Seven Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees

23 Then Jesus (A)said to the crowds and to his disciples, (B)“The scribes and the Pharisees (C)sit on Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, (D)but not the works they do. (E)For they preach, but do not practice. (F)They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,[a] and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. (G)They do all their deeds (H)to be seen by others. For they make (I)their phylacteries broad and (J)their fringes long, and they (K)love the place of honor at feasts and (L)the best seats in the synagogues and (M)greetings in (N)the marketplaces and being called (O)rabbi[b] by others. (P)But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are (Q)all brothers.[c] (R)And call no man your father on earth, for (S)you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, (T)the Christ. 11 (U)The greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 (V)Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

13 “But woe (W)to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you (X)shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you (Y)neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.[d] 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single (Z)proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a (AA)child of (AB)hell[e] as yourselves.

16 “Woe to (AC)you, (AD)blind guides, who say, (AE)‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or (AF)the temple that has made the gold sacred? 18 And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by (AG)the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ 19 You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or (AH)the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by (AI)him who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by (AJ)heaven swears by (AK)the throne of God and by (AL)him who sits upon it.

23 (AM)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For (AN)you tithe mint and dill and (AO)cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: (AP)justice and mercy and faithfulness. (AQ)These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing (AR)a camel!

25 (AS)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For (AT)you clean the outside of (AU)the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of (AV)greed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of (AW)the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

27 (AX)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like (AY)whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and (AZ)all uncleanness. 28 So you also (BA)outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of (BB)hypocrisy and lawlessness.

29 (BC)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are (BD)sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 (BE)Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, (BF)you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to (BG)hell? 34 (BH)Therefore (BI)I send you (BJ)prophets and wise men and (BK)scribes, (BL)some of whom you will kill and crucify, and (BM)some you will (BN)flog in your synagogues and (BO)persecute from town to town, 35 so that on you may come all (BP)the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous (BQ)Abel to the blood of (BR)Zechariah the son of Barachiah,[f] whom you murdered between (BS)the sanctuary and (BT)the altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, (BU)all these things will come upon this generation.

Lament over Jerusalem

37 (BV)“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that (BW)kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have (BX)gathered (BY)your children together (BZ)as a hen gathers her brood (CA)under her wings, and (CB)you were not willing! 38 See, (CC)your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, (CD)‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 23:4 Some manuscripts omit hard to bear
  2. Matthew 23:7 Rabbi means my teacher, or my master; also verse 8
  3. Matthew 23:8 Or brothers and sisters
  4. Matthew 23:13 Some manuscripts add here (or after verse 12) verse 14: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation
  5. Matthew 23:15 Greek Gehenna; also verse 33
  6. Matthew 23:35 Some manuscripts omit the son of Barachiah

The Resurrection

28 (A)Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and (B)the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for (C)an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. (D)His appearance was like lightning, and (E)his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and (F)became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, (G)as he said. Come, see the place where he[a] lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, (H)he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb (I)with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus (J)met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and (K)took hold of his feet and (L)worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; (M)go and tell (N)my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

The Report of the Guard

11 While they were going, behold, some of (O)the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers 13 and said, “Tell people, (P)‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 And if this comes to (Q)the governor's ears, we will (R)satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews (S)to this day.

The Great Commission

16 Now the eleven disciples (T)went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they (U)worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, (V)“All authority (W)in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 (X)Go therefore and (Y)make disciples of (Z)all nations, (AA)baptizing them (AB)in[b] (AC)the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them (AD)to observe all that (AE)I have commanded you. And behold, (AF)I am with you always, to (AG)the end of the age.”

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 28:6 Some manuscripts the Lord
  2. Matthew 28:19 Or into

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