Matthew 23
1 Then, Jesus spake unto the multitudes and unto his disciples,
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,
2 saying—Upon Moses’ seat, have sat down, the Scribes and the Pharisees:
“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat.
3 All things, therefore, whatsoever they tell you, do and observe, —but, according to their works, do ye not, for they, say, and do not, perform.
Therefore observe and do all that they tell you to observe. But do not do what they do, for they say things and do not do them.
4 But they bind together heavy burdens, and lay upon men’s shoulders, whereas, they, with their finger, are not willing to move them.
They bind burdens that are heavy and hard to bear and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
5 But, all their works, they do, to be gazed at, by men, —for they make broad their amulets, and make large their fringes,
They do all their works to be seen by others. They make their phylacteries wide and the fringes of their garments long.
6 And dearly love the first couch in the chief meals, and the first seats in the synagogues,
They love the place of honor at banquets, the best seats in the synagogues,
7 And the salutations in the market-places, and to be called by men, Rabbi.
greetings in the marketplaces, and when others call them ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’
8 But, ye, —do not be called Rabbi, —for, one, is your Teacher, and, all ye, are brethren;
But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for there is one who is your instructor, the Christ, and you are all brothers.
9 And, father, be none of you called, upon the earth, for, one, is your Father, the Heavenly;
And do not call anyone on earth your father, for there is one who is your Father, he who is in heaven.
10 Neither be called leaders, for, your leader, is one, the Christ;
Neither are you to be called instructors, for there is one who is your instructor, the Christ.
11 And, the greatest of you, shall be to you, a minister;
But he who is greater among you must be your servant.
12 And, whoever shall exalt himself, shall be, abased, and, whoever shall abase himself, shall be, exalted,
For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
13 But alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because ye are locking up the kingdom of the heavens before men, —for, ye, are not entering, neither, them who are entering, suffer ye to enter.
“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive a more severe judgment.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut people out of the kingdom of heaven. You yourselves do not enter, nor do you let in those who are trying to enter.
15 Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: because ye compass sea and dry land, to make one convert—and, when it is done, ye make him a son of gehenna, twofold more than ye. (Geenna g1067)
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross sea and land to make a single convert, and when he has become one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. (Geenna g1067)
16 Alas for you, blind guides! that say—Whosoever shall swear by the Temple, it is, nothing, but, whosoever shall swear by the gold of the Temple, is bound:
“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’
17 Foolish and blind! for which is, greater, The gold, or the Temple that hath hallowed the gold?
You fools and blind men! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred?
18 And, whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is, nothing, but, whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it, is bound:
You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’
19 Blind! for which is greater, The gift, or the altar that halloweth the gift?
You fools and blind men! Which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
20 He therefore that hath sworn by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all that is upon it;
Therefore, whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.
21 And, he that hath sworn by the Temple, sweareth by it, and by him who dwelleth therein;
And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it.
22 And, he that hath sworn by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him who sitteth thereupon.
And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.
23 Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because ye tithe the mint and the anise and the cummin, —and have dismissed the weightier matters of the law—the justice, the mercy, and the faith; whereas, these, it was binding, to do, and, those, not to, dismiss.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, yet you have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. These you ought to have practiced without neglecting the other things.
24 Blind guides! Straining out the gnat, but, the camel, swallowing.
You blind guides, who strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!
25 Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because ye cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, —while, within, they are full of plunder and intemperance.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, but the inside is filled with the fruits of your robbery and unrighteousness.
26 Blind Pharisee! cleanse, first, the inside, of the cup [and of the dish], that, the outside thereof, may become, clean.
Yoʋ blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside of them will also be clean.
27 Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because ye make yourselves like sepulchres whitewashed, which, outside, indeed, appear, beautiful, but, within, are full, of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness, —
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and all uncleanness.
28 Thus, ye also, outside, indeed, appear to men, righteous, but, within, are full, of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
In the same way, you also appear righteous to others on the outside, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and adorn the monuments of the righteous,
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the graves of the righteous,
30 and say—If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been their partners in the blood of the prophets:
and you say, ‘If we had been alive in the days of our fathers, we would not have been participants with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
31 So that ye bear witness against yourselves, that ye are, sons, of them who murdered the prophets.
Therefore you bear witness against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets.
32 And, ye, fill ye up the measure of your fathers!
Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.
You serpents, you brood of vipers! How will you escape being sentenced to hell? (Geenna g1067)
34 For this cause, lo! I, send unto you, prophets and wise men and scribes, —some from among them, ye will slay and crucify, And some from among them ye will—scourge in your synagogues, and pursue from city to city:
Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets, sages, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town.
35 That there may come upon you—all righteous blood poured out upon the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous, unto the blood of Zachariah, son of Barachiah, whom ye murdered between the Temple and the altar.
As a result, all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth will come upon you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
36 Verily, I say unto you—All these things, will have come, upon this generation.
Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
37 Jerusalem! Jerusalem! that slayeth the prophets, and stoneth them that have been sent unto her, —how often, would I have gathered thy children, like as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, —and ye would not!
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to yoʋ! How often I have wanted to gather yoʋr children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
38 Lo! your house is left to you;
Behold, your house is left to you desolate.
39 For I say unto you—in no wise, may ye see me, henceforth, until ye say, Blessed, is he that cometh, in the name of the Lord!
For I tell you, from now on you will certainly not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
