A.T. Robertson Commentary Matthew 23:17

"Ye fools and blind: for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that hath sanctified the gold?" — Matthew 23:17 (ASV)

Ye fools (μωρο). In 5:22 Jesus had warned against calling a man μωρος in a rage, but here he so terms the blind Pharisees for their stupidity, description of the class. "It shows that not the word but the spirit in which it is uttered is what matters" (McNeile).