1 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples,
2 saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sat on Moses’ seat. 3 All
things therefore whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do, but
don’t do their works; for they say, and don’t do. 4 For they bind
heavy burdens that are grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders;
but they themselves will not lift a finger to help them. 5 But all their
works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad, enlarge
the fringes of their garments, 6 and love the place of honor at feasts,
the best seats in the synagogues, 7 the salutations in the marketplaces,
and to be called ‘Rabbi, Rabbi’ by men. 8 But don’t you be called
‘Rabbi,’ for one is your teacher, the Christ, and all of you are
brothers. 9 Call no man on the earth your father, for one is your Father,
he who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called masters, for one is your
master, the Christ. 11 But he who is greatest among you will be your
servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles
himself will be exalted.
13 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour
widows’ houses, and as a pretense you make long prayers. Therefore
you will receive greater condemnation.
14 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you
shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men; for you don’t enter in
yourselves, neither do you allow those who are entering in to
enter.*1 15 Woe to you, scribes
and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel around by sea and land to make
one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much of a
son of Gehenna as yourselves.
16 “Woe to you, you blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the
temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is
obligated.’ 17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold, or
the temple that sanctifies the gold? 18 ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it
is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is a obligated.’
19 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gift, or the altar that
sanctifies the gift? 20 He therefore who swears by the altar, swears by
it, and by everything on it. 21 He who swears by the temple, swears by it,
and by him who was living in it. 22 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 you tithe
mint, dill, and cumin,*2 and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice,
mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left
the other undone. 24 You blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and
swallow a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the
outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion
and unrighteousness.*3 26 You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the
cup and of the platter, that the outside of it may become clean also.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like
whitened tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of
dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also
outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of
hypocrisy and iniquity.
29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the
tombs of the prophets, and decorate the tombs of the righteous, 30 and
say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we wouldn’t have been
partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Therefore you
testify to yourselves that you are sons of those who killed the
prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.
33 You serpents, you offspring of vipers, how will you
escape the judgment of Gehenna? 34 Therefore, behold, I send to you
prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify;
and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from
city to city; 35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the
earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah son of
Barachiah, whom you killed between the sanctuary and the altar.
36 Most assuredly I tell you, all these things will come upon this
generation.
37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets, and stones those who are
sent to her! How often would I have gathered your children together, even as
a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not!
38 Behold, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you,
you will not see me from now on, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who
comes in the name of the Lord!’”
1 Some Greek manuscripts reverse the order of verses 13 and 14, and
some omit verse 13, numbering verse 14 as 13.
2 cumin is an aromatic seed from Cuminum
cyminum, resembling caraway in flavor and appearance. It is used as a
spice.
3 TR reads “self-indulgence” instead of
“unrighteousness”
World English Bible - Public Domain |
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