Luke 11:42

42 "I've had it with you! You're hopeless, you Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but manage to find loopholes for getting around basic matters of justice and God's love. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required.

Luke 11:42 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 11:42

But woe unto you Pharisees
Though these words, with several other passages in this chapter, are much alike with those in Matthew 23 yet it is clear that they were spoken at different times, these in the house of a Pharisee, and they in the temple at Jerusalem:

for ye tithe mint and rue; (See Gill on Matthew 23:23) the Persic version here reads, "mint and anise", as there; and the Ethiopic version only "hyssop":

and all manner of herbs;
or "every herb"; that is, all sorts of herbs that grow in the garden, and were not common to all;

and pass over judgment, and the love of God:
by "judgment" may be meant justice, or doing that which is right between man and man, both publicly and privately, which was greatly neglected by these extortioners and unjust men: and by "the love of God" may be intended, both love to God, which shows itself in the observance of the first table of the law, and love to the neighbour, which God requires, and regards the second table:

these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone;
(See Gill on Matthew 23:23).

Luke 11:42 In-Context

40 Stupid Pharisees! Didn't the One who made the outside also make the inside?
41 Turn both your pockets and your hearts inside out and give generously to the poor; then your lives will be clean, not just your dishes and your hands.
42 "I've had it with you! You're hopeless, you Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but manage to find loopholes for getting around basic matters of justice and God's love. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required.
43 "You're hopeless, you Pharisees! Frauds! You love sitting at the head table at church dinners, love preening yourselves in the radiance of public flattery.
44 Frauds! You're just like unmarked graves: People walk over that nice, grassy surface, never suspecting the rot and corruption that is six feet under."
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.