Matthew 23 NLT NIV Parallel

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◄ Matthew 23 ►

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

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

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

2"The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.

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

3So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.

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

4They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

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.

5"Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long;

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

6they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues;

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

7they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called 'Rabbi' by others.

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

8"But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers.

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

9And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.

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

10Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah.

11 The greatest among you must be a servant.

11The greatest among you will be your servant.

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

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

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.

13"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

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!

15"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.

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.’

16"Woe to you, blind guides! You say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.'

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

17You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?

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

18You also say, 'If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.'

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

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

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

20Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.

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

21And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it.

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

22And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God's throne and by the one who sits on it.

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.

23"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

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

24You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

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!

25"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

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

26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

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.

27"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.

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

28In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

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.

29"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.

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

30And you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'

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

31So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.

32 Go ahead and finish what your ancestors started.

32Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!

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

33"You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?

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.

34Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.

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.

35And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

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

36Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.

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.

37"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.

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

38Look, your house is left to you desolate.

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 !’ ”

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

New International Version (NIV)

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