Eight Woes

¹³ “But woe (judgment is coming) to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who are [in the process of] entering to do so.^{(A) 14 [a]}[Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you swallow up widows’ houses, and to cover it up you make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation.]

¹⁵ “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel over sea and land to make a single proselyte (convert to Judaism), and when he becomes a convert, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears [an oath] by the sanctuary of the temple, that is nothing (non-binding); but whoever swears [an oath] by the gold of the temple is obligated [as a debtor to fulfill his vow and keep his promise].’ ¹⁷ You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the sanctuary of the temple that sanctified the gold?^{(B) 18} And [you scribes and Pharisees say], ‘Whoever swears [an oath] by the altar, that is nothing (non-binding), but whoever swears [an oath] by the offering on it, he is obligated [as a debtor to fulfill his vow and keep his promise].’ ¹⁹ You [spiritually] blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering? ²⁰ Therefore, whoever swears [an oath] by the altar, swears both by it and by everything [offered] on it. ²¹ And whoever swears [an oath] by the sanctuary of the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells within it.^{(C) 22} And whoever swears [an oath] by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

²³ “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you give a tenth (tithe) of your mint and dill and cumin [focusing on minor matters], and have neglected the weightier [more important moral and spiritual] provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the [primary] things you ought to have done without neglecting the others. ²⁴ You [spiritually] blind guides, who strain out a gnat [consuming yourselves with miniscule matters] and swallow a camel [ignoring and violating God’s precepts]!^(D)

²⁵ “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and robbery and self-indulgence (unrestrained greed). ²⁶ You [spiritually] blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the plate [examine and change your inner self to conform to God’s precepts], so that the outside [your public life and deeds] may be clean also.

²⁷ “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which look beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. ²⁸ So you, also, outwardly seem to be just and upright to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.^(E)

²⁹ “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets and decorate and adorn the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ and you say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have joined 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. ³² Fill up, then, the [allotted] measure of the guilt of your fathers’ sins. ³³ You ^[b]serpents, you spawn of vipers, how can you escape the penalty of hell?

³⁴ “Therefore, take notice, I am sending you prophets and wise men [interpreters, teachers] and scribes [men educated in the Mosaic Law and the writings of the prophets]; some of them you will kill and even crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues, and pursue and persecute from city to city, ³⁵ so that on you will come the guilt of all the blood of the righteous shed on earth, from the blood of righteous ^[c]Abel to the blood of Zechariah [the priest], the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.^{(F) 36} I assure you and most solemnly say to you, [the judgment for] all these things [these vile and murderous deeds] will come on this generation.^(G)