< Matthew 23 >
1 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples:
Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples,
2 “The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.
saying, The scribes and the Pharisees have set themselves down in Moses' seat:
3 So practice and observe everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
all things therefore, whatever they may tell you, do and keep. But do not after their works, for they say and do not,
4 They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
but bind burdens heavy and hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of men, but will not move them with their finger.
5 All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
And all their works they do to be seen of men: for they make broad their phylacteries and enlarge the borders [of their garments],
6 They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues,
and love the chief place in feasts and the first seats in the synagogues,
7 the greetings in the marketplaces, and the title of ‘Rabbi’ by which they are addressed.
and salutations in the market-places, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
8 But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers.
But ye, be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your instructor, and all ye are brethren.
9 And do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.
And call not [any one] your father upon the earth; for one is your Father, he who is in the heavens.
10 Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Christ.
Neither be called instructors, for one is your instructor, the Christ.
11 The greatest among you shall be your servant.
But the greatest of you shall be your servant.
12 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
And whoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled, and whoever shall humble himself shall be exalted.
13 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye shut up the kingdom of the heavens before men; for ye do not enter, nor do ye suffer those that are entering to go in.
15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You traverse land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. (Geenna )
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye compass the sea and the dry [land] to make one proselyte, and when he is become [such], ye make him twofold more [the] son of hell than yourselves. (Geenna )
16 Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’
Woe to you, blind guides, who say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor.
17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred?
Fools and blind, for which is greater, the gold, or the temple which sanctifies the gold?
18 And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’
And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it is a debtor.
19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes it sacred?
[Fools and] blind ones, for which is greater, the gift, or the altar which sanctifies the gift?
20 So then, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.
He therefore that swears by the altar swears by it and by all things that are upon it.
21 And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the One who dwells in it.
And he that swears by the temple swears by it and by him that dwells in it.
22 And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the One who sits on it.
And he that swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him that sits upon it.
23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye pay tithes of mint and anise and cummin, and ye have left aside the weightier matters of the law, judgment and mercy and faith: these ye ought to have done and not have left those aside.
24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
Blind guides, who strain out the gnat, but drink down the camel.
25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but within they are full of rapine and intemperance.
26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well.
Blind Pharisee, make clean first the inside of the cup and of the dish, that their outside also may become clean.
27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye are like whited sepulchres, which appear beautiful outwardly, but within are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.
28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
Thus also ye, outwardly ye appear righteous to men, but within are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets and adorn the tombs of the just,
30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
and ye say, If we had been in the days of our fathers we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets.
So that ye bear witness of yourselves that ye are sons of those who slew the prophets:
32 Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your fathers.
and ye, fill ye up the measure of your fathers.
33 You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape the sentence of hell? (Geenna )
Serpents, offspring of vipers, how should ye escape the judgment of hell? (Geenna )
34 Because of this, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and others you will flog in your synagogues and persecute in town after town.
Therefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes; and [some] of them ye will kill and crucify, and [some] of them ye will scourge in your synagogues, and will persecute from city to city;
35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
so that all righteous blood shed upon the earth should come upon you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
36 Truly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation.
Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, [the city] that kills the prophets and stones those that are sent unto her, how often would I have gathered thy children as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
38 Look, your house is left to you desolate.
Behold, your house is left unto you desolate;
39 For I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
for I say unto you, Ye shall in no wise see me henceforth until ye say, Blessed [be] he that comes in the name of [the] Lord.