And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.
And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees - "and of the Sadducees" (Matthew 16:6),
And of the leaven of Herod. The teaching or "doctrine" (Matthew 16:12) of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees was quite different, but both were equally pernicious; and the Herodians, though rather a political party, were equally envenomed against our Lord's spiritual teaching. See the note at Matthew 12:14. The penetrating and diffusive quality of leaven, for good bad, is the ground of the comparison.