Matthew

¹Jesus then spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, ²saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves³¹⁷ in the chair of Moses. ³Therefore, whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do, but do not imitate their works; for they preach and [yet] do not act accordingly. ⁴Indeed, they bind heavy burdens that are dreadful to bear and put them on people’s shoulders; but they themselves will not lift a finger to help them. ⁵Instead, they do all their works to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries³¹⁸ broad, they enlarge the fringes³¹⁹ of their garments, ⁶and love the place of honor at feasts. They love the best seats in the synagogues, ⁷the greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi, Rabbi’³²⁰ by people. ⁸But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for one is your teacher, the Christ, and all of you are brothers. ⁹Call no man on the earth ‘your father,’ for one is your Father, he who is in heaven. ¹⁰And do not be called ‘teacher,’³²¹ for one is your teacher, the Christ.^{322 11}Instead, the one who is the greatest among you shall be your servant. ¹²Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

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

¹⁴Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you shut the Kingdom of Heaven in the face of people and you yourselves do not enter! And those who would enter, you prevent from doing so.^{323 15}Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel around by sea and land to make one convert; and when one is converted, you make him twice as much of an heir³²⁴ of Gehenna³²⁵ as yourselves.

¹⁶Woe to you, you blind guides, who say, ‘If someone swears by the sanctuary, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is bound.’ ¹⁷You blind fools! Which is greater, the gold, or the sanctuary that sanctifies the gold? ¹⁸You say, ‘If someone swears by the altar, it is nothing; but if someone swears by the gift that is placed on it, he is bound!’ ¹⁹You fools and blind [men]! Which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift? ²⁰Therefore, whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹Whoever swears by the sanctuary swears by it and by the one who dwelt³²⁶ in it. ²²Whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by the one who sits on it.

²³Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin,³²⁷ but you have not fulfilled the truly significant matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. It is these you should have practiced, without neglecting the others. ²⁴You are blind guides who filter out a fly and yet swallow a camel!

²⁵Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the platter, but inside, they are full of greed and unrighteousness.^{328 26}You blind Pharisees, first clean the inside of the cup and platter, so that the outside may also become clean.

²⁷Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside, they are full of dead bones and all [kinds of] impurity. ²⁸Likewise, you also appear righteous to men outwardly, but inside, you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

²⁹Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the tombs of the righteous, ³⁰saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have partaken with them in the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹Therefore, you testify to yourselves that you are children of those who killed the prophets! ³²Fill up, then, the measure [of sin] of your forefathers. ³³You serpents, offspring of vipers, how will you escape the judgment of Gehenna³²⁹? ³⁴Therefore, behold, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from city to city. ³⁵Thus all the righteous blood shed on the earth will come upon you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah,³³⁰ whom you killed between the sanctuary and the altar. ³⁶Amen, I tell you: all these things will come upon this generation.

The Lord laments over Jerusalem

³⁷Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often have I desired to gather your children, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings; but you were not willing! ³⁸Behold, your house is left to you in a desolate state. ³⁹For I tell you, you will not see me from now on until [the day when] you are saying, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord!’”³³¹

Questions about the Lord’s coming—Prophecies of calamities

317. Or “are seated/have taken their seat”
318. Phylacteries (tefillin in Hebrew) are small leather pouches that some Jewish men wear on their forehead and arm in prayer. They are used to carry a small scroll with some Scripture in it. Jews would reverently kiss them before and after use. See Deuteronomy 6:8.
319. Or “tassels”
320. CT simple reads “Rabbi”
321. Or “leader/professor/master” (Greek kaqhghtai)
322. CT omits “the Christ”
323. Some Greek manuscripts reverse the order of verses 13 and 14, and some omit verse 13, numbering verse 14 as 13.
324. Or “a son”
325. Or “hell”
326. CT and TR read “dwelling in it.” The PT and MT rendering “who dwelt” may indicate that it is no longer the case.
327. Cumin is an aromatic seed resembling caraway in flavor and appearance. It is used as a spice.
328. Other texts (TR/CT) read “excess” or “self-indulgence”
329. Or “hell”
330. See Zech. 1:1, 7. It is also possible that reference is made to Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada (2 Chronicles 24:20) or even to the father of John the Baptist.
331. Psalm 118:26/117 LXX