Matthew 23
1 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds, and to his disciples,
Then Jesus addressed the crowds and His disciples.
2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have sat down in the chair of Moses.
"The Scribes," He said, "and the Pharisees sit in the chair of Moses.
3 Therefore, all things whatsoever that they shall say to you, observe and do. Yet truly, do not choose to act according to their works. For they say, but they do not do.
Therefore do and observe everything that they command you; but do not imitate their lives, for though they tell others what to do, they do not do it themselves.
4 For they bind up heavy and unbearable burdens, and they impose them on men’s shoulders. But they are not willing to move them with even a finger of their own.
Heavy and cumbrous burdens they bind together and load men's shoulders with them, while as for themselves, not with one finger do they choose to lift them.
5 Truly, they do all their works so that they may be seen by men. For they enlarge their phylacteries and glorify their hems.
And everything they do they do with a view to being observed by men; for they widen their phylacteries and make the tassels large,
6 And they love the first places at feasts, and the first chairs in the synagogues,
and love the best seats at a dinner party or in the synagogues,
7 and greetings in the marketplace, and to be called Master by men.
and like to be bowed to in places of public resort, and to be addressed by men as 'Rabbi.'
8 But you must not be called Master. For One is your Master, and you are all brothers.
"As for you, do not accept the title of 'Rabbi,' for one alone is your Teacher, and you are all brothers.
9 And do not choose to call anyone on earth your father. For One is your Father, who is in heaven.
And call no one on earth your Father, for One alone is your Father--the Heavenly Father.
10 Neither should you be called teachers. For One is your Teacher, the Christ.
And do not accept the name of 'leader,' for your Leader is one alone--the Christ.
11 Whoever is greater among you shall be your minister.
He who is the greatest among you shall be your servant;
12 But whoever has exalted himself, shall be humbled. And whoever has humbled himself, shall be exalted.
and one who exalts himself shall be abased, while one who abases himself shall be exalted.
13 So then: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you close the kingdom of heaven before men. For you yourselves do not enter, and those who are entering, you would not permit to enter.
"But alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you lock the door of the Kingdom of the Heavens against men; you yourselves do not enter, nor do you allow those to enter who are seeking to do so.
14 Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you consume the houses of widows, praying long prayers. Because of this, you shall receive the greater judgment.
15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you travel around by sea and by land, in order to make one convert. And when he has been converted, you make him twice the son of Hell that you are yourselves. (Geenna g1067)
"Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you scour sea and land in order to win one convert--and when he is gained, you make him twice as much a son of Gehenna as yourselves. (Geenna g1067)
16 Woe to you, blind guides, who say: ‘Whoever will have sworn by the temple, it is nothing. But whoever will have sworn by the gold of the temple is obligated.’
"Alas for you, you blind guides, who say, "'Whoever swears by the Sanctuary it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the Sanctuary, is bound by the oath.'
17 You are foolish and blind! For which is greater: the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold?
"Blind fools! Why, which is greater? --the gold, or the Sanctuary which has made the gold holy?
18 And you say: ‘Whoever will have sworn by the altar, it is nothing. But whoever will have sworn by the gift that is on the altar is obligated.’
And you say, "'Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the offering lying on it is bound by the oath.'
19 How blind you are! For which is greater: the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift?
"You are blind! Why, which is greater? --the offering, or the altar which makes the offering holy?
20 Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears by it, and by all that is on it.
He who swears by the altar swears both by it and by everything on it;
21 And whoever will have sworn by the temple, swears by it, and by him who dwells in it.
he who swears by the Sanctuary swears both by it and by Him who dwells in it;
22 And whoever swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God, and by him who sits upon it.
and he who swears by Heaven swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.
23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you collect tithes on mint and dill and cumin, but you have abandoned the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, while not omitting the others.
"Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you pay the tithe on mint, dill, and cumin, while you have neglected the weightier requirements of the Law--just judgement, mercy, and faithful dealing. These things you ought to have done, and yet you ought not to have left the others undone.
24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat, while swallowing a camel!
You blind guides, straining out the gnat while you gulp down the camel!
25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you clean what is outside the cup and the dish, but on the inside you are full of avarice and impurity.
"Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you wash clean the outside of the cup or dish, while within they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the dish, and then what is outside becomes clean.
Blind Pharisee, first wash clean the inside of the cup or dish, and then the outside will be clean also.
27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed sepulchers, which outwardly appear brilliant to men, yet truly, inside, they are filled with the bones of the dead and with all filth.
"Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are just like whitewashed sepulchres, the outside of which pleases the eye, though inside they are full of dead men's bones and of all that is unclean.
28 So also, you certainly appear to men outwardly to be just. But inwardly you are filled with hypocrisy and iniquity.
The same is true of you: outwardly you seem to the human eye to be good and honest men, but, within, you are full of insincerity and disregard of God's Law.
29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites, who build the sepulchers of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the just.
"Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you repair the sepulchres of the Prophets and keep in order the tombs of the righteous,
30 And then you say, ‘If we had been there in the days of our fathers, we would not have joined with them in the blood of the prophets.’
and your boast is, "'If we had lived in the time of our forefathers, we should not have been implicated with them in the murder of the Prophets.'
31 And so you are witnesses against yourselves, that you are the sons of those who killed the prophets.
"So that you bear witness against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the Prophets.
32 Complete, then, the measure of your fathers.
Fill up the measure of your forefathers' guilt.
O serpents, O vipers' brood, how are you to escape condemnation to Gehenna? (Geenna g1067)
34 For this reason, behold, I send to you prophets and wise men, and scribes. And some of these you will put to death and crucify; and some you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city,
"For this reason I am sending to you Prophets and wise men and Scribes. Some of them you will put to death--nay, crucify; some of them you will flog in your synagogues and chase from town to town;
35 so that upon you may fall all the blood of the just, which has been shed upon the earth, from the blood of Abel the just, even to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the temple and the altar.
that all the innocent blood shed upon earth may come on you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Berechiah whom you murdered between the Sanctuary and the altar.
36 Amen I say to you, all these things shall fall upon this generation.
I tell you in solemn truth that all these things will come upon the present generation.
37 Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and stone those who have been sent to you. How often I have wanted to gather your children together, in the way that a hen gathers her young under her wings. But you were not willing!
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! thou who murderest the Prophets and stonest those who have been sent to thee! how often have I desired to gather thy children to me, just as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not come!
38 Behold, your house shall be abandoned to you, having been deserted.
See, your house will now be left to you desolate!
39 For I say to you, you shall not see me again, until you say: ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
For I tell you that you will never see me again until you say, 'Blessed be He who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
