Matthew 23

VIN^{(i) 1} Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ² The scholars and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat. ³ So practice and observe everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. ⁴ They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. ⁵ But they do all their works to be seen by men. For they make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long, ⁶ "They love the place of honor at banquets and the prominent seats in the synagogues. ⁷ "They enjoy salutations in the market-places, and to have men call them 'Rabbi.' ⁸ But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master, and you are all brethren. ⁹ And do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. ¹⁰ Nor are you to be called 'Teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ. ¹¹ "The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹² For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. ¹³ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter. ¹⁵ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You traverse land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. ¹⁶ Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ ¹⁷ You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred? ¹⁸ And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’ ¹⁹ You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? ²⁰ Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹ And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the One who dwells in it. ²² And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the One who sits on it. ²³ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin, but you have disregarded the weightier matters of the Law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. ²⁴ You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. ²⁵ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶ Blind Pharisee, first wash clean the inside of the cup or dish, and then the outside will be clean also. ²⁷ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every impurity. ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you also appear righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. ²⁹ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous. ³⁰ And you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, 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 sons of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Fill up, then, the measure of the sins of your fathers. ³³ You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape the sentence of hell? ³⁴ Because of this, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and others you will flog in your synagogues and persecute in town after town. ³⁵ And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ I tell you truly all this will come on this generation. ³⁷ "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! ³⁸ Look, your house is left to you desolate. 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.'"