposition

that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.content — the testimony's content — υἱοί: lineage claimed, and with it, in Semitic idiom, likeness

Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers!content — ironic imperative — the cup of guilt handed over to be topped off (cf. Gen 15:16); the cross is in view

Serpents! Brood of vipers!content — the Baptist's cry (3:7) on Jesus' lips — asyndetic double vocative, verbless

How are you to flee from the judgment of hell?content — deliberative subjunctive — a question expecting no way out; γέεννα closes the woes as it marked the proselyte (v. 15)

vv. 34–36 — the sent ones, and the blood from Abel to Zechariah

Therefore, behold, I am sending to you prophets and wise men and scribes;content — διὰ τοῦτο ἰδοὺ ἐγώ — Christ speaks as the sending Lord (cf. Luke 11:49, 'the Wisdom of God'); Christian prophets, sages, and scribes (13:52)

some of them you will kill and crucify,content — partitive ἐξ αὐτῶν — σταυρώσετε: the fathers' pattern updated to Rome's instrument

and some of them you will flog in your synagoguescontent — the synagogue lash (10:17) — 'your synagogues': the breach already audible

and persecute from town to town,content — the hounding (10:23) — the missionaries' itinerary made a fugitive's

so that upon you may come all the righteous blood being shed on the earth,purpose — ὅπως — purpose shading into decreed result, capping the whole persecution series; ἐκχυννόμενον, the verb of the cup-word (26:28)

from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah,phrase modifier — the canon's span — Abel (Gen 4) to the Zechariah of 2 Chr 24:20–22, Scripture's first and last martyrs; the patronymic 'son of Barachiah' (Zech 1:1) is the crux, read as Matthew's conflation with the prophet and left standing

whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.relative — ἐφονεύσατε — 'you' murdered: the generations merged into one indicted line; the locale matches 2 Chr 24:21, the temple court

Truly I say to you,content — the ἀμήν-seal on the sentence

all these things will come upon this generation.content — asyndetic content — ἡ γενεὰ αὕτη read as Jesus' contemporaries: the reckoning of A.D. 70 (cf. 24:34)

vv. 37–39 — the lament: the hen, the empty house, and Psalm 118

Jerusalem, Jerusalem,content — the doubled vocative — judgment turns to grief; the city addressed as a person

who kills the prophetsparticipial — attributive participle (nominative for vocative) — present tense: the killing her habit, not her past

and stones those sent to her —participial — coordinate participle — λιθοβολέω, the death of 2 Chr 24's Zechariah; τοὺς ἀπεσταλμένους echoes the ἀποστέλλω of v. 34

how often I longed to gather your children,content — ποσάκις ἠθέλησα — the divine 'I would', spanning the prophets' whole history, on Jesus' lips

the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings —comparative — ὃν τρόπον — the maternal image (cf. Ps 91:4; Ruth 2:12): wings against the coming fire

and you were not willing.content — ἠθέλησα against οὐκ ἠθελήσατε — two wills in one verse; the tragedy in a single aorist

Behold, your house is left to you desolate.content — the sentence — divine passive ἀφίεται: the Presence withdraws (cf. Jer 22:5; Ezek 10–11); ἔρημος printed here though some editions omit it

For I say to you,cause — the ground of the desolation — the departing Lord's last word to the city

you will not see me from now oncontent — οὐ μή + aorist subjunctive — the strongest denial; ἀπ’ ἄρτι: the public ministry to Jerusalem ends here

until you say:conditional — backward ἕως ἄν (typed cnd; no temporal key) — a condition that leaves the door ajar

'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'content — Ps 118:26 — the pilgrims' greeting of 21:9 returned to the city's own mouth; left open between repentant welcome and the Parousia's compelled acclamation

Analysis. Matthew 23 is one narrative clause and thirty-eight verses of speech. Τότε ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐλάλησεν (v. 1) takes its recitative λέγων (v. 2), and from that single participle the entire chapter hangs: every speech-level line is a coordinate cnt at one constant depth, so the page shows what Matthew built — his longest unbroken denunciation, delivered about the scribes and Pharisees in the third person (vv. 2–12), then to them in the second (vv. 13–36), then over Jerusalem herself (vv. 37–39). Against that fixed column the speech's own grammar indents: the say/do wedge with its γάρ-ground (v. 3), the display-catalogue under πρὸς τὸ θεαθῆναι (vv. 5–7), the three refused titles each with its εἷς-ground (vv. 8–10), and then the sevenfold Οὐαὶ ὑμῖν — each woe a verbless cry at speech level with its ὅτι-ground hanging cau one step deeper (vv. 13, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29), the oath-casuistry of vv. 16–22 chaining its quoted ὃς ἂν protases forward-leaning one deeper than their οὐδέν ἐστιν / ὀφείλει apodoses, and the climactic seventh woe running through the self-incriminating quotation (v. 30) to the ὅπως that gathers all righteous blood onto this generation (v. 35). The cruxes are taken openly. Verse 14 is absent: the widows'-houses woe is omitted with א B D L Z Θ f1 as a Mark 12:40 / Luke 20:47 interpolation, the numbering jumps from 13 to 15, and the gap is flagged in the tags. Ζαχαρίου υἱοῦ Βαραχίου (v. 35) is read as the Chronicler's Zechariah son of Jehoiada (2 Chr 24:20–22), Scripture's last martyr answering its first, with the patronymic explained as Matthew's conflation with the prophet (Zech 1:1) and left standing, not harmonized. ἡ γενεὰ αὕτη (v. 36) is glossed as Jesus' contemporaries, the horizon of A.D. 70; ἔρημος (v. 38) is printed with the editions against the witnesses that omit it; and the Ps 118:26 citation that ends the chapter (v. 39) is left open between repentant welcome and compelled acclamation — the one door the desolation leaves ajar.