Luke 11:37-44

New Living Translation

Jesus Criticizes the Religious Leaders

³⁷ As Jesus was speaking, one of the Pharisees invited him home for a meal. So he went in and took his place at the table.^{[a] 38} His host was amazed to see that he sat down to eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony required by Jewish custom. ³⁹ Then the Lord said to him, “You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and wickedness! ⁴⁰ Fools! Didn’t God make the inside as well as the outside? ⁴¹ So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over.

⁴² “What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens,^[b] but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.

⁴³ “What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you love to sit in the seats of honor in the synagogues and receive respectful greetings as you walk in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴ Yes, what sorrow awaits you! For you are like hidden graves in a field. People walk over them without knowing the corruption they are stepping on.”