Matthew 23:13-23

New American Standard Bible

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.