³⁹ And He spoke a parable to them: ^(A)“Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?

¹⁴ Let them alone. ^(A)They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”

^13 (A)But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.

Error and Greed

³ If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to ^(A)wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^(B)and to the ^[a]doctrine which accords with godliness, ⁴ he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, ^5 [b]useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. ^[c]From ^(C)such withdraw yourself.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, ^(A)blind guides, who say, ^(B)‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’ ¹⁷ Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold ^(C)or the temple that ^[a]sanctifies the gold? ¹⁸ And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.’ ¹⁹ Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift ^(D)or the altar that sanctifies the gift? ²⁰ Therefore he who ^[b]swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. ²¹ He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by ^(E)Him who ^[c]dwells in it. ²² And he who swears by heaven, swears by ^(F)the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.

²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! ^(G)For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and ^(H)have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. ²⁴ Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! ^(I)For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and ^[d]self-indulgence. ²⁶ Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.

¹⁵ Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, whom I did not send, ^(A)and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not be in this land’—‘By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed! ¹⁶ And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; ^(B)they will have no one to bury them—them nor their wives, their sons nor their daughters—for I will pour their wickedness on them.’

¹⁹ and ^(A)are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,

³³ Serpents, ^(A)brood^[a] of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?