Luke 11:37-53
Legacy Standard Bible
Woes to the Pharisees and Lawyers
37 Now when He had spoken, a Pharisee *asked Him to have a meal with him. And He went in and reclined at the table. 38 But when the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first [a](A)ceremonially washed before the [b]meal. 39 But (B)the Lord said to him, “Now (C)you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but [c]inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness. 40 (D)You foolish ones, did not He who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But (E)give that which is within as charity, and [d]then all things are (F)clean for you.
42 “(G)But woe to you Pharisees! For you (H)pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, and yet disregard justice and the love of God, but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you (I)love the best seat in the synagogues and the respectful greetings in the marketplaces. 44 (J)Woe to you! For you are like [e]concealed tombs, and the people who walk over them are unaware of it.”
45 Now one of the (K)scholars of the Law answered and said to Him, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us too.” 46 But He said, “Woe to you (L)scholars of the Law as well! For (M)you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 (N)Woe to you! For you build the [f]tombs of the prophets, but your fathers killed them. 48 So you are witnesses and approve the deeds of your fathers; because it was they who killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 For this reason also (O)the wisdom of God said, ‘(P)I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and some they will [g]persecute, 50 so that the blood of all the prophets, shed (Q)since the foundation of the world, may be [h]charged against this generation, 51 from (R)the blood of Abel to (S)the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be [i]charged against this generation.’ 52 Woe to you, (T)scholars of the Law! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; (U)you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.”
53 And when He left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to question Him closely on many subjects,
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Luke 11:38 Lit baptized
- Luke 11:38 Or lunch
- Luke 11:39 Lit your inside is full
- Luke 11:41 Lit behold
- Luke 11:44 Or indistinct
- Luke 11:47 Or monuments to
- Luke 11:49 Or drive out
- Luke 11:50 Or required of
- Luke 11:51 Or required of
Luke 11:37-53
New Living Translation
Jesus Criticizes the Religious Leaders
37 As Jesus was speaking, one of the Pharisees invited him home for a meal. So he went in and took his place at the table.[a] 38 His host was amazed to see that he sat down to eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony required by Jewish custom. 39 Then the Lord said to him, “You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and wickedness! 40 Fools! Didn’t God make the inside as well as the outside? 41 So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over.
42 “What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens,[b] but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.
43 “What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you love to sit in the seats of honor in the synagogues and receive respectful greetings as you walk in the marketplaces. 44 Yes, what sorrow awaits you! For you are like hidden graves in a field. People walk over them without knowing the corruption they are stepping on.”
45 “Teacher,” said an expert in religious law, “you have insulted us, too, in what you just said.”
46 “Yes,” said Jesus, “what sorrow also awaits you experts in religious law! For you crush people with unbearable religious demands, and you never lift a finger to ease the burden. 47 What sorrow awaits you! For you build monuments for the prophets your own ancestors killed long ago. 48 But in fact, you stand as witnesses who agree with what your ancestors did. They killed the prophets, and you join in their crime by building the monuments! 49 This is what God in his wisdom said about you:[c] ‘I will send prophets and apostles to them, but they will kill some and persecute the others.’
50 “As a result, this generation will be held responsible for the murder of all God’s prophets from the creation of the world— 51 from the murder of Abel to the murder of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, it will certainly be charged against this generation.
52 “What sorrow awaits you experts in religious law! For you remove the key to knowledge from the people. You don’t enter the Kingdom yourselves, and you prevent others from entering.”
53 As Jesus was leaving, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees became hostile and tried to provoke him with many questions.
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