¹⁶ “Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear ‘by God’s Temple,’ but that it is binding to swear ‘by the gold in the Temple.’

¹⁴ so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”

²⁴ Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!^[a]

¹⁷ Blind fools! Which is more important—the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred?

Teaching about Vows

³³ “You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord.’^{[a] 34} But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. ³⁵ And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King.

¹² But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned.

³⁹ Then Jesus told him,^[a] “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see^[b] that they are blind.”

⁴⁰ Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?”

⁴¹ “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.

²⁶ You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish,^[a] and then the outside will become clean, too.

¹⁹ How blind! For which is more important—the gift on the altar or the altar that makes the gift sacred?

⁵ But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ ⁶ In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents.^[a] And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition.