Matthew 23:16–39

¹⁶“Woe to ^tyou, ^ublind guides, who say, ^v‘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.’ ¹⁷You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or ^wthe temple that has made the gold sacred? ¹⁸And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by ^xthe gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ ¹⁹You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or ^ythe altar that makes the gift sacred? ²⁰So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by ^zhim who dwells in it. ²²And whoever swears by ^aheaven swears by ^bthe throne of God and by ^chim who sits upon it.

^23d“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ^eyou tithe mint and dill and ^fcumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: ^gjustice and mercy and faithfulness. ^hThese you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. ²⁴You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing ⁱa camel!

^25j“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ^kyou clean the outside of ^lthe cup and the plate, but inside they are full of ^mgreed and self-indulgence. ²⁶You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of ^lthe cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

²⁷ⁿ“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like ^owhitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and ^pall uncleanness. ²⁸So you also ^qoutwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of ^rhypocrisy and lawlessness.

^29s“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰saying, ‘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.’ ³¹Thus you witness against yourselves that you are ^tsons of those who murdered the prophets. ^32uFill up, then, the measure of your fathers. ³³You serpents, ^vyou brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to ^whell? ^34xTherefore ^yI send you ^zprophets and wise men and ^ascribes, ^bsome of whom you will kill and crucify, and ^bsome you will ^cflog in your synagogues and ^dpersecute from town to town, ³⁵so that on you may come all ^ethe righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous ^fAbel to the blood of ^gZechariah the son of Barachiah,⁶ whom you murdered between ^hthe sanctuary and ⁱthe altar. ³⁶Truly, I say to you, ^jall these things will come upon this generation.

Lament over Jerusalem

^37k“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that ^lkills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have ^mgathered ⁿyour children together ^oas a hen gathers her brood ^punder her wings, and ^qyou were not willing! ³⁸See, ^ryour house is left to you desolate. ³⁹For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ^s‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”