¹⁶ And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make ^(A)My Father’s house a house of merchandise!”

¹³ And He said to them, “It is written, ^(A)‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ^(B)‘den of thieves.’ ”

¹¹ Has ^(A)this house, which is called by My name, become a ^(B)den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” says the Lord.

⁴⁹ And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be ^(A)about ^(B)My Father’s business?”

¹⁷ Then He taught, saying to them, “Is it not written, ^(A)‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a ^(B)‘den of thieves.’ ”

Israel’s Irresponsible Leaders

¹⁴ having eyes full of ^[a]adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. ^(A)They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. ¹⁵ They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of ^(B)Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

¹⁷ But Jesus answered them, ^(A)“My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.”

³ By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction ^[a]does not slumber.