^28 (A)One of the scribes came up and heard them arguing, and ^(B)recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the ^[a]foremost of all?” ²⁹ Jesus answered, “The ^[b]foremost is, ‘^(C)Hear, Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one; ^30 (D)and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this: ‘^(E)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” ³² And the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher; You have truly stated that ^(F)He is One, and there is no other besides Him; ^33 (G)and to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, ^(H)is much more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴ When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” ^(I)And then, no one dared any longer to question Him.

^34 (A)But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced ^(B)the Sadducees, they gathered together. ³⁵ And one of them, ^[a](C)a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him: ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ And He said to him, “‘^(D)You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the great and ^[b]foremost commandment. ³⁹ The second is like it, ‘^(E)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ^40 (F)Upon these two commandments ^[c]hang the whole Law and the Prophets.”

^35 (A)And Jesus responded and began saying, as He ^(B)taught in the temple area, “How is it that the scribes say that the ^[a]Christ is the ^(C)son of David? ³⁶ David himself said ^[b]in the Holy Spirit,

³⁷ David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?” And ^(E)the large crowd ^[c]enjoyed listening to Him.

^41 (A)Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: ⁴² “What do you think about the ^[a]Christ? Whose son is He?” They *said to Him, “^(B)The son of David.” ⁴³ He *said to them, “Then ^[b]how does David ^[c](C)in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,

⁴⁵ Therefore, if David calls Him ‘Lord,’ ^[d]how is He his son?” ^46 (E)No one was able to offer Him a word in answer, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him any more questions.

^41 (A)But He said to them, “How is it that they say the ^[a]Christ is ^(B)David’s son? ⁴² For David himself says in the book of Psalms,

⁴⁴ Therefore David calls Him ‘Lord,’ and so how is He his son?”

^38 (A)And in His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like ^(B)personal greetings in the marketplaces, ³⁹ and seats of honor in the synagogues, and places of honor at banquets, ^40 (C)who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive all the more condemnation.”

Hypocrisy Exposed

23 ^(A)Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, ² saying: “^(B)The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses. ³ Therefore, whatever they tell you, do and ^[a]comply with it all, but do not do ^[b]as they do; for they say things and do not do them. ⁴ And ^(C)they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as their finger. ⁵ And they do all their deeds ^(D)to be noticed by other people; for they ^(E)broaden their ^[c]phylacteries and lengthen ^(F)the tassels of their garments. ⁶ And they ^(G)love the place of honor at banquets, and the seats of honor in the synagogues, ⁷ and personal greetings in the marketplaces, and being called ^[d](H)Rabbi by the people. ⁸ But as for you, ^(I)do not be called ^[e](J)Rabbi; for only One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters. ⁹ And do not call anyone on earth your father; for only ^(K)One is your Father, He who is in heaven. ¹⁰ And do not be called ^[f]leaders; for only One is your Leader, that is, Christ. ^11 (L)But the greatest of you shall be your servant. ^12 (M)Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

^45 (A)And while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples, ⁴⁶ “Beware of the scribes, ^(B)who like to walk around in long robes, and love personal greetings in the marketplaces, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, ⁴⁷ who ^[a]devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive all the more condemnation.”

Eight Woes

¹³ “^(A)But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, ^(B)because you shut the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter it yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.^[a]

¹⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one ^[b](C)proselyte; and when he becomes one, you ^[c]make him twice as much a son of ^[d](D)hell as yourselves.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, ^(E)blind guides, who say, ‘^(F)Whoever swears by the ^[e]temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the ^[f]temple is obligated.’ ¹⁷ You fools and blind men! ^(G)Which is ^[g]more important, the gold or the ^[h]temple that sanctified the gold? ¹⁸ And you say, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the ^[i]offering that is on it is obligated.’ ¹⁹ You blind men, ^(H)which is ^[j]more important, the ^[k]offering or the altar that sanctifies the ^[l]offering? ²⁰ Therefore, the one who swears by the altar, swears both by ^[m]the altar and by everything on it. ²¹ And the one who swears by the ^[n]temple, swears both by ^[o]the temple and by Him who ^(I)dwells in it. ²² And the one who swears by ^[p]heaven, ^(J)swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

²³ “^(K)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and ^[q]cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. ²⁴ You ^(L)blind guides, who ^[r]strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ^(M)you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full ^[s]of robbery and self-indulgence. ²⁶ You blind Pharisee, first ^(N)clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the ^[t]outside of it may also become clean.

²⁷ “^(O)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸ So you too, outwardly appear righteous to people, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹ “^(P)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ and you say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves, that you ^(Q)are ^[u]sons of those who murdered the prophets. ^32 [v]Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. ³³ You snakes, ^(R)you ^[w]offspring of vipers, how ^[x]will you escape the ^[y]sentence of ^[z](S)hell?

³⁴ “^(T)Therefore, behold, ^(U)I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will ^(V)flog in your synagogues, and ^(W)persecute from city to city, ³⁵ so that upon you will fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous ^(X)Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the ^(Y)son of Berechiah, whom ^(Z)you murdered between the ^[aa]temple and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon ^(AA)this generation.

Grieving over Jerusalem

³⁷ “^(AB)Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who ^(AC)kills the prophets and stones those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, ^(AD)the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. ³⁸ Behold, ^(AE)your house is being left to you desolate! ³⁹ For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘^(AF)Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!’”