⁶ and they ^(A)love the place of honor at feasts and ^(B)the best seats in the synagogues

⁹ I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority.

⁴³ Woe to you Pharisees! For ^(A)you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴ Woe to you! ^(B)For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”

⁴⁵ One of ^(C)the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” ⁴⁶ And he said, “Woe to you ^(D)lawyers also! For ^(E)you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. ^47 (F)Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. ^48 (G)So you are witnesses and you ^(H)consent to the deeds of ^(I)your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹ Therefore also ^(J)the Wisdom of God said, ^(K)‘I will send them ^(L)prophets and apostles, ^(M)some of whom they will ^(N)kill and persecute,’ ⁵⁰ so that ^(O)the blood of all the prophets, shed ^(P)from the foundation of the world, may be ^(Q)charged against this generation, ⁵¹ from the blood of ^(R)Abel to the blood of ^(S)Zechariah, who perished between ^(T)the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be ^(U)required of this generation. ⁵² Woe to you ^(V)lawyers! ^(W)For you have taken away the key of ^(X)knowledge. You ^(Y)did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

⁵³ As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, ^54 (Z)lying in wait for him, ^(AA)to catch him in something he might say.

The Sin of Partiality

2 My brothers,^{[a] (A)}show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, ^(B)the Lord of glory. ² For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, ³ and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” ^(C)while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” ⁴ have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become ^(D)judges with evil thoughts?

The Parable of the Wedding Feast

⁷ Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed ^(A)how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, ⁸ “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, ⁹ and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. ¹⁰ But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, ^(B)so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. ¹¹ For ^(C)everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Beware of the Scribes

^38 (A)And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces ³⁹ and have the best seats in the synagogues and ^(B)the places of honor at feasts,

⁴⁶ “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and ^(A)the places of honor at feasts, ^47 (B)who devour widows' houses and ^(C)for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

^10 (A)Love one another with brotherly affection. ^(B)Outdo one another in showing honor.