Matthew 23:23-39

Holman Christian Standard Bible

²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of^[a] mint, dill, and cumin,^[b] yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice,^(A) mercy, and faith. These things should have been done without neglecting the others. ²⁴ Blind guides!^(B) You strain out a gnat, yet gulp down a camel!

²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed^[c] and self-indulgence!^{(C) 26} Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup,^[d] so the outside of it^[e] may also become clean.

²⁷ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs,^(D) which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every impurity. ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we wouldn’t have taken part with them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’^{[f] 31} You, therefore, testify against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ sins!^[g](E)

³³ “Snakes! Brood of vipers! How can you escape being condemned to hell?^{[h](F) 34} This is why I am sending you prophets,^(G) sages, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues^(H) and hound from town to town. ³⁵ So all the righteous blood shed on the earth will be charged to you,^[i] from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah,^(I) son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.^{(J) 36} I assure you: All these things will come on this generation!^(K)

Jesus’ Lamentation over Jerusalem

³⁷ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem!^(L) She who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks^[j] under her wings, yet you were not willing!^{(M) 38} See, your house is left to you desolate.^{(N) 39} For I tell you, you will never see Me again until you say, ‘He who comes in the name of the Lord is the blessed One’!”^(O)[k]