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. ³⁰Then you say, ‘If we had lived at the time of our ancestors, we would not have helped to murder the prophets.’ ³¹So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. ³²Go ahead, finish what your ancestors started!

³³“You snakes! You poisonous snakes! How can you escape being condemned to hell? ³⁴I’m sending you prophets, wise men, and teachers of the Scriptures. You will kill and crucify some of them. Others you will whip in your synagogues and persecute from city to city. ³⁵As a result, you will be held accountable for all the innocent blood of those murdered on earth. This includes the murder of Abel, who had God’s approval, to that of Zechariah, son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶I can guarantee this truth: The people living now will be held accountable for all these things.

³⁷“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you kill the prophets and stone to death those sent to you! How often I wanted to gather your children together the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings! But you were not willing! ³⁸Your house will be abandoned, deserted. ³⁹I can guarantee that you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”

Read in Logos