Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.
Which say, stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou - (Matthew 9:11; Luke 5:30; Luke 18:11; Jude 1:19.) Applicable to the hypocritical self-justifiers of our Lord's time.
These (are) a smoke in my nose - alluding to the smoke of their self-righteous sacrifices. The fire of God's wrath was kindled at the sight, and exhibited itself in the smoke that breathed forth from His nostrils; in the Hebrew, the nose is the seat of anger: and the nostrils distended in wrath, as it were, breathe forth smoke (Rosenmuller). (Psalms 18:8.)