Matthew 16:6
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
Then Jesus said to them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
American King James Version (AKJV)
Then Jesus said to them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
American Standard Version (ASV)
And Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
And Jesus said to them, Take care to have nothing to do with the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Webster's Revision
Then Jesus said to them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
World English Bible
Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
English Revised Version (ERV)
And Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Definitions for Matthew 16:6
Clarke's Matthew 16:6 Bible Commentary
Beware of the leaven - What the leaven of Pharisees and Sadducees was has been already explained, see Matthew 16:1. Bad doctrines act in the soul as leaven does in meal; they assimulate the whole Spirit to their own nature. A man's particular creed has a greater influence on his tempers and conduct than most are aware of. Pride, hypocrisy, and worldly-mindedness, which constituted the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, ruin the major part of the world.
Barnes's Matthew 16:6 Bible Commentary
Take heed ... - That is, be cautious, be on your guard.
The leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees - Leaven is used in making bread.
It passes secretly, silently, but certainly through the mass of dough. See the notes at Matthew 13:33. "None can see its progress." So it was with the doctrines of the Pharisees. They were insinuating, artful, plausible. They concealed the real tendency of their doctrines; they instilled them secretly into the mind, until they pervaded all the faculties like leaven.
They reasoned ... - The disciples did not understand him as referring to the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees, because the word "leaven" was not often used among the Jews to denote doctrines, no other instance of this use of the word occurring in the Scriptures. Besides, the Jews had many particular rules about the leaven (yeast) which might be used in making bread. Many held that it was not lawful to eat bread made by the Gentiles; and the disciples, perhaps, supposed that he was cautioning them not to procure a supply from the Pharisees and Sadducees.
O ye of little faith! - Jesus, in reply, said that they should not be so anxious about the supply of their temporal wants. They should not have supposed, after the miracles that he had performed in feeding so many, that he would caution them to be anxious about procuring bread for their necessities. It was improper, then, for them to reason about a thing like that, but they should have supposed that he referred to something more important. The miracles had been full proof that he could supply all their wants without such anxiety.
Wesley's Matthew 16:6 Bible Commentary
16:6 Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees - That is, of their false doctrine: this is elegantly so called; for it spreads in the soul, or the Church, as leaven does in meal. Luke 12:1.