Matthew 23:37
New International Version
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.

New Living Translation
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me.

English Standard Version
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

Berean Standard Bible
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!

Berean Literal Bible
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those having been sent to her! How often would I have gathered together your children, the way in which a hen gathers together her chicks under the wings, and you were not willing!

King James Bible
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

New King James Version
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!

New American Standard Bible
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.

NASB 1995
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.

NASB 1977
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.

Legacy Standard Bible
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you did not want it.

Amplified Bible
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who murders the prophets and stones [to death] those [messengers] who are sent to her [by God]! How often I wanted to gather your children together [around Me], as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.

Christian Standard Bible
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!

Holman Christian Standard Bible
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem! She who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, yet you were not willing!

American Standard Version
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that murdered The Prophets and stoned those who were sent to it! How many times have I desired to gather your children, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing!

Contemporary English Version
Jerusalem, Jerusalem! Your people have killed the prophets and have stoned the messengers who were sent to you. I have often wanted to gather your people, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you wouldn't let me.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered together thy children, as the hen doth gather her chickens under her wings, and thou wouldest not?

English Revised Version
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you kill the prophets and stone to death those sent to you! How often I wanted to gather your children together the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings! But you were not willing!

Good News Translation
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and stone the messengers God has sent you! How many times I wanted to put my arms around all your people, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not let me!

International Standard Version
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones to death those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!

Literal Standard Version
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that are killing the prophets, and stoning those sent to you, how often I willed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her own chickens under the wings, and you did not will.

Majority Standard Bible
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!

New American Bible
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her young under her wings, but you were unwilling!

NET Bible
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would have none of it!

New Revised Standard Version
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

New Heart English Bible
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets, and stones those who are sent to her. How often I would have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not.

Webster's Bible Translation
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them who are sent to thee, how often would I have gathered thy children, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

Weymouth New Testament
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! thou who murderest the Prophets and stonest those who have been sent to thee! how often have I desired to gather thy children to me, just as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not come!

World English Bible
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I would have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not!

Young's Literal Translation
'Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that art killing the prophets, and stoning those sent unto thee, how often did I will to gather thy children together, as a hen doth gather her own chickens under the wings, and ye did not will.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Lament over Jerusalem
36Truly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation. 37O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling! 38Look, your house is left to you desolate.…

Cross References
Ruth 2:12
May the LORD repay your work, and may you receive a rich reward from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have taken refuge."

Isaiah 5:4
What more could I have done for My vineyard than I already did for it? Why, when I expected sweet grapes, did it bring forth sour fruit?

Jeremiah 32:31
For this city has aroused My wrath and fury from the day it was built until now. Therefore I will remove it from My presence

Jeremiah 36:26
Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, as well as Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the LORD had hidden them.

Hosea 7:13
Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me! Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against Me! Though I would redeem them, they speak lies against Me.

Matthew 5:12
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.

Matthew 23:31
So you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets.


Treasury of Scripture

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets, and stone them which are sent to you, how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not!

Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 4:14
O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?

Jeremiah 6:8
Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.

Luke 13:34
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!

thou.

Matthew 23:30
And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.

Matthew 5:12
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Matthew 21:35,36
And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another…

how.

2 Chronicles 36:15,16
And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: …

Psalm 81:8-11
Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me; …

Jeremiah 6:16,17
Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein

even.

Deuteronomy 32:11,12
As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: …

Ruth 2:12
The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.

Psalm 17:8
Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,

and ye.

Matthew 22:3
And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.

Proverbs 1:24-31
Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; …

Isaiah 50:2
Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst.

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Matthew 23
1. Jesus admonishes the people to follow good doctrine, not bad examples
5. His disciples must beware of their ambition.
13. He denounces eight woes against their hypocrisy and blindness,
34. and prophesies of the destruction of Jerusalem.














(37) Jerusalem, Jerusalem.--The lamentation had been uttered once before (Luke 13:34-35), and must, we may believe, have been present to our Lord's mind when He "beheld the city and wept over it" (Luke 19:41), as He halted on the brow of Olivet.

It should be noted that the Hebrew form of Jerusalem (?????????? instead of ??????????) occurs here only in St. Matthew, as though the very syllables had impressed themselves on the minds of men.

Thou that killest the prophets.--The words are in the present tense, as embracing the past and even the future. As with a sad prescience our Lord speaks of the sufferings which were in store for His messengers, and of which the deaths of Stephen (Acts 7:60) and of James (Acts 12:2) were representative instances. That the persecution in each case took a wider range, was in the nature of the case inevitable. It is distinctly stated, indeed, that it did so in both instances (Acts 8:1; Acts 12:1), and is implied in 1Thessalonians 2:14-15, where the "prophets" who suffered are clearly Christian prophets, and probably in James 5:10. . . .

Verse 37. - O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! Pathetic iteration! As he approached the city on another occasion Christ had used the same words (Luke 13:34, 35); he repeats them now as he takes his final farewell He speaks with Divine tenderness, yet with poignant sorrow, knowing that this last appeal will be in vain. It has been remarked that, whereas St. Matthew elsewhere names the capital city, the theocratic centre, Hierosolyma, which is the Greek equivalent, he here calls it Hierousalem, which is Hebrew, as though, while recording the words used by Jesus, he desired to reproduce the actual sound of the Saviour's affecting address. Killest...stonest. Such is thy wont, thy evil practice. So Christ says elsewhere, "It cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem" (Luke 13:33). "Stonest" was particularly appropriate after the reference to Zechariah (2 Chronicles 24:20). Sent unto thee. The received Greek is, sent unto it or her (πρὸς αὐτήν), though some manuscripts and the Vulgate give "thee." But the change of persons is not uncommon. Alford quotes Luke 1:45; Luke 13:34; Revelation 18:24. How often! Some would confine Christ's allusion to his own mission in Judaea, and the efforts made by him to win disciples; but it surely applies to all the doings and visitations of God towards Israel during the whole course of their history, which showed his gracious desire that all should be saved, if they only had willed with him. He hereby asserts himself as one with the God of the Old Testament. Christ's ministry in Jerusalem and Judaea is mentioned by St. John. Gathered... wings. A tender similitude, which is found in the Old Testament and in classic authors. It implies love, care, and protection. Thus the psalmist prays, "Hide me under the shadow of thy wings;" "In the shadow of thy wings will I take refuge, until these calamities be overpast" (Psalm 17:8; Psalm 57:1); comp. Deuteronomy 32:11; Isaiah 31:5, etc. So Euripides, 'Herc. Fur.,' 72 -

"The children whom I cherish 'neath my wings,
As a bird cowering o'er her youthful brood."
The metaphor is peculiarly appropriate at the time, when, as Lange puts it, the Roman eagles were hovering near, and there was no hope of safety but under the Lord's wings. And ye would not. Unmoved by warning and chastisement, impenetrable to long suffering love, ungrateful for mercies, the Jews repulsed all efforts for their amendment, and blindly pursued the course of ruin. It was always in their power to turn if they willed, but they wilfully resisted grace, and must suffer accordingly (comp. Isaiah 30:15).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
O Jerusalem,
Ἰερουσαλὴμ (Ierousalēm)
Noun - Vocative Feminine Singular
Strong's 2419: Of Hebrew origin; Hierusalem, the capitol of Palestine.

Jerusalem,
Ἰερουσαλήμ (Ierousalēm)
Noun - Vocative Feminine Singular
Strong's 2419: Of Hebrew origin; Hierusalem, the capitol of Palestine.

who
(hē)
Article - Vocative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

kills
ἀποκτείνουσα (apokteinousa)
Verb - Present Participle Active - Vocative Feminine Singular
Strong's 615: To put to death, kill; fig: I abolish. From apo and kteino; to kill outright; figuratively, to destroy.

the
τοὺς (tous)
Article - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

prophets
προφήτας (prophētas)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 4396: From a compound of pro and phemi; a foreteller; by analogy, an inspired speaker; by extension, a poet.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

stones
λιθοβολοῦσα (lithobolousa)
Verb - Present Participle Active - Vocative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3036: To stone, cast stones (at), kill by stoning. From a compound of lithos and ballo; to throw stones, i.e. Lapidate.

those
τοὺς (tous)
Article - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

sent
ἀπεσταλμένους (apestalmenous)
Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 649: From apo and stello; set apart, i.e. to send out literally or figuratively.

to
πρὸς (pros)
Preposition
Strong's 4314: To, towards, with. A strengthened form of pro; a preposition of direction; forward to, i.e. Toward.

her,
αὐτήν (autēn)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative Feminine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

how often
ποσάκις (posakis)
Adverb
Strong's 4212: How often, how many times. Multiplicative from posos; how many times.

I have longed
ἠθέλησα (ēthelēsa)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 2309: To will, wish, desire, be willing, intend, design.

to gather
ἐπισυναγαγεῖν (episynagagein)
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active
Strong's 1996: To collect, gather together, assemble. From epi and sunago; to collect upon the same place.

your
σου (sou)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

children {together},
τέκνα (tekna)
Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural
Strong's 5043: A child, descendent, inhabitant. From the base of timoria; a child.

as
τρόπον (tropon)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5158: From the same as trope; a turn, i.e. mode or style; figuratively, deportment or character.

a hen
ὄρνις (ornis)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3733: A bird, fowl, hen. Probably from a prolonged form of the base of oros; a bird, i.e., a hen.

gathers
ἐπισυνάγει (episynagei)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1996: To collect, gather together, assemble. From epi and sunago; to collect upon the same place.

her
αὐτῆς (autēs)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive Feminine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

chicks
νοσσία (nossia)
Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural
Strong's 3556: A nestling, the young of birds. Diminutive of neossos; a birdling.

under
ὑπὸ (hypo)
Preposition
Strong's 5259: A primary preposition; under, i.e. of place, or with verbs; of place (underneath) or where (below) or time (when).

[her]
τὰς (tas)
Article - Accusative Feminine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

wings,
πτέρυγας (pterygas)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural
Strong's 4420: A wing, pinion. From a derivative of petomai; a wing.

but
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

you were unwilling!
ἠθελήσατε (ēthelēsate)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 2309: To will, wish, desire, be willing, intend, design.


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Matthew 23:36
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