Matthew 23
1 Then spake Jesus 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 Moses’ seat:
“The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.
3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, [that] observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
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 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.
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 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues,
7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
the greetings in the marketplaces, and the title of ‘Rabbi’ by which they are addressed.
8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, [even] Christ; and all ye are brethren.
But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers.
9 And call no [man] your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
And do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.
10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, [even] Christ.
Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Christ.
11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
The greatest among you shall be your servant.
12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in [yourselves], neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
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 unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass 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, 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 unto you, [ye] blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
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 [Ye] fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?
You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred?
18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.
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 [Ye] fools and blind: for whether [is] greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?
You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes it sacred?
20 Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.
So then, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.
21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.
And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the One who dwells in it.
22 And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.
And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the One who sits on it.
23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier [matters] of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
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 [Ye] blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
25 Woe unto 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, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
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 clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well.
27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited 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, 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 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of 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 unto 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, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate 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.
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 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
So you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets.
32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your fathers.
33 [Ye] serpents, [ye] generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? (Geenna g1067)
You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape the sentence of hell? (Geenna g1067)
34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and [some] of them ye shall kill and crucify; and [some] of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute [them] 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 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew 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 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
Truly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation.
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, [thou] that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under [her] wings, and ye would not!
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 is left unto you desolate.
Look, your house is left to you desolate.
39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed [is] he that cometh 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.’”
