“And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.”
King James Version (KJV)
23:16 Wo to you, ye blind guides - Before he had styled them hypocrites, from their personal character: now he gives them another title, respecting their influence upon others. Both these appellations are severely put together in the 23d and #Mt 23:23|,25. 25th verses; and this severity rises to the height in the 33d verse. The gold of the temple - The treasure kept there. He is bound - To keep his oath.
23:20 He that sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon - Not only by the gift, but by the holy fire, and the sacrifice; and above all, by that God to whom they belong; inasmuch as every oath by a creature is an implicit appeal to God.
Mt 23:18-20 Swear by the altar. That of the temple, the only altar known in Israel. Sweareth by the gift. The offering placed on the altar.