| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, | 1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: |
| 2Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: | 2"The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. |
| 3All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. | 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. |
| 4For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. | 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. |
| 5But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, | 5"Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; |
| 6And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, | 6they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; |
| 7And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. | 7they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called 'Rabbi' by others. |
| 8But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. | 8"But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. |
| 9And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. | 9And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. |
| 10Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. | 10Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. |
| 11But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. | 11The greatest among you will be your servant. |
| 12And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. | 12For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. |
| 13But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. | 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. |
| 14Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. | 14 |
| 15Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. | 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. |
| 16Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! | 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.' |
| 17Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? | 17You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? |
| 18And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. | 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.' |
| 19Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? | 19You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? |
| 20Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. | 20Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. |
| 21And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. | 21And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. |
| 22And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. | 22And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God's throne and by the one who sits on it. |
| 23Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. | 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. |
| 24Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. | 24You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. |
| 25Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. | 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. |
| 26Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. | 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. |
| 27Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. | 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. |
| 28Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. | 28In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. |
| 29Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, | 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. |
| 30And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of 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.' |
| 31Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. | 31So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. |
| 32Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. | 32Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started! |
| 33Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? | 33"You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? |
| 34Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute 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. |
| 35That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple 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. |
| 36Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. | 36Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation. |
| 37O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! | 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. |
| 38Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. | 38Look, your house is left to you desolate. |
| 39For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh 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.'" |
|
