English Standard Version

New Living Translation

1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,

1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,

2“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat,

2 “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses.

3so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.

3 So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach.

4They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.

4 They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.

5They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long,

5 “Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels.

6and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues

6 And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues.

7and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.

7 They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’

8But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers.

8 “Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters.

9And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.

9 And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your Father.

10Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ.

10 And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Messiah.

11The greatest among you shall be your servant.

11 The greatest among you must be a servant.

12Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

12 But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

13“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.

13 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.

14

14

15Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

15 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are!

16“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’

16 “Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear ‘by God’s Temple,’ but that it is binding to swear ‘by the gold in the Temple.’

17You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred?

17 Blind fools! Which is more important—the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred?

18And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’

18 And you say that to swear ‘by the altar’ is not binding, but to swear ‘by the gifts on the altar’ is binding.

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

19 How blind! For which is more important—the gift on the altar or the altar that makes the gift sacred?

20So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.

20 When you swear ‘by the altar,’ you are swearing by it and by everything on it.

21And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it.

21 And when you swear ‘by the Temple,’ you are swearing by it and by God, who lives in it.

22And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.

22 And when you swear ‘by heaven,’ you are swearing by the throne of God and by God, who sits on the throne.

23“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

23 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.

24You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!

24 Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!

25“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

25 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence!

26You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

26 You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too.

27“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.

27 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity.

28So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

28 Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.

29“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous,

29 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed, and you decorate the monuments of the godly people your ancestors destroyed.

30saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’

30 Then you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would never have joined them in killing the prophets.’

31Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.

31 “But in saying that, you testify against yourselves that you are indeed the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.

32Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.

32 Go ahead and finish what your ancestors started.

33You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?

33 Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?

34Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town,

34 “Therefore, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers of religious law. But you will kill some by crucifixion, and you will flog others with whips in your synagogues, chasing them from city to city.

35so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.

35 As a result, you will be held responsible for the murder of all godly people of all time—from the murder of righteous Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you killed in the Temple between the sanctuary and the altar.

36Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

36 I tell you the truth, this judgment will fall on this very generation. Jesus Grieves over Jerusalem

37“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me.

38See, your house is left to you desolate.

38 And now, look, your house is abandoned and desolate.

39For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

39 For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD !’ ”

ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.