Matthew 23:13-26

New Testament for Everyone

Condemnation of scribes and Pharisees (1)

¹³ “Woe betide you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites!” Jesus continued. “You slam the door of heaven’s kingdom in people’s faces. You don’t go in yourselves, and when other people try to enter, you stop them.

¹⁵ “Woe betide you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You cross sea and land to make one single Gentile take up Jewish practices, and when that happens you make the convert twice as much a child of Gehenna as you are yourselves.

¹⁶ “Woe betide you, you blind guides! This is what you say: ‘If anyone swears by the Temple, it’s nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold in the Temple, the oath is valid.’ ¹⁷ How crazy and blind can you get! Which is greater, the gold, or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? ¹⁸ And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it’s nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, the oath is valid.’ ¹⁹ How blind you are! Which is greater, the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? ²⁰ So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹ And whoever swears by the Temple swears by it and by the one who lives in it. ²² And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by the one who sits on it.”

Condemnation of scribes and Pharisees (2)

²³ “Woe betide you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites!” Jesus went on. “You tithe mint and dill and cumin, and you omit the serious matters of the law like justice, mercy and loyalty. You should have done these, without neglecting the others. ²⁴ You’re blind guides! You filter out a gnat, but you gulp down a camel!

²⁵ “Woe betide you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You scrub the outside of the cup and the dish, but the inside is full of extortion and moral flabbiness. ²⁶ You blind Pharisee, first make the inside of the cup clean, and then the outside will be clean as well.