19 and hast confidence that thou thyself art a leader of the blind, a light of those who [are] in darkness,
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and am grown rich, and have need of nothing, and knowest not that *thou* art the wretched and the miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked; I counsel thee to buy of me gold purified by fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white garments, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness may not be made manifest; and eye-salve to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest see.
*We* [are] fools for Christ's sake, but *ye* prudent in Christ: *we* weak, but *ye* strong: *ye* glorious, but *we* in dishonour.
Leave them alone; they are blind leaders of blind: but if blind lead blind, both will fall into a ditch.
Verily I say to you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, shall in no wise enter into it.
But concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know, (for we all have knowledge: knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. If any one think he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know [it].
Let no one deceive himself: if any one thinks himself to be wise among you in this world, let him become foolish, that he may be wise.
They answered and said to him, Thou hast been wholly born in sins, and thou teachest us? And they cast him out.
The officers answered, Never man spoke thus, as this man [speaks]. The Pharisees therefore answered them, Are ye also deceived? Has any one of the rulers believed on him, or of the Pharisees? But this crowd, which does not know the law, are accursed.
Woe to you, blind guides, who say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor. Fools and blind, for which is greater, the gold, or the temple which sanctifies the gold? And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it is a debtor. [Fools and] blind ones, for which is greater, the gift, or the altar which sanctifies the gift? He therefore that swears by the altar swears by it and by all things that are upon it. And he that swears by the temple swears by it and by him that dwells in it. And he that swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him that sits upon it. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye pay tithes of mint and anise and cummin, and ye have left aside the weightier matters of the law, judgment and mercy and faith: these ye ought to have done and not have left those aside. Blind guides, who strain out the gnat, but drink down the camel. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but within they are full of rapine and intemperance. Blind Pharisee, make clean first the inside of the cup and of the dish, that their outside also may become clean.
but if thine eye be wicked, thy whole body will be dark. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great the darkness!
*Ye* are the light of the world: a city situated on the top of a mountain cannot be hid.
His watchmen are all of them blind, they are without knowledge; they are all dumb dogs that cannot bark, dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber:
saying to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pasture shall be on all bare hills. They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor sun smite them; for he that hath mercy on them will lead them, and by the springs of water will he guide them.
Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and intelligent in their own esteem!
Hast thou seen a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope of a fool than of him.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Romans 2
Commentary on Romans 2 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 2
The scope of the first two chapters of this epistle may be gathered from ch. 3:9, "We have before proved both Jews and Gentiles that they are all under sin.' This we have proved upon the Gentiles (ch. 1), now in this chapter he proves it upon the Jews, as appears by v. 17, "thou art called a Jew.'
Rom 2:1-16
In the former chapter the apostle had represented the state of the Gentile world to be as bad and black as the Jews were ready enough to pronounce it. And now, designing to show that the state of the Jews was very bad too, and their sin in many respects more aggravated, to prepare his way he sets himself in this part of the chapter to show that God would proceed upon equal terms of justice with Jews and Gentiles; and now with such a partial hand as the Jews were apt to think he would use in their favour.
Rom 2:17-29
In the latter part of the chapter the apostle directs his discourse more closely to the Jews, and shows what sins they were guilty of, notwithstanding their profession and vain pretensions. He had said (v. 13) that not the hearers but the doers of the law are justified; and he here applies that great truth to the Jews. Observe,