Matthew 21:12
Greek (Tischendorf 8th ed.) Matthew 21:12 appears in the Greek New Testament. The text above is from the Tischendorf 8th edition. Each word links to its Strong’s number and a concise gloss. Click any word for its full Thayer’s Greek Lexicon entry.Jesus entered into the temple of God, and drove out all of those who sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the money-changers' tables and the seats of those who sold the doves.
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Compare translations 3
The same verse in 3 English versions, stacked beneath the original-language interlinear above. Click any original word for its lexicon entry.
Each is an independent rendering of the whole verse — the interlinear is not word-aligned to these translations.
Highlighted words mark where these versions differ — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment.
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World English Bible Public Domain
Jesus entered into the temple of God, and drove out all of those who sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the money-changers' tables and the seats of those who sold the doves.
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King James Version Public Domain
And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
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unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
And Jesus entered into the temple and cast out all the ones selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of the ones selling the doves.
unfoldingWord Literal Text — © unfoldingWord, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Word-aligned USFM3 via Door43 (git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult).
Show all 19 translations
Every available English version of this verse, each an independent rendering of the whole verse.
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World English Bible Public Domain
Jesus entered into the temple of God, and drove out all of those who sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the money-changers' tables and the seats of those who sold the doves.
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Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Then Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves.
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Majority Standard Bible Public Domain
Then Jesus entered the temple of God and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves.
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King James Version Public Domain
And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
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American Standard Version (1901) Public Domain
And Jesus entered into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of he money-changers, and the seats of them that sold the doves;
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Revised Version (1885) Public Domain
And Jesus entered into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold the doves;
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Geneva Bible (1599) Public Domain
And Iesus went into the Temple of God, and cast out all them that solde and bought in the Temple, and ouerthrew the tables of the money chagers, and the seates of them that sold doues,
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Douay-Rheims (1899) Public Domain
And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the chairs of them that sold doves:
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Young's Literal Translation Public Domain
And Jesus entered into the temple of God, and did cast forth all those selling and buying in the temple, and the tables of the money-changers he overturned, and the seats of those selling the doves,
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Literal Standard Version CC BY-SA 4.0
And Jesus entered into the temple of God, and cast forth all those selling and buying in the temple, and the tables of the money-changers He overturned, and the seats of those selling the doves,
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Unlocked Literal Bible CC BY-SA 4.0
Then Jesus entered the temple. He cast out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and turned over the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.
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unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
And Jesus entered into the temple and cast out all the ones selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of the ones selling the doves.
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Darby Bible Public Domain
And Jesus entered into the temple [of God], and cast out all that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those that sold the doves.
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World Messianic Bible Public Domain
Yeshua entered into the temple of God and drove out all of those who sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the money changers’ tables and the seats of those who sold the doves.
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Webster's Bible Public Domain
And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold doves.
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Free Bible Version CC BY-SA 4.0
Jesus went into the Temple, and threw out all the people buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the chairs of the dove-sellers.
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Bible in Basic English Public Domain
And Jesus went into the Temple and sent out all who were trading there, overturning the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those trading in doves.
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Text-Critical English NT CC BY 4.0
Then Jesus entered the courts of God's temple and drove out all who were selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.
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Tyndale New Testament (1534) Public Domain
And Iesus went in to the temple of God and cast out all them that soulde and bought in the temple and overthrew the tables of the mony chaugers and the seates of them that solde doves
Literal Standard Version (2020), Covenant Press — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org). Unlocked Literal Bible (unfoldingWord) — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org). unfoldingWord Literal Text — © unfoldingWord, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Word-aligned USFM3 via Door43 (git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult). Free Bible Version, Dr. Jonathan Gallagher — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org).
Word by word
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- Appears 3× in the Greek New Testament
- First appears here
- Part of Speech
- Noun
- Case
- Genitive
- Number
- Plural
- Gender
- Masculine
Full Thayer's Definition
- Καὶ kaí G2532 “and” Conjunction
- εἰσῆλθεν eisérchomai G1525 “to enter” Verb, Aorist, Active, Indicative, 3rd person, Singular
- Ἰησοῦς Iēsoûs G2424 “Jesus” Noun, Nominative, Singular, Masculine
- εἰς eis G1519 “into” Preposition
- τὸ ho G3588 “the” Article, Accusative, Singular, Neuter
- ἱερόν hierón G2411 “temple” Noun, Accusative, Singular, Neuter
- τοῦ ho G3588 “the” Article, Genitive, Singular, Masculine
- θεοῦ theós G2316 “God” Noun, Genitive, Singular, Masculine
- καὶ kaí G2532 “and” Conjunction
- ἐξέβαλεν ekbállō G1544 “to cast out” Verb, Aorist, Active, Indicative, 3rd person, Singular
- πάντας pâs G3956 “all” Adjective, Accusative, Plural, Masculine
- τοὺς ho G3588 “the” Article, Accusative, Plural, Masculine
- πωλοῦντας pōléō G4453 “to sell” Verb, Present, Active, Participle, Accusative, Plural, Masculine
- καὶ kaí G2532 “and” Conjunction
- ἀγοράζοντας agorázō G59 “to loiter in marketplace” Verb, Present, Active, Participle, Accusative, Plural, Masculine
- ἐν en G1722 “in” Preposition
- τῷ ho G3588 “the” Article, Dative, Singular, Neuter
- ἱερῷ hierón G2411 “temple” Noun, Dative, Singular, Neuter
- καὶ kaí G2532 “and” Conjunction
- τὰς ho G3588 “the” Article, Accusative, Plural, Feminine
- τραπέζας trápeza G5132 “table” Noun, Accusative, Plural, Feminine
- τῶν ho G3588 “the” Article, Genitive, Plural, Masculine
- κολλυβιστῶν kollybistḗs G2855 “money-changer” Noun, Genitive, Plural, Masculine
- κατέστρεψεν katastréphō G2690 “to overthrow” Verb, Aorist, Active, Indicative, 3rd person, Singular
- καὶ kaí G2532 “and” Conjunction
- τὰς ho G3588 “the” Article, Accusative, Plural, Feminine
- καθέδρας kathédra G2515 “seat” Noun, Accusative, Plural, Feminine
- τῶν ho G3588 “the” Article, Genitive, Plural, Masculine
- πωλούντων pōléō G4453 “to sell” Verb, Present, Active, Participle, Genitive, Plural, Masculine
- τὰς ho G3588 “the” Article, Accusative, Plural, Feminine
- περιστεράς peristerá G4058 “dove” Noun, Accusative, Plural, Feminine
About this verse
These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →
- 31
- words
- 17
- distinct lemmas
- Gospels
- section
Notable vocabulary
The rarest word here is κολλυβιστῶν money-changer G2855 — appearing just 3 times in the whole Greek New Testament.
First appearance in Scripture
These words make their first canonical appearance in the Greek New Testament here:
Shared distinctive vocabulary
κολλυβιστῶν money-changer G2855 occurs in 3 verses of the Greek New Testament. Also found in:
Cross-references
17Topical passages linked to Matthew 21:12 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.
- John 2:14–17 He found in the temple those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, and the changers of money sitting.
- Luke 19:45–47 He entered into the temple, and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it,
- Mark 11:15–18 They came to Jerusalem, and Jesus entered into the temple, and began to throw out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of those who sold the doves.
- Leviticus 1:14 "'If his offering to Yahweh is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall offer his offering of turtledoves, or of young pigeons.
- Leviticus 5:7 "'If he can't afford a lamb, then he shall bring his trespass offering for that in which he has sinned, two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, to Yahweh; one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering.
- Luke 2:24 and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, "A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons."
- Deuteronomy 14:24–26 If the way be too long for you, so that you are not able to carry it, because the place is too far from you, which Yahweh your God shall choose, to set his name there, when Yahweh your God shall bless you;
- Exodus 30:13 They shall give this, everyone who passes over to those who are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary; (the shekel is twenty gerahs;) half a shekel for an offering to Yahweh.
- Leviticus 12:8 If she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves, or two young pigeons; the one for a burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering: and the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean.'"
- Leviticus 14:22 and two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to afford; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering.
- Leviticus 12:6 "'When the days of her purification are completed, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the door of the Tent of Meeting, a year old lamb for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering:
- Leviticus 14:30 He shall offer one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, such as he is able to afford,
- Malachi 3:1–2 "Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, behold, he comes!" says Yahweh of hosts.
- Mark 11:11 Jesus entered into the temple in Jerusalem. When he had looked around at everything, it being now evening, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
- Leviticus 15:14 "'On the eighth day he shall take two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, and come before Yahweh to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and give them to the priest:
- Leviticus 15:29 On the eighth day she shall take two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, and bring them to the priest, to the door of the Tent of Meeting.
- Leviticus 5:11 "'But if he can't afford two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, then he shall bring his offering for that in which he has sinned, the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering. He shall put no oil on it, neither shall he put any frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering.
Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).
Where the printed editions differ
1 variantPlaces in this verse where the major printed Greek editions disagree on the wording in a way that affects the translation — a comparison of editions, not a manuscript-by-manuscript collation. The editions are the modern critical texts (Nestlé-Aland 28/27, SBL, Westcott-Hort, Tregelles, Tyndale House) and the traditional texts behind the KJV (the Textus Receptus and the Byzantine/Majority text). It is not a claim about which reading is original.
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Extra text
τοῦ θεοῦ
“<the> of God”
In TRByz Not in NA28NA27TynSBLWHTregτοῦ θεοῦ (tou theou) ' of God' is only in traditional manuscripts (TR+Byz)
Textual data: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (STEPBible TAGNT) · CC BY 4.0.
Lesson kit
Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.
Matthew, in the Gospels, opens this verse with 31 words (17 distinct Greek lemmas). Its most distinctive word is kollybistḗs (“money-changer”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.
Discussion questions
- How does “money-changer” (kollybistḗs) shape what this verse is saying?
- 3 words here appear for the first time in Scripture. What is being introduced at this debut?
- Mark 11:15 shares the word «money-changer» with this verse. How do the two illuminate each other?
- “temple” occurs 2× in this one verse. What is the effect of the repetition?
- These translations render this verse differently. What is at stake in choosing one wording over another?
- Reading how Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible and The Biblical Illustrator read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?
Things to notice
- 3 words make their first canonical appearance in Scripture here.
- These translations choose different wording for 17 words in this verse.
- “temple” occurs 2× in this single verse.
- 17 distinct Greek lemmas span 31 words in this verse.
Commentary
Notes on Matthew 21:12 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.
Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator
Joseph S. Exell
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Joseph Benson's Commentary
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary
Joseph S. Exell (gen. ed.)
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Broadus on Matthew
John A. Broadus
John A. Broadus, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew (American Baptist Publication Society, 1886) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Godbey's Commentary on the New Testament
William B. Godbey
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale Open Resources
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Bengel's Gnomon
Johann Albrecht Bengel
Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Meyer's Critical & Exegetical Commentary
Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer
Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Expositor's Greek Testament
ed. W. Robertson Nicoll
The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill's Exposition
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Trapp's Complete Commentary
John Trapp
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Matthew Poole's English Annotations
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
Daniel D. Whedon
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Scofield Reference Notes
C. I. Scofield
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Kretzmann's Popular Commentary
Paul E. Kretzmann
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament
William Burkitt
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
McGarvey & Pendleton's Commentaries
J. W. McGarvey
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The People's New Testament
B. W. Johnson
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
unfoldingWord translationNotes
Door43 World Missions Community
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges
Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alford’s Greek Testament
Henry Alford
Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
International Critical Commentary
International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament
Marvin R. Vincent
Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.