Seven Woes on the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees

¹³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!^(A) You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.^{(B) [14] [a]}

¹⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert,^(C) and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell^(D) as you are.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides!^(E) You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’^{(F) 17} You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?^{(G) 18} You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ ¹⁹ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?^{(H) 20} Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹ And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells^(I) in it. ²² And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.^(J)

²³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth^(K) of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness.^(L) You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. ²⁴ You blind guides!^(M) 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,^(N) but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.^{(O) 26} Blind 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,^(P) which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. ²⁸ In 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^(Q) and decorate the graves of the righteous. ³⁰ And 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.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.^{(R) 32} Go ahead, then, and complete^(S) what your ancestors started!^(T)

Woes on the Pharisees and the Experts in the Law

³⁷ When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table.^{(A) 38} But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.^(B)

³⁹ Then the Lord^(C) said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.^{(D) 40} You foolish people!^(E) Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor,^(F) and everything will be clean for you.^(G)

⁴² “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth^(H) of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God.^(I) You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.^(J)

⁴³ “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.^(K)

⁴⁴ “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves,^(L) which people walk over without knowing it.”

⁴⁵ One of the experts in the law^(M) answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.”

⁴⁶ Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.^(N)

⁴⁷ “Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them. ⁴⁸ So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.^{(O) 49} Because of this, God in his wisdom^(P) said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’^{(Q) 50} Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, ⁵¹ from the blood of Abel^(R) to the blood of Zechariah,^(S) who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.^(T)

⁵² “Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”^(U)

⁵³ When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, ⁵⁴ waiting to catch him in something he might say.^(V)