Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

¹⁴ Jesus returned to Galilee^(A) in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.^{(B) 15} He was teaching in their synagogues,^(C) and everyone praised him.

¹⁶ He went to Nazareth,^(D) where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue,^(E) as was his custom. He stood up to read,^{(F) 17} and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

²⁰ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down.^(J) The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. ²¹ He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled^(K) in your hearing.”

Woes on the Pharisees and the Experts in the Law

³⁷ When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table.^{(A) 38} But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.^(B)

³⁹ Then the Lord^(C) said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.^{(D) 40} You foolish people!^(E) Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor,^(F) and everything will be clean for you.^(G)

⁴² “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth^(H) of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God.^(I) You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.^(J)

⁴³ “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.^(K)

⁴⁴ “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves,^(L) which people walk over without knowing it.”

⁴⁵ One of the experts in the law^(M) answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.”

⁴⁶ Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.^(N)

⁴⁷ “Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them. ⁴⁸ So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.^{(O) 49} Because of this, God in his wisdom^(P) said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’^{(Q) 50} Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, ⁵¹ from the blood of Abel^(R) to the blood of Zechariah,^(S) who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.^(T)

⁵² “Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”^(U)

⁵³ When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, ⁵⁴ waiting to catch him in something he might say.^(V)

Seven Woes on the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees

¹³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!^(A) You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.^{(B) [14] [a]}

¹⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert,^(C) and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell^(D) as you are.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides!^(E) You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’^{(F) 17} You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?^{(G) 18} You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ ¹⁹ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?^{(H) 20} Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹ And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells^(I) in it. ²² And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.^(J)

²³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth^(K) of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness.^(L) You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. ²⁴ You blind guides!^(M) You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

²⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish,^(N) but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.^{(O) 26} Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

²⁷ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs,^(P) which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

²⁹ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets^(Q) and decorate the graves of the righteous. ³⁰ And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.^{(R) 32} Go ahead, then, and complete^(S) what your ancestors started!^(T)

³³ “You snakes! You brood of vipers!^(U) How will you escape being condemned to hell?^{(V) 34} Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify;^(W) others you will flog in your synagogues^(X) and pursue from town to town.^{(Y) 35} And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel^(Z) to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah,^(AA) whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.^{(AB) 36} Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.^(AC)

³⁷ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,^(AD) how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,^(AE) and you were not willing. ³⁸ Look, your house is left to you desolate.^{(AF) 39} For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’^[b]”^(AG)

That Which Defiles^(A)

7 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus ² and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled,^(B) that is, unwashed. ³ (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders.^{(C) 4} When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.^[a])^(D)

⁵ So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders^(E) instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”

⁶ He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

⁸ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”^(G)

⁹ And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe^[c] your own traditions!^{(H) 10} For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’^[d](I) and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’^{[e](J) 11} But you say^(K) that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— ¹² then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. ¹³ Thus you nullify the word of God^(L) by your tradition^(M) that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”

¹⁴ Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. ¹⁵ Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” ^[16] [f]

¹⁷ After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him^(N) about this parable. ¹⁸ “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? ¹⁹ For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods^(O) clean.)^(P)

²⁰ He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. ²¹ For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, ²² adultery, greed,^(Q) malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. ²³ All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”