Matthew 16:6

  Matthew 16:6

 And Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

a. NASB 2020: And Jesus said to them, “Watch out and beware of the [fn]leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” [NASB20 New American Standard Bible. Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation; All Rights Reserved]

b. YLT: And Jesus said to them, 'Beware, and take heed of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees;'  [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. Classic Amplified: Jesus said to them, Be careful and on your guard against the leaven (ferment) of the Pharisees and Sadducees.  [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. Peshitta Eastern Text: He said to them, Look out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.  [HOLY BIBLE FROM THE ANCIENT EASTERN TEXT. Copyright  Ⓒ 1933 by A.J. Holmon Co.; copyright  Ⓒ renewed 1968 by A.J. Holmon Co.; All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.]

e. ESV: Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” [Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved."]

1. “And Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

a. [Strong: 3588. [ho] ὁ ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [ho] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.] [Additional variants: tē, hoi, oi, tēn, ta, tēs, tois, tais, tō, tōn, tou, hé, Hē, hē, hai, tas.]

b. And [Strong: 1161 dé, deh; a primary particle (adversative or continuative); but, and, etc.:—also, and, but, moreover, now (often unexpressed in English).]

c. said [Strong: 2036 épō, ep'-o; a primary verb (used only in the definite past tense, the others being borrowed from G2046, G4483, and G5346); to speak or say (by word or writing):—answer, bid, bring word, call, command, grant, say (on), speak, tell.]

d. [unto] them [Strong: 846 autós, ow-tos'; from the particle αὖ aû (perhaps akin to the base of G109 through the idea of a baffling wind) (backward); the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons:—her, it(-self), one, the other, (mine) own, said, (self-), the) same, ((him-, my-, thy- )self, (your-)selves, she, that, their(-s), them(-selves), there(-at, - by, -in, -into, -of, -on, -with), they, (these) things, this (man), those, together, very, which.]

e. Take heed [Strong: 3708 horáō, hor-ah'-o; properly, to stare at (compare G3700), i.e. (by implication) to discern clearly (physically or mentally); by extension, to attend to; by Hebraism, to experience; passively, to appear:—behold, perceive, see, take heed.]

f. and [Strong: 2532 kaí, kahee; apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words:—and, also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so, that, then, therefore, when, yet.]

g. beware [Strong: 4337 proséchō, pros-ekh'-o; from G4314 and G2192; (figuratively) to hold the mind (3563 implied) towards, i.e. pay attention to, be cautious about, apply oneself to, adhere to:—(give) attend(-ance, -ance at, -ance to, unto), beware, be given to, give (take) heed (to unto); have regard.]

h. of [Strong: 575 apó, apo'; a primary particle; "off," i.e. away (from something near), in various senses (of place, time, or relation; literal or figurative):—(X here-)after, ago, at, because of, before, by (the space of), for(-th), from, in, (out) of, off, (up-)on(-ce), since, with.]

i. the [Strong: 3588. [tēs] ὁ ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [tēs] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.] [Additional variants: tē, hoi, oi, tēn, ta, tēs, tois, tais, tō, tōn, tou, hé, Hē, hē, hai, tas.]

j. leaven [Strong: 2219 zýmē, dzoo'-may; probably from G2204; ferment (as if boiling up):—leaven.]

1). Unger’s Bible Dictionary: Leaven…is symbolic or typical of evil, always having this implication in the Old Testament. In the New Testament its symbolic meaning is also clear. It is “malice and wickedness” as contrasted with “sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:6-8). It represents evil doctrine (Matthew 16:12) in its three fold manifestations of Phariseeism, Sadduceeism and Herodianism (Matthew 16:6; Mark 8:15). Religious externalism constituted the leaven of the Pharisees (Matthew 23:14, 16, 28). A skeptical attitude toward the supernatural was the leaven of the Sadducees (Matthew 22:23, 29). The spirit of worldly compromise was the leaven of the Herodians (Matthew 22:16-21; Mark 3:6). The parable of the leaven “which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal until the whole was leavened.”

2). The leaven of the Pharisees was also teaching the commandments of men as doctrine, (Matthew 15:1-9).

3). C.I. Scofield: “Leaven is the principle of corruption working subtly; is invariably used in a bad sense..”

4). In the gospel of Luke, Jesus revealed the leaven of the Pharisees was hypocrisy.

a). Luke 12:1  In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

5). The parable is concerning corruption in the kingdom of heaven and it is a woman hiding the leaven in the meal until the whole is corrupted. Leaven is identified as “malice and wickedness” by Paul and in this passage of Matthew 16:5-12, it was understood by the disciples to be the false doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees..

a). 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?

1 Corinthians 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

1 Corinthians 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

b). Matthew 16:5-12 And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.

16:6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

16:7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread.

16:8 Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?

16:9 Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?

16:10 Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?

16:11 How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?

16:12 Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

k. [of] the [Strong: 3588. [tōn] ὁ ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [tōn] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.] [Additional variants: tē, hoi, oi, tēn, ta, tēs, tois, tais, tō, tōn, tou, hé, Hē, hē, hai, tas.]

l. Pharisees [Strong: 5330 Pharisaîos, far-is-ah'-yos; of Hebrew origin (compare H6567); a separatist, i.e. exclusively religious; a Pharisean, i.e. Jewish sectary:—Pharisee.]

m. and [Strong: 2532 kaí, kahee; apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words:—and, also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so, that, then, therefore, when, yet.]

n. Sadducees [Strong: 4523 Saddoukaîos, sad-doo-kah'-yos; probably from G4524; a Sadducæan (i.e. Tsadokian), or follower of a certain heretical Israelite:—Sadducee.]