Jesus Accuses Some Leaders^(A)

23 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his ·followers [disciples], ² “The ·teachers of the law [scribes] and the Pharisees ·have the authority to interpret what the law of Moses says [^Lsit in Moses’ seat/chair]. ³ So you should ·obey [do; practice] and ·follow [keep; observe] whatever they tell you, but ·their lives are not good examples for you to follow [^Ldo not follow their actions]. ·They tell you to do things, but they themselves don’t do them [^LFor they say but do not do]. ⁴ They ·make strict rules [^Ltie up heavy loads/burdens that are hard to carry] and ·try to force people to obey them [^Lput them on people’s shoulders], but they are unwilling to ·help those who struggle under the weight of their rules [lift a finger to move them; ^Lmove them with their finger].

⁵ “They do good things so that other people will see them. They enlarge ·the little boxes holding Scriptures that they wear [^Ltheir phylacteries; ^Cleather cases worn on the left arm and forehead to literally fulfill Deut. 6:8; 11:18], and they ·make their special prayer clothes very long [^Llengthen their tassels; ^CJewish males were to wear tassels on the four corners of their garment; Num. 15:38; Deut. 22:12]. ⁶ Those Pharisees and teachers of the law love to have the ·most important seats [places of greatest honor] at ·feasts [banquets] and [^Lthe best seats] in the synagogues. ⁷ They love people to greet them with respect in the marketplaces, and they love to have people call them ·‘Teacher [^LRabbi].’

⁸ “But you must not be called ‘·Teacher [Rabbi],’ because you have only one Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters together. ⁹ And don’t call any person on earth ‘Father,’ because you have one Father, who is in heaven. ¹⁰ And you should not be called ‘·Master [Leader; Teacher; Instructor]’ because you have only one ·Master [Leader; Teacher; Instructor], the ·Christ [Messiah]. ¹¹ ·Whoever is your servant is the greatest among you [^LThe greatest among you will be your servant]. ¹² Whoever ·makes himself great [lifts up/exalts himself] will be made humble. Whoever makes himself humble will be ·made great [exalted; lifted up].

¹³ “·How terrible for [^LWoe to] you, ·teachers of the law [scribes] and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! [^LBecause] You ·close [shut; lock] the door for people to enter the kingdom of heaven. You yourselves don’t enter, and you ·stop [don’t allow] others who are trying to enter. |¹⁴ ·How terrible for [^LWoe to] you, ·teachers of the law [scribes] and Pharisees. You are hypocrites. You ·take away [^Ldevour] widows’ houses, and you say long prayers ·so that people will notice you [as a pretense]. So you will have a worse ·punishment [condemnation].|^[a]

¹⁵ “·How terrible for [^LWoe to] you, ·teachers of the law [scribes] and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You travel across land and sea to ·find one person who will change to your ways [^Lmake one convert/proseltye]. When you ·find that person [make that convert], you make him ·more fit for hell than [^Ltwice the son of hell/Gehenna that; 5:22] you are.

¹⁶ “·How terrible for [^LWoe to] you! ·You guide the people, but you are blind [^LBlind guides!]. You say, ‘If people ·swear [make an oath/vow] by the Temple when they make a promise, that means nothing. But if they swear by the gold that is in the Temple, they ·must keep that promise [are obligated/bound].’ ¹⁷ You are blind fools! Which is greater: the gold or the Temple that makes that gold ·holy [sacred; sanctified]? ¹⁸ And you say, ‘If people ·swear [make an oath/vow] by the altar when they make a promise, that means nothing. But if they ·swear [make an oath/vow] by the ·gift [offering] on the altar, they ·must keep that promise [are obligated/bound].’ ¹⁹ You are blind! Which is greater: the ·gift [offering] or the altar that makes the gift ·holy [sacred; sanctified]? ²⁰ [^LSo; Therefore] The person who swears by the altar is really swearing by the altar and also everything on the altar. ²¹ And the person who swears by the Temple is really swearing by the Temple and the One who ·lives [dwells] in the Temple. ²² The person who swears by heaven is also swearing by God’s throne and the One who sits on that throne.

²³ “·How terrible for [^LWoe to] you, ·teachers of the law [scribes] and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You ·give to God one-tenth of [pay tithe on] everything you have—even your mint, dill, and cumin. But you ·don’t obey [ignore; neglect] the ·really important teachings [^Lweightier matters] of the law—justice, mercy, and ·being loyal [faith; faithfulness]. These are the things you should do, ·as well as [without neglecting] those other things. ²⁴ ·You guide the people, but you are blind! [^LBlind guides!] You ·are like a person who picks a fly out of a drink and then swallows a camel [^Lstrain out a gnat, but swallow a camel; ^Cworrying about the smallest mistakes while committing the biggest sins]!

²⁵ “·How terrible for [^LWoe to] you, ·teachers of the law [scribes] and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You ·wash [clean] the outside of your cups and dishes [^Cfor ceremonial purity], but inside they are full of ·things you got by cheating others and by pleasing only yourselves [^Lgreed/robbery and self-indulgence]. ²⁶ Pharisees, you are blind! First make the inside of the cup^[b] clean, and then the outside ·can be truly [or will also be] clean.

²⁷ “·How terrible for [^LWoe to] you, ·teachers of the law [scribes] and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You are like ·tombs that are painted white [whitewashed tombs]. Outside, those tombs ·look fine [appear beautiful], but inside, they are full of the bones of dead people and all kinds of ·unclean things [filth; corruption; impurity]. ²⁸ It is the same with you. ·People look at you and think you are good [or On the outside you look like righteous people], but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and ·evil [lawlessness].

²⁹ “·How terrible for [^LWoe to] you, ·teachers of the law [scribes] and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets, and you ·show honor to [decorate; adorn] the graves of ·those who lived good lives [^Lthe righteous]. ³⁰ You say, ‘If we had lived during the time of our ancestors, we would not have ·helped them kill [^Lbeen partners in the blood of] the prophets.’ ³¹ But you ·give proof [^Ltestify against yourselves] that you are ·descendants [sons; children] of those who murdered the prophets. ³² ·And you will complete the sin that your ancestors started [or Go ahead and finish what your fathers started!; ^LFill up the measure of your fathers].

³³ “You ·are snakes [serpents]! A ·family of poisonous snakes [^Tbrood/offspring of vipers]! How are you going to escape ·God’s judgment [the sentence/judgment/damnation of hell/Gehenna; 5:22]? ³⁴ ·So I tell you this [For this reason]: I am sending to you prophets and wise men and ·teachers [scribes; experts in the law]. Some of them you will kill and crucify. Some of them you will ·beat [scourge; flog] in your synagogues and ·chase [hunt; persecute] from town to town. ³⁵ So ·you will be guilty for [^Lupon you will come] ·the death of all the good people who have been killed on earth [^Lall the righteous blood shed on the earth]—from the ·murder [^Lblood] of that ·good [righteous] man Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berakiah, whom you murdered between the ·Temple [sanctuary] and the altar [^Cin the book order of the Hebrew Old Testament, Abel (Gen. 4:8) and Zechariah (2 Chr. 24:21) were the first and last men to be murdered]. ³⁶ I tell you the truth, all of these things will happen to ·you people who are living now [^Lthis generation].

Jesus Grieves for Jerusalem^(B)

³⁷ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and stone to death those who are sent to you. ·Many times [How often] I wanted to gather your ·people [^Lchildren] as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you ·did not let me [refused]. ³⁸ ·Now [^LLook; ^TBehold] your house ·will be [^Lis] left ·completely empty [abandoned; deserted; desolate; Jer. 22:5]. ³⁹ [^LFor] I tell you, you will not see me again until that time when you will say, ‘·God bless [^LBlessed is] the One who comes in the name of the Lord [Ps. 118:26].’”