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Matthew 23:35
ESV so 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.
NIV And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
NASB so that upon you will fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
CSB So all the righteous blood shed on the earth will be charged to you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.
NLT As a result, you will be held responsible for the murder of all godly people of all time — from the murder of righteous Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you killed in the Temple between the sanctuary and the altar.
KJV 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.
NKJV that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

What does Matthew 23:35 mean?

God's wrath is something which can be stored up until sin reaches a tipping point; then God begins to pour out judgment (Matthew 23:29–34). The Pharisees and scribes of Jesus' era will reach that tipping point with their own sinful actions. As predicted by Christ, these men will continue to murder and oppress those who believe in Jesus (Acts 8:1–3). In a chilling metaphor, Jesus speaks of that generation experiencing a reckoning for thousands of years of sin.

The "righteous" ones listed here are those who followed God in humility and sincerity. Abel was the victim of humanity's first murder, killed by his brother, Cain, in a jealous rage (Genesis 4:4–8). Zechariah's murder, as an act against God's messenger (2 Chronicles 24:20–22), is also connected to the sin of these scribes and Pharisees. These two incidents occur early in the book of Genesis and late in the book of 2 Chronicles. In the Jewish Scriptures of that time, those were considered the first and last books, respectively. In a literary sense, this implies all prophets and messengers martyred in the Old Testament.

Skeptics sometimes note that Jesus mentions Barachiah as Zechariah's father. The name given for the father of a man named Zechariah in 2 Chronicles chapter 24 is Jehoiada. Jesus might possibly be referring to the prophet mentioned in Zechariah 1:1. Or, the Zechariah of 2 Chronicles was the descendant of a man named Barachiah, not necessarily his immediate son.

It is interesting that the Zechariah described in 2 Chronicles 24:20–22 said, "May the Lord see and avenge!" as he was dying. Jesus predicts that very vengeance will be delivered upon the scribes and Pharisees of His own day.
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