| King James Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, | 1Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples: |
| 2Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: | 2"The scribes and the Pharisees are seated in the chair of Moses. |
| 3All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. | 3Therefore do whatever they tell you, and observe it. But don't do what they do, because they don't practice what they teach. |
| 4For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. | 4They tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry and put them on people's shoulders, but they themselves aren't willing to lift a finger to move them. |
| 5But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, | 5They do everything to be observed by others: They enlarge their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. |
| 6And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, | 6They love the place of honor at banquets, the front seats in the synagogues, |
| 7And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. | 7greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called 'Rabbi by people. |
| 8But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. | 8"But as for you, do not be called 'Rabbi,' because you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. |
| 9And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. | 9Do not call anyone on earth your father, because you have one Father, who is in heaven. |
| 10Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. | 10And do not be called masters either, because you have one Master, the Messiah. |
| 11But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. | 11The greatest among you will be your servant. |
| 12And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. | 12Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. |
| 13But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. | 13"But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You lock up the kingdom of heaven from people. For you don't go in, and you don't allow those entering to go in. |
| 14Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. | 14"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You devour widows' houses and make long prayers just for show. This is why you will receive a harsher punishment. |
| 15Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. | 15"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make one proselyte, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as fit for hell as you are! |
| 16Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! | 16"Woe to you, blind guides, who say, Whoever takes an oath by the sanctuary, it means nothing. But whoever takes an oath by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by his oath.' |
| 17Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? | 17Blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that sanctified the gold? |
| 18And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. | 18Also, Whoever takes an oath by the altar, it means nothing. But whoever takes an oath by the gift that is on it is bound by his oath.' |
| 19Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? | 19Blind people! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? |
| 20Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. | 20Therefore, the one who takes an oath by the altar takes an oath by it and by everything on it. |
| 21And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. | 21The one who takes an oath by the sanctuary takes an oath by it and by Him who dwells in it. |
| 22And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. | 22And the one who takes an oath by heaven takes an oath by God's throne and by Him who sits on it. |
| 23Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. | 23"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy, and faith. These things should have been done without neglecting the others. |
| 24Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. | 24Blind guides! You strain out a gnat, yet gulp down a camel! |
| 25Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. | 25"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence! |
| 26Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. | 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so the outside of it may also become clean. |
| 27Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. | 27"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every impurity. |
| 28Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. | 28In the same way, on the outside you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. |
| 29Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, | 29"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, |
| 30And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. | 30and you say, If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we wouldn't have taken part with them in shedding the prophets' blood.' |
| 31Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. | 31You, therefore, testify against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. |
| 32Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. | 32Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' sins! |
| 33Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? | 33"Snakes! Brood of vipers! How can you escape being condemned to hell? |
| 34Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: | 34This is why I am sending you prophets, sages, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and hound from town to town. |
| 35That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. | 35So all the righteous blood shed on the earth will be charged to you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. |
| 36Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. | 36I assure you: All these things will come on this generation! |
| 37O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! | 37"Jerusalem, Jerusalem! She who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, yet you were not willing! |
| 38Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. | 38See, your house is left to you desolate. |
| 39For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. | 39For I tell you, you will never see Me again until you say, He who comes in the name of the Lord is the blessed One'!" |
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