Luke 11:37-53

GOD’S WORD Translation

Jesus Criticizes Some Jewish Leaders

³⁷ After Jesus spoke, a Pharisee invited him to have lunch at his house. So Jesus accepted the invitation. ³⁸ The Pharisee was surprised to see that Jesus didn’t wash before the meal.

³⁹ The Lord said to him, “You Pharisees clean the outside of cups and dishes. But inside you are full of greed and evil. ⁴⁰ You fools! Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside too? ⁴¹ Give what is inside as a gift to the poor, and then everything will be clean ^[a] for you.

⁴² “How horrible it will be for you Pharisees! You give ⌞God⌟ one-tenth of your mint, spices, and every garden herb. But you have ignored justice and the love of God. You should have done these things without ignoring the others.

⁴³ “How horrible it will be for you Pharisees! You love to sit in the front seats in the synagogues and to be greeted in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴ How horrible it will be for you! You are like unmarked graves. People walk on them without knowing what they are.”

⁴⁵ One of the experts in Moses’ Teachings said to him, “Teacher, when you talk this way, you insult us too.”

⁴⁶ Jesus said, “How horrible it will be for you experts in Moses’ Teachings! You burden people with loads that are hard to carry. But you won’t lift a finger to carry any of these loads.

⁴⁷ “How horrible it will be for you! You build the monuments for the prophets. But it was your ancestors who murdered them. ⁴⁸ So you are witnesses and approve of what your ancestors did. They murdered the prophets for whom you build monuments. ⁴⁹ That’s why the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles. They will murder some of those prophets and apostles and persecute others.’ ⁵⁰ So the people living now will be charged with the murder of every prophet since the world was made. ⁵¹ This includes the murders from Abel to Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the temple. Yes, I can guarantee this truth: The people living today will be held responsible for this.

⁵² “How horrible it will be for you experts in Moses’ Teachings! You have taken away the key that unlocks knowledge. You haven’t gained entrance into ⌞knowledge⌟ yourselves, and you’ve kept out those who wanted to enter.”

⁵³ When Jesus left, the experts in Moses’ Teachings and the Pharisees held a terrible grudge against him. They questioned him about many things