²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

²⁸ And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to an unfit mind and to do things that should not be done.^(A)

The Guilt of Humankind

¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and injustice of those who by their injustice suppress the truth.^{(A) 19} For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰ Ever since the creation of the world God’s eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been seen and understood through the things God has made. So they are without excuse,^{(B) 21} for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless hearts were darkened.^{(C) 22} Claiming to be wise, they became fools,

⁹ The coming of the lawless one is apparent in the working of Satan, who uses all power, signs, lying wonders,^{(A) 10} and every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.^(B)

³ And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.^(A)

³⁰ The man answered, “Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes.

⁷ So they answered that they did not know where it came from. ⁸ Then Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides who say, ‘Whoever swears by the sanctuary is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by the oath.’^{(A) 17} You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that has made the gold sacred?^{(B) 18} And you say, ‘Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gift that is on the altar is bound by the oath.’ ¹⁹ How blind you are! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?^{(C) 20} So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it, ²¹ and whoever swears by the sanctuary swears by it and by the one who dwells in it, ²² and whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by the one who is seated upon it.^(D)

²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others.^{(E) 24} You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!

²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶ You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and of the plate,^[a] so that the outside also may become clean.

²⁷ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of uncleanness. ²⁸ So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

³ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.^[a]

¹⁴ Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind.^[a] And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.”^(A)