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12 (A)Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all those engaged in selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.[a](B) 13 (C)And he said to them, “It is written:

‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’[b]
    but you are making it a den of thieves.”

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Footnotes

  1. 21:12 These activities were carried on in the court of the Gentiles, the outermost court of the temple area. Animals for sacrifice were sold; the doves were for those who could not afford a more expensive offering; see Lv 5:7. Tables of the money changers: only the coinage of Tyre could be used for the purchases; other money had to be exchanged for that.
  2. 21:13 ‘My house…prayer’: cf. Is 56:7. Matthew omits the final words of the quotation, “for all peoples” (“all nations”), possibly because for him the worship of the God of Israel by all nations belongs to the time after the resurrection; see Mt 28:19. A den of thieves: the phrase is taken from Jer 7:11.

15 They came to Jerusalem,(A) and on entering the temple area he began to drive out those selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. 16 He did not permit anyone to carry anything through the temple area. 17 Then he taught them saying, “Is it not written:

‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples’?
    But you have made it a den of thieves.”(B)

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The Cleansing of the Temple. 45 (A)Then Jesus entered the temple area[a] and proceeded to drive out those who were selling things,(B) 46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.’”(C)

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Footnotes

  1. 19:45–46 Immediately upon entering the holy city, Jesus in a display of his authority enters the temple (see Mal 3:1–3) and lays claim to it after cleansing it that it might become a proper place for his teaching ministry in Jerusalem (Lk 19:47; 20:1; 21:37; 22:53). See Mt 21:12–17; Mk 11:15–19; Jn 2:13–17 and the notes there.