Matthew 23:13–29

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.^w

¹⁵“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make one convert,^x and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as you are!

¹⁶“Woe to you, blind guides,^y who say, ‘Whoever takes an oath by the temple, it means nothing. But whoever takes an oath^z by the gold of the temple is bound by his oath.’ ¹⁷Blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? ¹⁸Also, ‘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.’ ¹⁹Blind people!^G For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?^{aa 20}Therefore, the one who takes an oath by the altar takes an oath by it and by everything on it. ²¹The one who takes an oath by the temple takes an oath by it and by him who dwells^ab in it. ²²And the one who takes an oath by heaven takes an oath by God’s throne^ac and by him who sits on it.^ad

²³“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of^H mint, dill, and cumin, and yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice,^ae mercy, and faithfulness.^I These things should have been done without neglecting the others. ²⁴Blind guides!^af You strain out a gnat, but gulp down a camel!

²⁵“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed^A and self-indulgence.^{a 26}Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup,^B so that the outside of it^C may also become clean.

²⁷“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs,^b which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and every kind of impurity. ²⁸In the same way, on the outside you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous,