Matthew 23-25

New American Standard Bible 1995

Pharisaism Exposed

23 ^(A)Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, ² saying: “^(B)The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; ³ therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. ^4 (C)They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. ⁵ But they do all their deeds ^(D)to be noticed by men; for they ^(E)broaden their ^[a]phylacteries and lengthen ^(F)the tassels of their garments. ⁶ They ^(G)love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, ⁷ and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called ^(H)Rabbi by men. ⁸ But ^(I)do not be called ^(J)Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ Do not call anyone on earth your father; for ^(K)One is your Father, He who is in heaven. ¹⁰ Do not be called ^[b]leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. ^11 (L)But the greatest among you shall be your servant. ^12 (M)Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

Eight Woes

¹³ “^(N)But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, ^(O)because you shut off the kingdom of heaven ^[c]from ^[d]people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. ¹⁴ [^[e]Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because ^(P)you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.]

¹⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one ^[f](Q)proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of ^[g](R)hell as yourselves.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, ^(S)blind guides, who say, ‘^(T)Whoever swears by the ^[h]temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the ^[i]temple is obligated.’ ¹⁷ You fools and blind men! ^(U)Which is ^[j]more important, the gold or the ^[k]temple that sanctified the gold? ¹⁸ And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the ^[l]offering on it, he is obligated.’ ¹⁹ You blind men, ^(V)which is ^[m]more important, the ^[n]offering, or the altar that sanctifies the ^[o]offering? ²⁰ Therefore, ^[p]whoever swears by the altar, swears both by ^[q]the altar and by everything on it. ²¹ And ^[r]whoever swears by the ^[s]temple, swears both by ^[t]the temple and by Him who ^(W)dwells within it. ²² And ^[u]whoever swears by heaven, ^(X)swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

²³ “^(Y)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and ^[v]cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. ²⁴ You ^(Z)blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ^(AA)you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full ^[w]of robbery and self-indulgence. ²⁶ You blind Pharisee, first ^(AB)clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.

²⁷ “^(AC)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸ So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹ “^(AD)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves, that you ^(AE)are ^[x]sons of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. ³³ You serpents, ^(AF)you brood of vipers, how ^[y]will you escape the ^[z]sentence of ^[aa](AG)hell?

³⁴ “^(AH)Therefore, behold, ^(AI)I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will ^(AJ)scourge in your synagogues, and ^(AK)persecute from city to city, ³⁵ so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous ^(AL)Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the ^(AM)son of Berechiah, whom ^(AN)you murdered between the ^[ab]temple and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon ^(AO)this generation.

Lament over Jerusalem

³⁷ “^(AP)Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who ^(AQ)kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, ^(AR)the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. ³⁸ Behold, ^(AS)your house is being left to you desolate! ³⁹ For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘^(AT)Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

Signs of Christ’s Return

24 ^(AU)Jesus ^(AV)came out from the temple and was going away ^[ac]when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. ² And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, ^(AW)not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

³ As He was sitting on ^(AX)the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of ^(AY)Your coming, and of the ^[ad]end of the age?”

⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them, “^(AZ)See to it that no one misleads you. ⁵ For ^(BA)many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the ^[ae]Christ,’ and will mislead many. ⁶ You will be hearing of ^(BB)wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. ⁷ For ^(BC)nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be ^(BD)famines and earthquakes. ^8 (BE)But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

⁹ “^(BF)Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and ^(BG)you will be hated by all nations because of My name. ¹⁰ At that time many will ^[af](BH)fall away and will ^[ag]betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ Many ^(BI)false prophets will arise and will mislead many. ¹² Because lawlessness is increased, ^[ah]most people’s love will grow cold. ^13 (BJ)But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. ¹⁴ This ^(BK)gospel of the kingdom ^(BL)shall be preached in the whole ^[ai](BM)world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Perilous Times

¹⁵ “Therefore when you see the ^(BN)abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in ^(BO)the holy place (^(BP)let the reader understand), ¹⁶ then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ^17 [aj]Whoever is on ^(BQ)the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. ^18 [ak]Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. ¹⁹ But ^(BR)woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ²⁰ But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be a ^(BS)great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. ²² Unless those days had been cut short, no ^[al]life would have been saved; but for ^(BT)the sake of the ^[am]elect those days will be cut short. ^23 (BU)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the ^[an]Christ,’ or ‘^[ao]There He is,’ do not believe him. ²⁴ For false Christs and ^(BV)false prophets will arise and will ^[ap]show great ^[aq](BW)signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even ^(BX)the ^[ar]elect. ²⁵ Behold, I have told you in advance. ²⁶ So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. ^27 (BY)For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the ^(BZ)coming of the ^(CA)Son of Man be. ^28 (CB)Wherever the corpse is, there the ^[as]vultures will gather.

The Glorious Return

²⁹ “But immediately after the ^(CC)tribulation of those days ^(CD)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and ^(CE)the stars will fall from ^[at]the sky, and the powers of ^[au]the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ And then ^(CF)the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ^(CG)the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. ³¹ And ^(CH)He will send forth His angels with ^(CI)a great trumpet and they will gather together His ^[av](CJ)elect from ^(CK)the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

Parable of the Fig Tree

³² “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; ³³ so, you too, when you see all these things, ^[aw]recognize that ^[ax]He is near, right ^(CL)at the ^[ay]door. ³⁴ Truly I say to you, ^(CM)this ^[az]generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ^35 (CN)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

³⁶ “But ^(CO)of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. ³⁷ For ^[ba]the ^(CP)coming of the Son of Man will be ^(CQ)just like the days of Noah. ³⁸ For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, ^(CR)marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that ^(CS)Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and they did not ^[bb]understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the ^(CT)coming of the Son of Man be. ⁴⁰ Then there will be two men in the field; one ^[bc]will be taken and one ^[bd]will be left. ^41 (CU)Two women will be grinding at the ^[be](CV)mill; one ^[bf]will be taken and one ^[bg]will be left.

Be Ready for His Coming

⁴² “Therefore ^(CW)be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But ^[bh]be sure of this, that ^(CX)if the head of the house had known ^(CY)at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be ^[bi]broken into. ⁴⁴ For this reason ^(CZ)you also must be ready; for ^(DA)the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

⁴⁵ “^(DB)Who then is the ^(DC)faithful and ^(DD)sensible slave whom his ^[bj]master ^(DE)put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that slave whom his ^[bk]master finds so doing when he comes. ⁴⁷ Truly I say to you that ^(DF)he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My ^[bl]master ^[bm]is not coming for a long time,’ ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; ⁵⁰ the ^[bn]master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, ⁵¹ and will ^[bo]cut him in pieces and ^[bp]assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be ^(DG)weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Parable of Ten Virgins

25 “Then ^(DH)the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their ^(DI)lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Five of them were foolish, and five were ^(DJ)prudent. ³ For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, ⁴ but the ^(DK)prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. ⁵ Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. ⁶ But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the ^(DL)prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ^(DM)ready went in with him to ^(DN)the wedding feast; and ^(DO)the door was shut. ¹¹ Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘^(DP)Lord, lord, open up for us.’ ¹² But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ ^13 (DQ)Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.

Parable of the Talents

¹⁴ “^(DR)For it is just like a man ^(DS)about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. ¹⁵ To one he gave five ^[bq](DT)talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he ^(DU)went on his journey. ¹⁶ Immediately the one who had received the five ^(DV)talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. ¹⁷ In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. ¹⁸ But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his ^[br]master’s money.

¹⁹ “Now after a long time the master of those slaves *came and *^(DW)settled accounts with them. ²⁰ The one who had received the five ^(DX)talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ ²¹ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and ^(DY)faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will ^(DZ)put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your ^[bs]master.’

²² “Also the one who had received the two ^(EA)talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ ²³ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and ^(EB)faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

²⁴ “And the one also who had received the one ^(EC)talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. ²⁵ And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’

²⁶ “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. ²⁷ Then you ought to have put my money ^[bt]in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. ²⁸ Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’

²⁹ “^(ED)For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. ³⁰ Throw out the worthless slave into ^(EE)the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Judgment

³¹ “But when ^(EF)the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then ^(EG)He will sit on His glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be ^(EH)gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, ^(EI)as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; ³³ and He will put the sheep ^(EJ)on His right, and the goats ^(EK)on the left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, ^(EL)inherit the kingdom prepared for you ^(EM)from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ For ^(EN)I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; ^(EO)I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; ^36 (EP)naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you ^(EQ)visited Me; ^(ER)I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ³⁸ And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ³⁹ When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ^40 (ES)The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, ^(ET)to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

⁴¹ “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘^(EU)Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the ^(EV)eternal fire which has been prepared for ^(EW)the devil and his angels; ⁴² for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; ⁴³ I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ ⁴⁴ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not ^[bu]take care of You?’ ⁴⁵ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ ⁴⁶ These will go away into ^(EX)eternal punishment, but the righteous into ^(EY)eternal life.”