Luke 11:37-44

Contemporary English Version

Jesus Condemns the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law of Moses

(Matthew 23.1-36; Mark 12.38-40; Luke 20.45-47)

³⁷When Jesus finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him home for a meal. Jesus went and sat down to eat.^[a] ³⁸The Pharisee was surprised that he did not wash his hands^[b] before eating. ³⁹So the Lord said to him:

You Pharisees clean the outside of cups and dishes, but on the inside you are greedy and evil. ⁴⁰You fools! Didn't God make both the outside and the inside?^[c] ⁴¹If you would only give what you have to the poor, everything you do would please God.

⁴²^(A) You Pharisees are in for trouble! You give God a tenth of the spices from your gardens, such as mint and rue. But you cheat people, and you don't love God. You should be fair and kind to others and still give a tenth to God.

⁴³You Pharisees are in for trouble! You love the front seats in the synagogues, and you like to be greeted with honor in the market. ⁴⁴But you are in for trouble! You are like unmarked graves^[d] that people walk on without even knowing it.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

11.37 sat down to eat: See the note at 7.36.
11.38 did not wash his hands: The Jewish people had strict laws about washing their hands before eating, especially if they had been out in public.
11.40 Didn't God make both the outside and the inside: Or “Doesn't the person who washes the outside always wash the inside too?”
11.44 unmarked graves: Tombs were whitewashed to keep anyone from accidentally touching them. A person who touched a dead body or a tomb was considered unclean and could not worship with other Jewish people.