Matthew 23:13–29

The Hypocrisy of the Jewish Leaders

¹³“How horrible it will be for you, experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. You don’t enter it yourselves, and you don’t permit others to enter when they try.^a

¹⁵“How horrible it will be for you, experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You cross land and sea to recruit a single follower, and when you do, you make that person twice as fit for hell as you are. 

¹⁶“How horrible it will be for you, you blind guides! You say, ‘To swear an oath by the temple doesn’t mean a thing. But to swear an oath by the gold in the temple means a person must keep his oath.’ ¹⁷You blind fools! What is more important, the gold or the temple that made the gold holy? ¹⁸Again you say, ‘To swear an oath by the altar doesn’t mean a thing. But to swear an oath by the gift on the altar means a person must keep his oath.’ ¹⁹You blind men! What is more important, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy? ²⁰To swear an oath by the altar is to swear by it and by everything on it. ²¹To swear an oath by the temple is to swear by it and by the one who lives there. ²²And to swear an oath by heaven is to swear by God’s throne and the one who sits on it. 

²³“How horrible it will be for you, experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You give ⸤God⸥ one-tenth of your mint, dill, and cumin. But you have neglected justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These are the most important things in Moses’ Teachings. You should have done these things without neglecting the others. ²⁴You blind guides! You strain gnats ⸤out of your wine⸥, but you swallow camels. 

²⁵“How horrible it will be for you, experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You clean the outside of cups and dishes. But inside they are full of greed and uncontrolled desires. ²⁶You blind Pharisees! First clean the inside of the cups and dishes so that the outside may also be clean. 

²⁷“How horrible it will be for you, experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You are like whitewashed graves that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead people’s bones and every kind of impurity. ²⁸So on the outside you look as though you have God’s approval, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 

²⁹“How horrible it will be for you, experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of those who had God’s approval.