Matthew 23:23-39

Complete Jewish Bible

²³“Woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P’rushim! You pay your tithes of mint, dill and cumin; but you have neglected the weightier matters of the Torah — justice, mercy, trust. These are the things you should have attended to — without neglecting the others! ²⁴Blind guides! — straining out a gnat, meanwhile swallowing a camel!

²⁵“Woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P’rushim! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. ²⁶Blind Parush! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside may be clean too.

²⁷“Woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P’rushim! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look fine on the outside but inside are full of dead people’s bones and all kinds of rottenness. ²⁸Likewise, you appear to people from the outside to be good and honest, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and far from Torah.

²⁹“Woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P’rushim! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the tzaddikim, ³⁰and you say, ‘Had we lived when our fathers did, we would never have taken part in killing the prophets.’ ³¹In this you testify against yourselves that you are worthy descendants of those who murdered the prophets. ³²Go ahead then, finish what your fathers started!

³³“You snakes! Sons of snakes! How can you escape being condemned to Gei-Hinnom? ³⁴Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and Torah-teachers — some of them you will kill, indeed, you will have them executed on stakes as criminals; some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. ³⁵And so, on you will fall the guilt for all the innocent blood that has ever been shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Hevel to the blood of Z’kharyah Ben-Berekhyah, whom you murdered between the Temple and the altar. ³⁶Yes! I tell you that all this will fall on this generation!

³⁷“Yerushalayim! Yerushalayim! You kill the prophets! You stone those who are sent to you! How often I wanted to gather your children, just as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but you refused! ³⁸Look! God is abandoning your house to you, leaving it desolate.^[a] ³⁹For I tell you, from now on, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of Adonai.’”^[b]

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Footnotes

Matthew 23:38 Jeremiah 22:5
Matthew 23:39 Psalm 118:26

Matthew 23:23-39

New International Version

²³“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth^(A) of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness.^(B) You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. ²⁴You blind guides!^(C) You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

²⁵“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish,^(D) but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.^(E) ²⁶Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

²⁷“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs,^(F) which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 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“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets^(G) and decorate the graves of the righteous. 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.’ ³¹So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.^(H) ³²Go ahead, then, and complete^(I) what your ancestors started!^(J)

³³“You snakes! You brood of vipers!^(K) How will you escape being condemned to hell?^(L) ³⁴Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify;^(M) others you will flog in your synagogues^(N) and pursue from town to town.^(O) ³⁵And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel^(P) to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah,^(Q) whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.^(R) ³⁶Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.^(S)

³⁷“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,^(T) how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,^(U) and you were not willing. ³⁸Look, your house is left to you desolate.^(V) ³⁹For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’^[a]”^(W)