Matthew 23
Seven Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees
Then Jesus asaid to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 a“The scribes and the Pharisees bsit on Moses’ seat, 3 so do and observe whatever they tell you, abut not the works they do. bFor they preach, but do not practice. 4 aThey 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. 5 aThey do all their deeds bto be seen by others. For they make ctheir phylacteries broad and dtheir fringes long, 6 and they alove the place of honor at feasts and bthe best seats in the synagogues 7 and agreetings in bthe marketplaces and being called crabbi by others. 8 aBut you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are ball brothers. 9 aAnd call no man your father on earth, for byou have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, athe Christ. 11 aThe greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 aWhoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
13 “But woe ato you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you bshut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you cneither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single aproselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a bchild of chell as yourselves.
16 “Woe to ayou, bblind guides, who say, c‘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.’ 17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or athe temple that has made the gold sacred? 18 And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by athe gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ 19 You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or athe altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by ahim who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by aheaven swears by bthe throne of God and by chim who sits upon it.
23 a“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For byou tithe mint and dill and ccumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: djustice and mercy and faithfulness. eThese you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing aa camel!
25 a“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For byou clean the outside of cthe cup and the plate, but inside they are full of dgreed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of athe cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.
27 a“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like bwhitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and call uncleanness. 28 So you also aoutwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of bhypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 a“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 saying, ‘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.’ 31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are asons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 aFill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, ayou brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to bhell? 34 aTherefore bI send you cprophets and wise men and dscribes, esome of whom you will kill and crucify, and esome you will fflog in your synagogues and gpersecute from town to town, 35 so that on you may come all athe righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous bAbel to the blood of cZechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between dthe sanctuary and ethe altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, aall these things will come upon this generation.
Lament over Jerusalem
37 a“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that bkills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have cgathered dyour children together eas a hen gathers her brood funder her wings, and gyou were not willing! 38 See, ayour house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, a‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway,
a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.