Matthew 23:23-39

New Living Translation

²³“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens,^[a] but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. ²⁴Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!^[b]

²⁵“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! ²⁶You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish,^[c] and then the outside will become clean, too.

²⁷“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. ²⁸Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed, and you decorate the monuments of the godly people your ancestors destroyed. ³⁰Then you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would never have joined them in killing the prophets.’

³¹“But in saying that, you testify against yourselves that you are indeed the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. ³²Go ahead and finish what your ancestors started. ³³Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?

³⁴“Therefore, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers of religious law. But you will kill some by crucifixion, and you will flog others with whips in your synagogues, chasing them from city to city. ³⁵As a result, you will be held responsible for the murder of all godly people of all time—from the murder of righteous Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you killed in the Temple between the sanctuary and the altar. ³⁶I tell you the truth, this judgment will fall on this very generation.

Jesus Grieves over Jerusalem

³⁷“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. ³⁸And now, look, your house is abandoned and desolate.^[d] ³⁹For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’^[e]”

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Footnotes

23:23 Greek tithe the mint, the dill, and the cumin.
23:24 See Lev 11:4, 23, where gnats and camels are both forbidden as food.
23:26 Some manuscripts do not include and the dish.
23:38 Some manuscripts do not include and desolate.
23:39 Ps 118:26.

Matthew 23:23-39

New International Version

²³“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth^(A) of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness.^(B) You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. ²⁴You blind guides!^(C) 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,^(D) but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.^(E) ²⁶Blind 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,^(F) which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. ²⁸In 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^(G) and decorate the graves of the righteous. ³⁰And 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.’ ³¹So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.^(H) ³²Go ahead, then, and complete^(I) what your ancestors started!^(J)

³³“You snakes! You brood of vipers!^(K) How will you escape being condemned to hell?^(L) ³⁴Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify;^(M) others you will flog in your synagogues^(N) and pursue from town to town.^(O) ³⁵And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel^(P) to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah,^(Q) whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.^(R) ³⁶Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.^(S)

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