Matthew 23
1 Then Jesus spoke to the multitude, and to his disciples,
Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples
2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in the seat of Moses:
saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees are seated upon Moses' chair;
3 All therefore whatever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye according to their works: for they say, and do not.
so whatever they may tell you to observe, you should observe and do; but do not do according to their deeds, for they say and do not do.
4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
For they package loads that are heavy and hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of the people; but they themselves do not want to move them with one of their fingers.
5 But all their works they do to be seen by men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
“Rather, they do all their works in order to be seen by people. They make their phylacteries broad and the tassels on their garments large;
6 And love the uppermost places at feasts, and the best seats in the synagogues,
they love the place of honor at dinners and the first seats in the synagogues,
7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called by men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
and the greetings in the marketplaces, namely to be called ‘Rabbi, Rabbi’ by the people.
8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
“But you (pl.), do not be called ‘Rabbi’; because your Teacher is one, the Christ, and you are all brothers.
9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, who is in heaven.
And do not call anyone on earth your ‘father’; because your Father is one, He who is in the heavens.
10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.
Neither be called leaders/guides; because your Leader is one, the Christ.
11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
On the contrary, the greatest among you must be your servant.
12 And whoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
13 But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither allow ye them that are entering to go in.
“Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you devour the houses of the widows, while making long prayers as a pretense. Therefore you will receive a greater condemnation.
14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you bar the entrance to the kingdom of the heavens in the face of the people; for you neither go in yourselves nor do you allow those who are trying to enter to go in.
15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye travel sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. (Geenna g1067)
Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!! Because you travel all over, land and sea, to make one convert, and when he joins up you make him twice as much a son of Hell as yourselves. (Geenna g1067)
16 Woe to you, ye blind guides, who say, Whoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
“Woe to you blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’
17 Ye fools and blind: for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?
Stupid and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?
18 And, Whoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is bound.
And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it is obligated.’
19 Ye fools and blind: for which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?
Stupid and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?
20 Whoever therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things on it.
Therefore he who swears by the altar swears by it and by all the things on it.
21 And whoever shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth in it.
And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by Him who used to dwell in it.
22 And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth upon it.
And he who swears 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 pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, justice, mercy, and faith: these ye ought to have done, and not to leave the others undone.
“Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you pay a tithe of mint and dill and cummin, but have neglected the weightier items of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These it was obligatory to do, while not neglecting those.
24 Ye blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel.
Blind guides, who strain out a gnat but gulp down a camel!
25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
“Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of plunder and injustice.
26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
Blind Pharisee! First cleanse the inside of the cup and the dish, so that their outside may also be clean.
27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like whitewashed sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
“Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!! Because you resemble whitewashed tombs, which indeed appear beautiful outwardly but inside are full of dead bones and of all uncleanness.
28 Thus ye also outwardly appear righteous to men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
Just so, you also outwardly appear to be righteous to the people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
“Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous;
30 And 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.
yet you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’
31 Therefore ye are witnesses against yourselves, that ye are the children of them who killed the prophets.
Therefore you testify against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
So fill up the measure of your fathers' guilt!
“Snakes! Brood of vipers! How can you escape from the condemnation of Hell? (Geenna g1067)
34 Therefore, behold, I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them ye shall scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
So take note: I will send you prophets and wise men and Biblical scholars; some of them you will kill, even crucify; some of them you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from city to city
35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
—so that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel up to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
36 Verily I say to you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
Assuredly I say to you that all these things will come upon this generation.
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them who are sent to thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, she who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children, just like a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you did not want to.
38 Behold, your house is left to you desolate.
Look, your house is left to you abandoned!
39 For I say to you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
For I say to you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord’!”
