MatthewChapter 23

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¹Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples. ²"The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. ³So do and obey everything they tell you. But do not do what they do. They do not practice what they teach. ⁴They tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry. They put them on people's shoulders. But they won't lift a finger to help move them. ⁵Everything they do is done for people to see. They make their prayer boxes wide and the tassels on their clothes long.a ⁶They love the places of honor at feasts. They love the most important seats in the synagogues. ⁷They love to be greeted with respect in the markets. They love to be called 'Rabbi.' ⁸But you are not to be called 'Rabbi.' You have only one Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹And do not call anyone on earth your father. You have one Father, and he is in heaven. ¹⁰Do not let people call you teachers either. You have one Teacher, the Messiah. ¹¹The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹²Whoever lifts himself up will be brought low. And whoever makes himself low will be lifted up. ¹³How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. You don't go in yourselves. And you won't let in those who are trying to go in. ¹⁴—b ¹⁵How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win one person to your faith. Then when he joins you, you make him twice as fit for hell as you are.c ¹⁶How terrible it will be for you, blind guides! You say, 'If anyone makes a promise by the temple, it means nothing. But if anyone makes a promise by the gold of the temple, he must keep it.' ¹⁷You blind fools! Which is greater? Is it the gold? Or is it the temple that makes the gold holy? ¹⁸You also say, 'If anyone makes a promise by the altar, it means nothing. But if anyone makes a promise by the gift on the altar, he must keep it.' ¹⁹You blind men! Which is greater? Is it the gift? Or is it the altar that makes the gift holy? ²⁰So anyone who makes a promise by the altar makes a promise by it and by everything on it. ²¹And anyone who makes a promise by the temple makes a promise by it and by the One who lives in it. ²²And anyone who makes a promise by heaven makes a promise by God's throne and by the One who sits on it. ²³How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give God a tenth of your spices, like mint, dill, and cumin. But you have ignored the more important parts of the law. You have ignored justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have done these things without ignoring the others. ²⁴You blind guides! You strain out a gnat from your drink, but you swallow a camel. ²⁵How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish. But inside they are full of greed and selfish living. ²⁶Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish. Then the outside will be clean too. ²⁷How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like tombs painted white. They look beautiful on the outside. But inside they are full of dead people's bones and every kind of filth. ²⁸In the same way, on the outside you seem to do what is right. But on the inside you are full of pretending and evil. ²⁹How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets. You decorate the graves of the righteous. ³⁰And you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have helped them kill the prophets.' ³¹So you are speaking against yourselves. You show that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets. ³²Go ahead, then! Finish the sin your ancestors started! ³³You snakes! You family of poisonous snakes! How will you escape being sentenced to hell? ³⁴So I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify. Others you will whip in your synagogues. You will chase them from town to town. ³⁵And so all the righteous blood spilled on earth will come upon you. It goes from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah. You murdered him between the temple and the altar. ³⁶I tell you the truth, all these things will come on the people living now. ³⁷Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets. You throw stones at those who are sent to you. How often I have wanted to gather your children together! I wanted to be like a hen gathering her chicks under her wings. But you were not willing! ³⁸Look, your house is left to you empty. ³⁹I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"