Matthew

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:

“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.

So, you should do and follow everything they say; but do not imitate their actions, for they do not do what they preach.

They burden people with heavy loads and load them onto their shoulders, but they themselves won’t lift a finger to move them.

They do everything to be noticed by others: wearing large bands of the law around their foreheads and robes with oversized tassels.

They enjoy the front seats at banquets and the best spots in the synagogues,

and they love being greeted in the marketplace and called ‘Master’ by others.

But you, do not let yourselves be called Master, because you have only one Master, and all of you are brothers and sisters.

Neither should you call anyone on earth Father, because you have only one Father—he who is in heaven.

You should not be called Master, because you have but one master, the Messiah.

Let the greatest among you be the servant of all.

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

But woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door to the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You, yourselves, do not enter, nor do you allow others to do so.

[[Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You consume widows’ property, and in public, you pray lengthy prayers! Therefore, you will receive greater condemnation.]]

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel across sea and land to make a single convert; yet, once he is converted, you make him a child of Gehenna twice as much as yourselves!

Woe to you, blind guides! You say: To swear by the temple is not binding, but to swear by the gold of the temple is binding.

Foolish men! Blind men! Which is more valuable: the gold inside the temple, or the temple itself, which makes the gold a sacred treasure? You say:

Swearing by the altar isn’t binding, but swearing by the offering on the altar is binding.

How blind you are! Which is more valuable: the offering on the altar or the altar itself, which makes the offering sacred?

Whoever swears by the altar is also swearing by everything on it.

Whoever swears by the temple is also swearing by God, who dwells in the temple.

Whoever swears by heaven is swearing by God’s throne and by Him who sits on it.

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You carefully avoid neglecting the mint, anise, and cumin seeds when you demand the tenth of everything, but then, you forget what is most fundamental in the law: justice, mercy, and faith! You should have practiced these things without neglecting the others.

Blind guides! You remove a mosquito but swallow a camel.

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You fill the plate and the cup with theft and violence, then pronounce a blessing over them.

Blind Pharisee! Clean the inside first, and then the outside will be clean as well.

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, beautiful on the outside, but inside, there are only dead bones and uncleanness.

Similarly, you seem religious to others, but inside you’re full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

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

You say: Had we lived in the time of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the blood of the prophets.

So, you yourselves confess to being descendants of those who murdered the prophets.

And now, complete what your ancestors started!

Serpents, race of vipers! How can you escape being sentenced to Gehenna?

Therefore, I am sending prophets, wise men, and teachers to you; but some of them you will murder and crucify, some you will flog in your synagogues, and others you will drive from one city to the next.

Because of this, you will be held responsible for all the innocent blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the altar and the Sanctuary.

Truly I tell you: the current generation will pay for all of this.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and stone those sent to you by God. How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you refused!

Look! Your house will be left to you, deserted!

I tell you that you will no longer see me until you say:

Blessed is he who comes

in the name of the Lord!