Matthew 23
1 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds, and to his disciples,
Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples:
2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have sat down in the chair of Moses.
“The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.
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.
So practice and observe everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
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.
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.
5 Truly, they do all their works so that they may be seen by men. For they enlarge their phylacteries and glorify their hems.
All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
6 And they love the first places at feasts, and the first chairs in the synagogues,
They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues,
7 and greetings in the marketplace, and to be called Master by men.
the greetings in the marketplaces, and the title of ‘Rabbi’ by which they are addressed.
8 But you must not be called Master. For One is your Master, and you are all brothers.
But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one 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 do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.
10 Neither should you be called teachers. For One is your Teacher, the Christ.
Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Christ.
11 Whoever is greater among you shall be your minister.
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.
For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will 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.
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.
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)
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 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.’
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.’
17 You are foolish and blind! For which is greater: the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold?
You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred?
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, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’
19 How blind you are! For which is greater: the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift?
You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes it sacred?
20 Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears by it, and by all that is on it.
So then, he who swears by the altar swears 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.
And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the One 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 by God’s throne and by the One who sits on 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.
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.
24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat, while swallowing a camel!
You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a 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.
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.
26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the dish, and then what is outside becomes clean.
Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well.
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.
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.
28 So also, you certainly appear to men outwardly to be just. But inwardly you are filled with hypocrisy and iniquity.
In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites, who build the sepulchers of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the just.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments 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 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.’
31 And so you are witnesses against yourselves, that you are the sons of those who killed the prophets.
So you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets.
32 Complete, then, the measure of your fathers.
Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your fathers.
You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape the sentence of hell? (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,
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.
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.
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.
36 Amen I say to you, all these things shall fall upon this generation.
Truly I tell you, all these things will come upon this 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, 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!
38 Behold, your house shall be abandoned to you, having been deserted.
Look, your house is 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 not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
