Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jesus here reveals that the scribes and Pharisees' relentless pursuit of converts wasn't about genuine faith, but about inflating their own influence and power. By bringing people into their distorted version of Judaism, they weren't leading them to God, but instead making them even more spiritually lost and deserving of judgment than themselves.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jesus is in the midst of a public denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees, delivering a series of "woes" that expose their hypocrisy and spiritual corruption. He has already condemned them for locking the kingdom of heaven, devouring widows' houses, and for their false piety. This verse continues that scathing critique by highlighting their zealous efforts to convert people to their sect.
Ever feel like you're working hard for a cause, only to realize it's not what you thought? The Pharisees poured immense energy into their mission, but Jesus exposes the true target of their passion.
A Mission Gone Astray
Jesus calls out the scribes and Pharisees for their relentless pursuit of converts. They traveled "sea and land" – a vivid way of saying they spared no effort, went to extreme lengths, and stopped at nothing to win people over. This wasn't a casual hobby; it was a full-blown mission.
The Real Goal
But for whom were they working so hard? Not for God's kingdom, Jesus makes clear. Their goal was to make a "proselyte," someone who would join their sect, their group. This passion was not about bringing people into a saving relationship with God, but about swelling their own ranks and influence. Their zeal was misdirected, fueled by pride and a desire for recognition rather than genuine love for God or others.
Imagine training someone in a skill, only for them to become worse at everything than you are. That's the devastating outcome Jesus describes when these religious leaders convert others.
The Corrupting Influence
Jesus' condemnation doesn't stop at their misguided zeal. He reveals the tragic result of their proselytism: they made their converts "twice as much a child of hell" as themselves. This is a stark pronouncement.
A Double Condemnation
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When a Gentile converted to Judaism under the Pharisees, they weren't being introduced to true righteousness. Instead, they were being taught a corrupted form of religion. They learned hypocrisy, legalism, and a distorted view of God. The original vices of their former lives were now compounded by the spiritual deception and moral decay learned from their new teachers.
Think of it this way: the outsider already had their own flaws. But by joining the Pharisees, they didn't shed those flaws; they added a new layer of religious pretense and outward show that masked an inner corruption, making them "twice as much" deserving of judgment.
Understand the original words
prosēlytos · Greek Noun
A person who has converted from paganism to Judaism, undergoing ritual initiation; in the NT, it implies a commitment to the legalistic traditions of the religious leaders.
geenna · Greek Noun
A biblical metaphor for the place of final judgment and eternal separation from God; a state of extreme moral corruption or spiritual death.
Jesus' strong words here highlight the corrupting influence of the Pharisees' mission. Their intense efforts to gain converts often resulted in leading people away from true righteousness into deeper hypocrisy, a stark contrast to the genuine spiritual transformation God desires.
c. 140 BC
John Hyrcanus I expands territory
John Hyrcanus I, ruler of Judea, offered Idumeans the choice of exile, death, or circumcision, effectively forcing Jewish religion on them.
c. 1st century BC - 1st century AD
Rise of Pharisaic influence
The Pharisees gained significant popular influence, becoming known for their diligent efforts to convert Gentiles to Judaism.
c. 1st century AD
Proselytes viewed with suspicion
Proselytes, especially those converted by the Pharisees, were often seen by some Jews as deeply flawed and even hindrances to God's kingdom.
c. AD 30-33— this verse
Jesus' Ministry and Teachings
Jesus delivers the Sermon on the Mount and later pronounces woes on the scribes and Pharisees, condemning their spiritual hypocrisy and practices.
This passage echoes the condemnation of the scribes and Pharisees for taking away the 'key of knowledge,' directly linking their actions to shutting people out of the Kingdom of Heaven, a theme also present in Matthew 23:15.
Romans 2:17-24Paul critiques the Jewish leaders who, while boasting in the Law and teaching others, fail to live by it themselves, directly paralleling the hypocrisy Jesus condemns in Matthew 23:15.
2 Peter 2:1-3This passage warns of false teachers who will secretly bring destructive heresies and make merchandise of people, much like the Pharisees' manipulative proselytism in Matthew 23:15 that led converts to destruction.
Jeremiah 4:22This Old Testament passage describes a people who are foolish and lack knowledge, and who claim to heal the wounds of the nation superficially, reflecting the spiritual damage caused by the false teachings Jesus denounces in Matthew 23:15.
calvinMatthew 23:13-15: "But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in."
- But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you do not enter yourselves, and do not permit those who come to enter. 14. And woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you devour widows' houses, and that under the disgu…
henryMatthew 23:13-33: "But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in."
23:13-33 The scribes and Pharisees were enemies to the gospel of Christ, and therefore to the salvation of the souls of men. It is bad to keep away from Christ ourselves, but worse also to keep others from him. Yet it is no new thing for the show and form of godliness to be made a cloak to t…
Jesus here reveals that the scribes and Pharisees' relentless pursuit of converts wasn't about genuine faith, but about inflating their own influence and power. By bringing people into their distorted version of Judaism, they weren't leading them to God, but instead making them even more spiritually lost and deserving of judgment than themselves.
Jesus is in the midst of a public denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees, delivering a series of "woes" that expose their hypocrisy and spiritual corruption. He has already condemned them for locking the kingdom of heaven, devouring widows' houses, and for their false piety. This verse continues that scathing critique by highlighting their zealous efforts to convert people to their sect.
Jesus is in the midst of a public denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees, delivering a series of "woes" that expose their hypocrisy and spiritual corruption. He has already condemned them for locking the kingdom of heaven, devouring widows' houses, and for their false piety. This verse continues that scathing critique by highlighting their zealous efforts to convert people to their sect.
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves." — Jesus here reveals that the scribes and Pharisees' relentless pursuit of converts wasn't about genuine faith, but about inflating their own influence and power. By bringing people into their distorte…
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Last reviewed October 2026