| NET Bible | International Standard Version |
| 1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, | 1Then Jesus told the crowds and his disciples, |
| 2"The experts in the law and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat. | 2"The scribes and the Pharisees administer the authority of Moses, |
| 3Therefore pay attention to what they tell you and do it. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they teach. | 3So do whatever they tell you and follow it, but stop doing what they do, because they don't do what they say. |
| 4They tie up heavy loads, hard to carry, and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing even to lift a finger to move them. | 4They tie up burdens that are heavy and unbearable and lay them on people's shoulders, but they refuse to lift a finger to remove them. |
| 5They do all their deeds to be seen by people, for they make their phylacteries wide and their tassels long. | 5"They do everything to be seen by people. They increase the size of their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. |
| 6They love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues | 6They love to have the places of honor at festivals, the best seats in the synagogues, |
| 7and elaborate greetings in the marketplaces, and to have people call them 'Rabbi.' | 7to be greeted in the marketplaces, and to be called 'Rabbi' by people. |
| 8But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have one Teacher and you are all brothers. | 8"But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' because you have only one teacher, and all of you are brothers. |
| 9And call no one your 'father' on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. | 9And don't call anyone on earth 'Father,' because you have only one Father, the one in heaven. |
| 10Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one teacher, the Christ. | 10Nor are you to be called 'Teachers,' because you have only one teacher, the Messiah! |
| 11The greatest among you will be your servant. | 11The person who is greatest among you must be your servant. |
| 12And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. | 12Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. |
| 13"But woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You keep locking people out of the kingdom of heaven! For you neither enter nor permit those trying to enter to go in. | 13"How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door to the kingdom from heaven in people's faces. You don't go in yourselves, and you don't allow those who are trying to enter to go in. |
| 14 | 14"How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You devour widows' houses and say long prayers to cover it up. Therefore, you will receive greater condemnation! |
| 15"Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You cross land and sea to make one convert, and when you get one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves! | 15"How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make a single convert, and when this happens you make him twice as fit for hell as you are. |
| 16"Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple is bound by nothing. But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.' | 16"How terrible it will be for you, blind guides! You say, 'Whoever swears an oath by the sanctuary is excused, but whoever swears an oath by the gold of the sanctuary must keep his oath.' |
| 17Blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred? | 17You blind fools! What is more important, the gold or the sanctuary that made the gold holy? |
| 18And, 'Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing. But if anyone swears by the gift on it he is bound by the oath.' | 18Again you say, 'Whoever swears an oath by the altar is excused, but whoever swears by the gift that is on it must keep his oath.' |
| 19You are blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? | 19You blind men! Which is more important, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy? |
| 20So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. | 20Therefore, the one who swears an oath by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. |
| 21And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and the one who dwells in it. | 21The one who swears an oath by the sanctuary swears by it and by the one who lives there. |
| 22And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and the one who sits on it. | 22And the one who swears an oath by heaven swears by God's throne and by the one who sits on it. |
| 23"Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you neglect what is more important in the law--justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You should have done these things without neglecting the others. | 23"How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your mint, dill, and cummin, but have neglected the more important matters of the Law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These are the things you should have practiced, without neglecting the others. |
| 24Blind guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel! | 24You blind guides! You filter out a gnat, yet swallow a camel! |
| 25"Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. | 25"How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but on the inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. |
| 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside may become clean too! | 26You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that its outside may also be clean. |
| 27"Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean. | 27"How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead people's bones and every kind of impurity. |
| 28In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. | 28In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. |
| 29"Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. | 29"How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous. |
| 30And you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have participated with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' | 30Then you say, 'If we had been living in the days of our ancestors, we would have had no part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' |
| 31By saying this you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. | 31Therefore, you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. |
| 32Fill up then the measure of your ancestors! | 32Then finish what your ancestors started! |
| 33You snakes, you offspring of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? | 33You snakes, you children of serpents! How can you escape being condemned to hell? |
| 34"For this reason I am sending you prophets and wise men and experts in the law, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town, | 34"That is why I am sending you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will whip in your synagogues and persecute from town to town. |
| 35so that on you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. | 35As a result, you will be held accountable for all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of the righteous Abel to the blood of Berechiah's son Zechariah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. |
| 36I tell you the truth, this generation will be held responsible for all these things! | 36I tell all of you with certainty, all these things will happen to those living today." |
| 37"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would have none of it! | 37"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones to death those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling! |
| 38Look, your house is left to you desolate! | 38Look! Your house is left abandoned! |
| 39For I tell you, you will not see me from now until you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!'" | 39I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'How blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!'" |
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