Psalm 51^[a]

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.^(A)

A Warning Against Hypocrisy^(A)(B)

23 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: ² “The teachers of the law^(C) and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ³ So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. ⁴ They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.^(D)

⁵ “Everything they do is done for people to see:^(E) They make their phylacteries^[a](F) wide and the tassels on their garments^(G) long; ⁶ they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues;^{(H) 7} they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.^(I)

⁸ “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father,^(J) and he is in heaven. ¹⁰ Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. ¹¹ The greatest among you will be your servant.^{(K) 12} For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.^(L)

Seven Woes on the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees

¹³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!^(M) You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.^{(N) [14] [b]}

¹⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert,^(O) and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell^(P) as you are.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides!^(Q) You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’^{(R) 17} You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?^{(S) 18} You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ ¹⁹ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?^{(T) 20} Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹ And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells^(U) in it. ²² And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.^(V)

²³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth^(W) of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness.^(X) You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. ²⁴ You blind guides!^(Y) You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

²⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish,^(Z) but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.^{(AA) 26} Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

²⁷ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs,^(AB) which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

²⁹ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets^(AC) and decorate the graves of the righteous. ³⁰ And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.^{(AD) 32} Go ahead, then, and complete^(AE) what your ancestors started!^(AF)

³³ “You snakes! You brood of vipers!^(AG) How will you escape being condemned to hell?^{(AH) 34} Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify;^(AI) others you will flog in your synagogues^(AJ) and pursue from town to town.^{(AK) 35} And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel^(AL) to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah,^(AM) whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.^{(AN) 36} Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.^(AO)

³⁷ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,^(AP) how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,^(AQ) and you were not willing. ³⁸ Look, your house is left to you desolate.^{(AR) 39} For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’^[c]”^(AS)