Hypocrisy Exposed

23 ^(A)Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, ² saying: “^(B)The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses. ³ Therefore, whatever they tell you, do and ^[a]comply with it all, but do not do ^[b]as they do; for they say things and do not do them. ⁴ And ^(C)they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as their finger. ⁵ And they do all their deeds ^(D)to be noticed by other people; for they ^(E)broaden their ^[c]phylacteries and lengthen ^(F)the tassels of their garments. ⁶ And they ^(G)love the place of honor at banquets, and the seats of honor in the synagogues, ⁷ and personal greetings in the marketplaces, and being called ^[d](H)Rabbi by the people. ⁸ But as for you, ^(I)do not be called ^[e](J)Rabbi; for only One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters. ⁹ And do not call anyone on earth your father; for only ^(K)One is your Father, He who is in heaven. ¹⁰ And do not be called ^[f]leaders; for only One is your Leader, that is, Christ. ^11 (L)But the greatest of you shall be your servant. ^12 (M)Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

Eight Woes

¹³ “^(N)But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, ^(O)because you shut the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter it yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.^[g]

¹⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one ^[h](P)proselyte; and when he becomes one, you ^[i]make him twice as much a son of ^[j](Q)hell as yourselves.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, ^(R)blind guides, who say, ‘^(S)Whoever swears by the ^[k]temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the ^[l]temple is obligated.’ ¹⁷ You fools and blind men! ^(T)Which is ^[m]more important, the gold or the ^[n]temple that sanctified the gold? ¹⁸ And you say, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the ^[o]offering that is on it is obligated.’ ¹⁹ You blind men, ^(U)which is ^[p]more important, the ^[q]offering or the altar that sanctifies the ^[r]offering? ²⁰ Therefore, the one who swears by the altar, swears both by ^[s]the altar and by everything on it. ²¹ And the one who swears by the ^[t]temple, swears both by ^[u]the temple and by Him who ^(V)dwells in it. ²² And the one who swears by ^[v]heaven, ^(W)swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

²³ “^(X)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and ^[w]cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. ²⁴ You ^(Y)blind guides, who ^[x]strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ^(Z)you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full ^[y]of robbery and self-indulgence. ²⁶ You blind Pharisee, first ^(AA)clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the ^[z]outside of it may also become clean.

²⁷ “^(AB)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸ So you too, outwardly appear righteous to people, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹ “^(AC)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ and you say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves, that you ^(AD)are ^[aa]sons of those who murdered the prophets. ^32 [ab]Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. ³³ You snakes, ^(AE)you ^[ac]offspring of vipers, how ^[ad]will you escape the ^[ae]sentence of ^[af](AF)hell?

³⁴ “^(AG)Therefore, behold, ^(AH)I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will ^(AI)flog in your synagogues, and ^(AJ)persecute from city to city, ³⁵ so that upon you will fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous ^(AK)Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the ^(AL)son of Berechiah, whom ^(AM)you murdered between the ^[ag]temple and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon ^(AN)this generation.

Grieving over Jerusalem

³⁷ “^(AO)Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who ^(AP)kills the prophets and stones those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, ^(AQ)the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. ³⁸ Behold, ^(AR)your house is being left to you desolate! ³⁹ For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘^(AS)Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

Prophecy a Superior Gift

14 ^(A)Pursue love, yet earnestly ^(B)desire ^(C)spiritual gifts, but especially that you may ^(D)prophesy. ² For the one who ^(E)speaks in a tongue does not speak to people, but to God; for no one ^[a]understands, but ^[b]in his spirit he speaks ^(F)mysteries. ³ But the one who prophesies speaks to people for ^(G)edification, ^[c](H)exhortation, and consolation. ⁴ The one who ^(I)speaks in a tongue ^(J)edifies himself; but the one who ^(K)prophesies ^(L)edifies the church. ⁵ Now I wish that you all ^(M)spoke in tongues, but ^(N)rather that you would prophesy; and greater is the one who prophesies than the one who ^(O)speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive ^(P)edification.

⁶ But now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I speak to you either by way of ^(Q)revelation, or of ^(R)knowledge, or of ^(S)prophecy, or of ^(T)teaching? ⁷ Yet even lifeless instruments, whether flute or harp, in producing a sound, if they do not produce a distinction in the tones, how will it be known what is played on the flute or on the harp? ⁸ For if ^(U)the trumpet produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle? ⁹ So you too, unless you produce intelligible speech by the tongue, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will just be ^(V)talking to the air. ¹⁰ There are, perhaps, a great many kinds of ^[d]languages in the world, and none is incapable of meaning. ¹¹ So if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be ^(W)unintelligible to the one who speaks, and the one who speaks will be unintelligible ^[e]to me. ¹² So you too, since you are eager to possess ^[f]spiritual gifts, strive to excel for the ^(X)edification of the church.

¹³ Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue is to pray that he may interpret. ¹⁴ For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unproductive. ^15 (Y)What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also; I will ^(Z)sing with the spirit, but I will sing with the mind also. ¹⁶ For otherwise, if you bless God ^[g]in the spirit only, how will the one who occupies the place of the ^[h]outsider know to say ^(AA)the “Amen” at your ^(AB)giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you are saying? ¹⁷ For you are giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not ^(AC)edified. ¹⁸ I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all; ¹⁹ nevertheless, in church I prefer to speak five words with my mind so that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue.

Instruction for the Church

^20 (AD)Brothers and sisters, ^(AE)do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil ^(AF)be infants, but in your thinking be mature. ²¹ In ^(AG)the ^[i]Law it is written: “^(AH)By men of strange tongues and by the lips of strangers I will speak to this people, and even so they will not listen to Me,” says the Lord. ²² So then, tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but ^(AI)prophecy is not for unbelievers, but for those who believe. ²³ Therefore if the whole church gathers together and all the people speak in tongues, and ^[j]outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that ^(AJ)you are insane? ²⁴ But if all ^(AK)prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ^[k]outsider enters, he is ^(AL)convicted by all, he is called to account by all; ^25 (AM)the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will ^(AN)fall on his face and worship God, ^(AO)declaring that God is certainly among you.

^26 (AP)What is the outcome then, ^(AQ)brothers and sisters? When you assemble, ^(AR)each one has a ^(AS)psalm, has a ^(AT)teaching, has a ^(AU)revelation, has a ^(AV)tongue, has an ^(AW)interpretation. ^(AX)All things are to be done for edification. ²⁷ If anyone speaks in a ^(AY)tongue, it must be by two or at the most three, and each one in turn, and one is to ^(AZ)interpret; ²⁸ but if there is no interpreter, he is to keep silent in church; and have him speak to himself and to God. ²⁹ Have two or three ^(BA)prophets speak, and have the others ^(BB)pass judgment. ³⁰ But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, then the first one is to keep silent. ³¹ For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be ^[l]exhorted; ³² and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets; ³³ for God is not a God of ^(BC)confusion, but of peace.

As in ^(BD)all the churches of the ^[m](BE)saints, ³⁴ the women are to ^(BF)keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but ^(BG)are to subject themselves, just as ^(BH)the Law also says. ³⁵ If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is ^[n]improper for a woman to speak in church. ³⁶ Or was it from you that the word of God first went out? Or has it come to you only?

^37 (BI)If anyone thinks that he is a prophet or ^(BJ)spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you ^(BK)are the Lord’s commandment. ³⁸ But if anyone does not recognize this, ^[o]he is not recognized.

³⁹ Therefore, my brothers and sisters, ^(BL)earnestly desire to ^(BM)prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. ⁴⁰ But ^(BN)all things must be done properly and in an orderly way.