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13 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and as a pretense you make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

14 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men; for you don’t enter in yourselves, neither do you allow those who are entering in to enter.[a] 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel around by sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of Gehenna[b] as yourselves.

16 “Woe to you, you blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated.’ 17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? 18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obligated?’ 19 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift? 20 He therefore who swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it. 21 He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by him who has been living[c] in it. 22 He who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by him who sits on it.

23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin,[d] and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone. 24 You blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel!

25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and unrighteousness.[e] 26 You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the platter, that its outside may become clean also.

27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitened tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones and of all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the tombs of the righteous, 30 and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we wouldn’t have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Therefore you testify to yourselves that you are children of those who killed the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape the judgment of Gehenna?[f] 34 Therefore, behold, I send to you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify; and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, 35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Most certainly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation.

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Footnotes

  1. 23:14 Some Greek texts reverse the order of verses 13 and 14, and some omit verse 13, numbering verse 14 as 13. NU omits verse 14.
  2. 23:15 or, Hell
  3. 23:21 NU reads “lives”
  4. 23:23 cumin is an aromatic seed from Cuminum cyminum, resembling caraway in flavor and appearance. It is used as a spice.
  5. 23:25 TR reads “self-indulgence” instead of “unrighteousness”
  6. 23:33 or, Hell

13 “But woe (A)to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you (B)shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you (C)neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.[a] 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single (D)proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a (E)child of (F)hell[b] as yourselves.

16 “Woe to (G)you, (H)blind guides, who say, (I)‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or (J)the temple that has made the gold sacred? 18 And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by (K)the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ 19 You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or (L)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 (M)him who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by (N)heaven swears by (O)the throne of God and by (P)him who sits upon it.

23 (Q)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For (R)you tithe mint and dill and (S)cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: (T)justice and mercy and faithfulness. (U)These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing (V)a camel!

25 (W)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For (X)you clean the outside of (Y)the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of (Z)greed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of (AA)the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

27 (AB)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like (AC)whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and (AD)all uncleanness. 28 So you also (AE)outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of (AF)hypocrisy and lawlessness.

29 (AG)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are (AH)sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 (AI)Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, (AJ)you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to (AK)hell? 34 (AL)Therefore (AM)I send you (AN)prophets and wise men and (AO)scribes, (AP)some of whom you will kill and crucify, and (AQ)some you will (AR)flog in your synagogues and (AS)persecute from town to town, 35 so that on you may come all (AT)the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous (AU)Abel to the blood of (AV)Zechariah the son of Barachiah,[c] whom you murdered between (AW)the sanctuary and (AX)the altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, (AY)all these things will come upon this generation.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 23:13 Some manuscripts add here (or after verse 12) verse 14: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation
  2. Matthew 23:15 Greek Gehenna; also verse 33
  3. Matthew 23:35 Some manuscripts omit the son of Barachiah