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Matthew 23 :: Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

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Religious Hypocrites Denounced
(Mar 12:38–40; Luk 20:45–47 )
Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:1 -

Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples:

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:2 -

“The scribes and the Pharisees are seated in the chair of Moses.

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:3 -

“Therefore do whatever they tell you, and observe it. But don’t do what they do, because they don’t practice what they teach.

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:4 -

“They tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry[fn] and put them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves aren’t willing to lift a finger to move them.

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:5 -

“They do everything[fn] to be seen by others: They enlarge their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.[fn]

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:6 -

“They love the place of honor at banquets, the front seats in the synagogues,

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:7 -

“greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by people.

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:8 -

“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ because you have one Teacher,[fn] and you are all brothers and sisters.

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:9 -

“Do not call anyone on earth your father, because you have one Father, who is in heaven.

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:10 -

“You are not to be called instructors either, because you have one Instructor, the Messiah.

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:11 -

“The greatest among you will be your servant.

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:12 -

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

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:13 -

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you don’t go in, and you don’t allow those entering to go in.[fn]

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:15 -

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make one convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as you are!

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:16 -

“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever takes an oath by the temple, it means nothing. But whoever takes an oath by the gold of the temple is bound by his oath.’[fn]

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:17 -

“Blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold?

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:18 -

“Also, ‘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.’

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:19 -

“Blind people![fn] For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:20 -

“Therefore, the one who takes an oath by the altar takes an oath by it and by everything on it.

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:21 -

“The one who takes an oath by the temple takes an oath by it and by him who dwells in it.

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:22 -

“And the one who takes an oath by heaven takes an oath by God’s throne and by him who sits on it.

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:23 -

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of[fn] mint, dill, and cumin, and yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law ​— ​justice, mercy, and faithfulness.[fn] These things should have been done without neglecting the others.

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:24 -

“Blind guides! You strain out a gnat, but gulp down a camel!

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:25 -

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed[fn] and self-indulgence.

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:26 -

“Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup,[fn] so that the outside of it[fn] may also become clean.

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:27 -

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and every kind of impurity.

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:28 -

“In the same way, on the outside you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:29 -

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous,

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:30 -

“and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we wouldn’t have taken part with them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:31 -

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

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:32 -

“Fill up, then, the measure of your ancestors’ sins!

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:33 -

“Snakes! Brood of vipers! How can you escape being condemned to hell?[fn]

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:34 -

“This 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 pursue from town to town.

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:35 -

“So all the righteous blood shed on the earth will be charged to you,[fn] from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:36 -

“Truly I tell you, all these things will come on this generation.

Jesus’s Lamenting over Jerusalem
(Luk 13:34, 35 )
Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:37 -

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 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[fn] under her wings, but you were not willing!

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:38 -

“See, your house is left to you desolate.

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 23:39 -

“For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’! ”

CSB Footnotes
Other mss omit that are hard to carry
Lit do all their works
Other mss add on their robes
Other mss add the Christ
Some mss include v. 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.
Lit is obligated, also in v. 18
Other mss read Fools and blind
Or You tithe
Or faith
Or full of violence
Other mss add and dish
Other mss read of them
Lit escape from the judgment of gehenna
Lit will come on you
Or as a mother bird gathers her young
BLB Footnotes
Some Greek manuscripts exclude this verse. The CSB related footnote for 23:13 states:
Some mss include v. 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.  
CSB

Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017, 2020 by Holman Bible Publishers.

Additional information is provided here.

For more information on this translation, see the CSB Preface.

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