Matthew - Chapter 23

¹ Then addressing the crowds and his disciples Jesus said,

² 'The scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses.

³ You must therefore do and observe what they tell you; but do not be guided by what they do, since they do not practise what they preach.

⁴ They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people's shoulders, but will they lift a finger to move them? Not they!

⁵ Everything they do is done to attract attention, like wearing broader headbands and longer tassels,

⁶ like wanting to take the place of honour at banquets and the front seats in the synagogues,

⁷ being greeted respectfully in the market squares and having people call them Rabbi.

⁸ 'You, however, must not allow yourselves to be called Rabbi, since you have only one Master, and you are all brothers.

⁹ You must call no one on earth your father, since you have only one Father, and he is in heaven.

¹⁰ Nor must you allow yourselves to be called teachers, for you have only one Teacher, the Christ.

¹¹ The greatest among you must be your servant.

¹² Anyone who raises himself up will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be raised up.

¹³ 'Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut up the kingdom of Heaven in people's faces, neither going in yourselves nor allowing others to go who want to.

¹⁴ * [23:14] Some manuscripts add a verse here or after Mt 23:12, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers. Because of this, you will receive a very severe condemnation." Cf. Mk 12:40; Lk 20:47. This "woe" is almost identical with Mk 12:40 and seems to be an interpolation derived from that text. (USCCB)

¹⁵ 'Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over sea and land to make a single proselyte, and anyone who becomes one you make twice as fit for hell as you are.

¹⁶ 'Alas for you, blind guides! You say, "If anyone swears by the Temple, it has no force; but anyone who swears by the gold of the Temple is bound."

¹⁷ Fools and blind! For which is of greater value, the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred?

¹⁸ Again, "If anyone swears by the altar it has no force; but anyone who swears by the offering on the altar, is bound."

¹⁹ You blind men! For which is of greater worth, the offering or the altar that makes the offering sacred?

²⁰ Therefore, someone who swears by the altar is swearing by that and by everything on it.

²¹ And someone who swears by the Temple is swearing by that and by the One who dwells in it.

²² And someone who swears by heaven is swearing by the throne of God and by the One who is seated there.

²³ 'Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay your tithe of mint and dill and cummin and have neglected the weightier matters of the Law-justice, mercy, good faith! These you should have practised, those not neglected.

²⁴ You blind guides, straining out gnats and swallowing camels!

²⁵ 'Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of cup and dish and leave the inside full of extortion and intemperance.

²⁶ Blind Pharisee! Clean the inside of cup and dish first so that it and the outside are both clean.

²⁷ 'Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look handsome on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and every kind of corruption.

²⁸ In just the same way, from the outside you look upright, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹ 'Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build the sepulchres of the prophets and decorate the tombs of the upright,

³⁰ saying, "We would never have joined in shedding the blood of the prophets, had we lived in our ancestors' day."

³¹ So! Your own evidence tells against you! You are the children of those who murdered the prophets!

³² Very well then, finish off the work that your ancestors began.

³³ 'You serpents, brood of vipers, how can you escape being condemned to hell?

³⁴ This is why -- look -- I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some you will slaughter and crucify, some you will scourge in your synagogues and hunt from town to town;

³⁵ and so you will draw down on yourselves the blood of every upright person that has been shed on earth, from the blood of Abel the holy to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.

³⁶ In truth I tell you, it will all recoil on this generation.

³⁷ 'Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often have I longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you refused!

³⁸ Look! Your house will be deserted,

³⁹ for, I promise, you shall not see me any more until you are saying: Blessed is he who is coming in the name of the Lord!'

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