Luke 11:37-53
English Standard Version
Woes to the Pharisees and Lawyers
37 While Jesus[a] was speaking, (A)a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. 38 The Pharisee was astonished to see (B)that he did not first wash before dinner. 39 And the Lord said to him, (C)“Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of (D)greed and wickedness. 40 (E)You fools! (F)Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But (G)give as alms those things that are within, and behold, (H)everything is clean for you.
42 (I)“But woe to you Pharisees! For (J)you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect (K)justice and (L)the love of God. (M)These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! For (N)you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. 44 Woe to you! (O)For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”
45 One of (P)the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” 46 And he said, “Woe to you (Q)lawyers also! For (R)you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 (S)Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. 48 (T)So you are witnesses and you (U)consent to the deeds of (V)your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 Therefore also (W)the Wisdom of God said, (X)‘I will send them (Y)prophets and apostles, (Z)some of whom they will (AA)kill and persecute,’ 50 so that (AB)the blood of all the prophets, shed (AC)from the foundation of the world, may be (AD)charged against this generation, 51 from the blood of (AE)Abel to the blood of (AF)Zechariah, who perished between (AG)the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be (AH)required of this generation. 52 Woe to you (AI)lawyers! (AJ)For you have taken away the key of (AK)knowledge. You (AL)did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”
53 As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things,
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Luke 11:37 Greek he
Luke 11:37-53
International Standard Version
Jesus Denounces the Pharisees and the Experts in the Law(A)
37 After Jesus[a] had said this, a Pharisee invited him to have a meal with him. So Jesus[b] went and took his place at the table. 38 The Pharisee was surprised to see that he didn’t first wash before the meal. 39 But the Lord told him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but on the inside you are full of greed and evil. 40 You fools! The one who made the outside made the inside, too, didn’t he? 41 So give what is inside to the poor, and then everything will be clean for you.
42 “How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! You give a tenth of your mint, spices, and every kind of herb, but you neglect justice and the love of God. These are the things you should have practiced, without neglecting the others.
43 How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! You love to have the places of honor in the synagogues and to be greeted in the marketplaces.
44 How terrible it will be for you! You are like unmarked graves—people walk on them without realizing it.”
45 Then one of the experts in the Law told him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us, too.”
46 Jesus[c] said, “How terrible it will be for you experts in the Law, too! You load people with burdens that are hard to carry, yet you don’t even lift a finger to ease those burdens.
47 How terrible it will be for you! You build monuments for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them! 48 So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors, because they killed those for whom you are building monuments. 49 That is why the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles. They will kill some of them and persecute others,’[d] 50 so those living today[e] will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that was shed since the foundation of the world, 51 from the blood of Abel[f] to the blood of Zechariah,[g] who died between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation!
52 How terrible it will be for you experts in the Law! You have taken away the key to knowledge. You didn’t go in yourselves, and you kept out those who were trying to go in.”
53 As Jesus[h] was leaving, the scribes and the Pharisees began to oppose him fiercely, interrogating him about many things.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Luke 11:37 Lit. he
- Luke 11:37 Lit. he
- Luke 11:46 Lit. He
- Luke 11:49 The source of this quotation is unknown.
- Luke 11:50 Lit. 50 that this generation
- Luke 11:51 Cf. Gen 4:8
- Luke 11:51 Cf. 2Chr 24:20-21
- Luke 11:53 Lit. he
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