Matthew 23:35
That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Study Note
Study Note
'That on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar' — Jesus's woe over Jerusalem names the full span of canonical martyrdom: from the first murder (Genesis 4) to the last in the Hebrew canon (2 Chronicles 24:20–22). The rhetorical strategy sweeps the entirety of Israel's history of rejecting the prophets into a single accumulation of guilt, framing the cross as the culmination of a long pattern of violence against God's messengers. The identification of Zechariah's father as 'Barachiah' (unlike 2 Chronicles 24:20, which names him Jehoiada) has exercised commentators: it may conflate two figures or reflect a separate tradition. The verse belongs to the most sustained prophetic denunciation in Matthew's Gospel (chapter 23), climaxing in the lament over Jerusalem (verses 37–39).
Other Translations
that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous unto the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the altar.
that on you may come all the righteous blood being poured out on the earth from the blood of Abel the righteous, unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the altar:
So that on you may come all the blood of the upright on the earth, from the blood of upright Abel to the blood of Zachariah, son of Barachiah, whom you put to death between the Temple and the altar.
Cross References
And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain …
And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, …
Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot …
And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.
Be merciful, O Lord, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people …
Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin …
And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the Lord would …
And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and …
Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. …