Jesus Warns against the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees^(A)

23 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples. ² “The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees are the authorized interpreters of Moses' Law. ³ So you must obey and follow everything they tell you to do; do not, however, imitate their actions, because they don't practice what they preach. ⁴ They tie onto people's backs loads that are heavy and hard to carry, yet they aren't willing even to lift a finger to help them carry those loads. ^5 (B)They do everything so that people will see them. Look at the straps with scripture verses on them which they wear on their foreheads and arms, and notice how large they are! Notice also how long are the tassels on their cloaks!^{[a] 6} They love the best places at feasts and the reserved seats in the synagogues; ⁷ they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to have people call them ‘Teacher.’ ⁸ You must not be called ‘Teacher,’ because you are all equal and have only one Teacher. ⁹ And you must not call anyone here on earth ‘Father,’ because you have only the one Father in heaven. ¹⁰ Nor should you be called ‘Leader,’ because your one and only leader is the Messiah. ^11 (C)The greatest one among you must be your servant. ^12 (D)Whoever makes himself great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be made great.

Jesus Condemns Their Hypocrisy^(E)

¹³ “How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You lock the door to the Kingdom of heaven in people's faces, but you yourselves don't go in, nor do you allow in those who are trying to enter! ^14 [b]

¹⁵ “How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You sail the seas and cross whole countries to win one convert; and when you succeed, you make him twice as deserving of going to hell as you yourselves are!

¹⁶ “How terrible for you, blind guides! You teach, ‘If someone swears by the Temple, he isn't bound by his vow; but if he swears by the gold in the Temple, he is bound.’ ¹⁷ Blind fools! Which is more important, the gold or the Temple which makes the gold holy? ¹⁸ You also teach, ‘If someone swears by the altar, he isn't bound by his vow; but if he swears by the gift on the altar, he is bound.’ ¹⁹ How blind you are! Which is the more important, the gift or the altar which makes the gift holy? ²⁰ So then, when a person swears by the altar, he is swearing by it and by all the gifts on it; ²¹ and when he swears by the Temple, he is swearing by it and by God, who lives there; ^22 (F)and when someone swears by heaven, he is swearing by God's throne and by him who sits on it.

^23 (G)“How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You give to God one tenth even of the seasoning herbs, such as mint, dill, and cumin, but you neglect to obey the really important teachings of the Law, such as justice and mercy and honesty. These you should practice, without neglecting the others. ²⁴ Blind guides! You strain a fly out of your drink, but swallow a camel!

²⁵ “How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You clean the outside of your cup and plate, while the inside is full of what you have gotten by violence and selfishness. ²⁶ Blind Pharisee! Clean what is inside the cup first, and then the outside will be clean too!

^27 (H)“How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look fine on the outside but are full of bones and decaying corpses on the inside. ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you appear good to everybody, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and sins.

Jesus Predicts Their Punishment^(I)

²⁹ “How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You make fine tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of those who lived good lives; ³⁰ and you claim that if you had lived during the time of your ancestors, you would not have done what they did and killed the prophets. ³¹ So you actually admit that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets! ³² Go on, then, and finish up what your ancestors started! ^33 (J)You snakes and children of snakes! How do you expect to escape from being condemned to hell? ³⁴ And so I tell you that I will send you prophets and wise men and teachers; you will kill some of them, crucify others, and whip others in the synagogues and chase them from town to town. ^35 (K)As a result, the punishment for the murder of all innocent people will fall on you, from the murder of innocent Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the Temple and the altar. ³⁶ I tell you indeed: the punishment for all these murders will fall on the people of this day!

Jesus' Love for Jerusalem^(L)

³⁷ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and stone the messengers God has sent you! How many times I wanted to put my arms around all your people, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not let me! ^38 (M)And so your Temple will be abandoned and empty. ^39 (N)From now on, I tell you, you will never see me again until you say, ‘God bless him who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

The Covenant Is Sealed

24 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up the mountain to me, you and Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the leaders of Israel; and while you are still some distance away, bow down in worship. ² You alone, and none of the others, are to come near me. The people are not even to come up the mountain.”

³ Moses went and told the people all the Lord's commands and all the ordinances, and all the people answered together, “We will do everything that the Lord has said.” ⁴ Moses wrote down all the Lord's commands. Early the next morning he built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stones, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵ Then he sent young men, and they burned sacrifices to the Lord and sacrificed some cattle as fellowship offerings. ⁶ Moses took half of the blood of the animals and put it in bowls; and the other half he threw against the altar. ⁷ Then he took the book of the Covenant, in which the Lord's commands were written, and read it aloud to the people. They said, “We will obey the Lord and do everything that he has commanded.”

^8 (A)Then Moses took the blood in the bowls and threw it on the people. He said, “This is the blood that seals the covenant which the Lord made with you when he gave all these commands.”

⁹ Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the leaders of Israel went up the mountain ¹⁰ and they saw the God of Israel. Beneath his feet was what looked like a pavement of sapphire, as blue as the sky. ¹¹ God did not harm these leading men of Israel; they saw God, and then they ate and drank together.

Moses on Mount Sinai

¹² The Lord said to Moses, “Come up the mountain to me, and while you are here, I will give you two stone tablets which contain all the laws that I have written for the instruction of the people.” ¹³ Moses and his helper Joshua got ready, and Moses began^[a] to go up the holy mountain. ¹⁴ Moses said to the leaders, “Wait here in the camp for us until we come back. Aaron and Hur are here with you; and so whoever has a dispute to settle can go to them.”

¹⁵ Moses went up Mount Sinai, and a cloud covered it. ^16-17 The dazzling light of the Lord's presence came down on the mountain. To the Israelites the light looked like a fire burning on top of the mountain. The cloud covered the mountain for six days, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from the cloud. ^18 (B)Moses went on up the mountain into the cloud. There he stayed for forty days and nights.

Offerings for the Sacred Tent^(C)

25 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell the Israelites to make an offering to me. Receive whatever offerings anyone wishes to give. ³ These offerings are to be: gold, silver, and bronze; ⁴ fine linen; blue, purple, and red wool; cloth made of goats' hair; ⁵ rams' skin dyed red; fine leather; acacia wood; ⁶ oil for the lamps; spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet-smelling incense; ⁷ carnelians and other jewels to be set in the ephod^[b] of the High Priest and in his breastpiece. ⁸ The people must make a sacred Tent for me, so that I may live among them. ⁹ Make it and all its furnishings according to the plan that I will show you.

The Covenant Box^(D)

¹⁰ “Make a Box out of acacia wood, 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high. ¹¹ Cover it with pure gold inside and out and put a gold border all around it. ¹² Make four carrying rings of gold for it and attach them to its four legs, with two rings on each side. ¹³ Make carrying poles of acacia wood and cover them with gold ¹⁴ and put them through the rings on each side of the Box. ¹⁵ The poles are to be left in the rings and must not be taken out. ¹⁶ Then put in the Box the two stone tablets that I will give you, on which the commandments are written.

^17 (E)“Make a lid of pure gold, 45 inches long and 27 inches wide. ¹⁸ Make two winged creatures^[c] of hammered gold, ¹⁹ one for each end of the lid. Make them so that they form one piece with the lid. ²⁰ The winged creatures are to face each other across the lid, and their outspread wings are to cover it. ²¹ Put the two stone tablets inside the Box and put the lid on top of it. ²² I will meet you there, and from above the lid between the two winged creatures I will give you all my laws for the people of Israel.

The Table for the Bread Offered to God^(F)

²³ “Make a table out of acacia wood, 36 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 27 inches high. ²⁴ Cover it with pure gold and put a gold border around it. ²⁵ Make a rim 3 inches wide around it and a gold border around the rim. ²⁶ Make four carrying rings of gold for it and put them at the four corners, where the legs are. ²⁷ The rings to hold the poles for carrying the table are to be placed near the rim. ²⁸ Make the poles of acacia wood and cover them with gold. ²⁹ Make plates, cups, jars, and bowls to be used for the wine offerings. All of these are to be made of pure gold. ^30 (G)The table is to be placed in front of the Covenant Box, and on the table there is always to be the sacred bread offered to me.

The Lampstand^(H)

³¹ “Make a lampstand of pure gold. Make its base and its shaft of hammered gold; its decorative flowers, including buds and petals, are to form one piece with it. ³² Six branches shall extend from its sides, three from each side. ³³ Each of the six branches is to have three decorative flowers shaped like almond blossoms with buds and petals. ³⁴ The shaft of the lampstand is to have four decorative flowers shaped like almond blossoms with buds and petals. ³⁵ There is to be one bud below each of the three pairs of branches. ³⁶ The buds, the branches, and the lampstand are to be a single piece of pure hammered gold. ³⁷ Make seven lamps for the lampstand and set them up so that they shine toward the front. ³⁸ Make its tongs and trays of pure gold. ³⁹ Use seventy-five pounds of pure gold to make the lampstand and all this equipment. ^40 (I)Take care to make them according to the plan that I showed you on the mountain.