Matthew 23
1 Then Jesus conversed with the multitude and with his disciples,
Then Jesus, speaking to the crowds and to his disciples, said,
2 and said to them: The Scribes and Pharisees sit in the seat of Moses.
“The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees now occupy the chair of Moses.
3 Whatever therefore they tell you to observe, that observe and do. But according to their deeds, practise ye not: for they say, and do not.
Therefore practice and lay to heart everything that they preach but do not practice.
4 They tie up heavy burdens, and lay them on men's shoulders; but will not themselves touch them with their finger.
While they make up heavy loads and pile them on other people’s shoulder’s they decline, themselves, to lift a finger to move them.
5 And all their works they do, to be seen of men: for they make their phylacteries broad, and extend the fringes of their garments.
All their actions are done to attract attention. They widen their phylacteries, and increase the size of their tassels,
6 And they love the highest couches at suppers and the highest seats in the synagogues,
and like to have the place of honor at dinner, and the best seats in the synagogues,
7 and the greeting in the market places, and to be addressed by men with Rabbi.
and to be greeted in the markets with respect, and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by everybody.
8 But be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your Rabbi, and ye are all brethren.
But do not allow yourselves to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and you yourselves are all brothers and sisters.
9 And ye shall not call yourselves Father on earth; for one is your Father, who is in heaven.
And do not call anyone on the earth your ‘Father,’ for your have only one Father, the heavenly Father.
10 And be ye not called guides; for one is your Guide, the Messiah.
Nor must you allow yourselves to be called ‘leaders,’ for you have only one leader, the Christ.
11 And the great one among you will be your servitor.
The person who wants to be the greatest among you must be your servant.
12 For whoever shall exalt himself, will be abased: and whoever shall abase himself, will be exalted.
Whoever exalts themselves will be humbled, and whoever humbles themselves will be exalted.
13 Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: for ye devour the houses of widows, under the disguise of protracting your prayers. Therefore ye shall receive greater condemnation.
But alas for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You turn the key of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you do not go in yourselves, and do not allow those who try to go in to do so.
14 Woe to you. Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: for ye hold the kingdom of heaven closed before men; for ye enter not yourselves, and those that would enter ye suffer not to enter.
15 Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: for ye traverse sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is gained, ye make him a child of hell twofold more than yourselves. (Geenna g1067)
Alas for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You scour land and sea to make a single convert, and, when they are gained, you make them twice as deserving of Gehenna as you are yourselves. (Geenna g1067)
16 Woe to you, ye blind guides: for ye say, Whoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever shall swear by the gold that is in the temple, he is holden.
Alas for you, you blind guides! You say ‘if any swear by the Temple, their oath counts for nothing; but, if anyone swears by the gold of the Temple, their oath is binding them’!
17 Ye fools, and blind: for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?
Fools that you are and blind! Which is the more important? The gold? Or the Temple which has given sacredness to the gold?
18 And, whoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing: but whoever shall swear by the oblation upon it, he is holden.
You say, too, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, their oath counts for nothing, but, if anyone swears by the offering placed on it, their oath is binding on them’!
19 Ye fools, and blind: for which is greater, the oblation, or the altar that sanctifieth the oblation?
Blind indeed! Which is the more important? The offering? Or the altar which gives sacredness to the offering?
20 He therefore who sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all that is upon it.
Therefore a person, swearing by the altar, swears by it and by all that is on it,
21 And he who sweareth by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth in it.
and a person, swearing by the Temple, swears by it and by him who dwells in it,
22 And he who sweareth by heaven, sweareth by throne of God, and by him that sitteth on it.
while a person, swearing by heaven, swears by the throne of God, and by him who sits on it.
23 Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: for ye tithe mint, and anise, and cummin, and omit the graver matters of the law, judgment, and mercy, and fidelity: these ought ye to do, and those not to omit.
Alas for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You pay tithes on mint, fennel, and caraway seed, and have neglected the weightier matters of the Law – justice, mercy, and good faith. These last you ought to have put into practice, without neglecting the first.
24 Ye blind guides, who strain out gnats, and swallow down camels.
You blind guides, to strain out a gnat and to swallow a camel!
25 Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: for ye cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, while within they are full of rapine and wickedness.
Alas for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are filled with the results of greed and self-indulgence.
26 Ye blind Pharisees, cleanse first the inside of the cup and dish, that their outside may be clean also.
You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the dish, so that the outside may become clean as well.
27 Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: for ye are like whited sepulchres, which appear comely without, but are within full of bones of the dead and all impurity.
Alas for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed look fair outside, while inside they are filled with dead people’s bones and all kinds of filth.
28 So ye also, outwardly, appear to men as righteous; but within, ye are full of iniquity and hypocrisy.
It is the same with you. Outwardly, and to others, you have the look of religious people, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and sin.
29 Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: for ye build the tombs of the prophets and ye adorn the sepulchres of the righteous;
Alas for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You build the tombs of the prophets, and decorate the monuments of religious people,
30 and ye say: If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been participators with them in the blood of the prophets.
and say ‘Had we been living in the days of our ancestors, we should have taken no part in their murder of the prophets!’
31 Wherefore ye are witnesses, against yourselves, that ye are the children of them that killed the prophets.
By doing this you are furnishing evidence against yourselves that you are true children of the people who murdered the prophets.
32 And as for you, fill ye up the measure of your fathers.
Go on then, finish what your ancestors began!
You snakes and children of snakes! How can you escape being sentenced to Gehenna? (Geenna g1067)
34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes; some of whom ye will kill and crucify, and some of them ye will scourge in your synagogues, and will persecute them from city to city:
That is why I send you prophets, wise people, and teachers of the Law, some of whom you will crucify and kill, and some of whom you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from town to town;
35 so that on you may come all the blood of the righteous, which hath been shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zachariah, son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
so that on your heads may fall every drop of innocent blood split on earth, from the blood of innocent Abel down to that of Zechariah, Barachiah’s son, whom you murdered between the Temple and the altar.
36 Verily I say to you, that all these things will come upon this generation.
All this, I tell you, will come home to the present generation.
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent to thee: how often would I have gathered thy children, as a hen gathereth her young under her wings, and ye would not.
Jerusalem! Jerusalem! She who slays the prophets and stones the messengers sent to her – Oh, how often have I wished to gather your children around me, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not come!
38 Behold, your house is left to you desolate!
Verily, your house is left to you desolate!
39 For I say to you, That ye shall not see me henceforth, until ye shall say: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
For nevermore, I tell you, will you see me, until you say – ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
