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Matthew

About this book
Chapter 7

1 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.⁠ 2 For by the standard you judge you will be judged, and the measure you use will be the measure you receive.⁠ 3 Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to see the beam of wood in your own?⁠ 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ while there is a beam in your own? 5 You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.⁠ 6 Do not give what is holy to dogs⁠ or throw your pearls before pigs;⁠ otherwise they will trample them under their feet and turn around and tear you to pieces.⁠ 7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;⁠ knock and the door will be opened for you.⁠ 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.⁠ 9 Is there anyone among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!⁠ 12 In everything, treat others as you would want them to treat you,⁠ for this fulfills the law and the prophets.⁠ 13 “Enter through the narrow gate because the gate is wide and the way is spacious that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.⁠ 14 How narrow is the gate and difficult the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it! 15 “Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves.⁠ 16 You will recognize them by their fruit. Grapes are not gathered from thorns or figs from thistles, are they?⁠ 17 In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree is not able to bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree to bear good fruit.⁠ 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.⁠ 20 So then, you will recognize them by their fruit. 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’⁠ will enter into the kingdom of heaven—only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.⁠ 22 On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many powerful deeds in your name?’ 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Go away from me, you lawbreakers!’⁠ 24 “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on rock.⁠ 25 The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, but it did not collapse because its foundation had been laid on rock. 26 Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, and it collapsed—it was utterly destroyed!” 28 When Jesus finished saying these things,⁠ the crowds were amazed by his teaching,⁠ 29 because he taught them like one who had authority, not like their experts in the law.

Texts in conversation

Compare LXX Psalm 108:21 and Matthew 7:21

Septuagint · New Testament

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Summary

Matthew 7 uses the formulaic phrase “Lord, Lord,” which also appears in the Greek Septuagint of Psalm 108. While the psalm describes an intense plea for mercy, Jesus uses it to question the value of claims of loyalty without action.

Passages

LXX Psalm 108:21

Septuagint
19 Let it be to him as a garment which he puts on, and as a belt with which he binds himself continually. 20 This is the dealing of the Lord with those who falsely accuse me, and of those who speak evil against my soul. 21 But you, Lord, Lord, deal mercifully with me, for your name's sake: for your mercy is good. 22 Deliver me, for I am poor and needy; and my heart is troubled within me. 23 I am removed as a shadow in its going down: I am tossed up and down like locusts.
100–1 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Psalms

Matthew 7:21

New Testament
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will recognize them by their fruit. 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven—only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many powerful deeds in your name?’ 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Go away from me, you lawbreakers!’
70–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Matthew

References

"... The dual address of God as “Lord, Lord,” though not unusual, serves still to amplify the intensity and directness of Eve’s prayer. The words, κύριε κύριε, translate in LXX אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה (e.g., Deuteronomy 3:24; 9:26; Judges 6:22; 16:28; Psalm 69:7; Amos 7:2, 5; Ezekiel 23:46) or יְהוִה אֲדֹנָי (LXX Psalm 108:21; 139:8; 140:8). In Matthew 7:21–22, Jesus says straightforwardly, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’” In Luke 6:46, he asks simply, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you?” And in the parable of the bridesmaids who arrive late, they say, “Lord, lord, open to us” (Matthew 25:11) ..."
John R. Levison and Johannes Tromp, The Greek Life of Adam and Eve (Berlin: de Gruyter, 2023), 679.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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  • Jason Staples has an article on his topic too where he claims that his is Jesus applying the Divine Name (YHWH) to himself. Might be worth checking out

    joe, February 19, 2026

LXX Psalm 108:21 and Matthew 7:21

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