^23:29“Woe to you, experts in the law³³ and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You³⁴ build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves³⁵ of the righteous. ^23:30And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors,³⁶ we would not have participated with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ^23:31By saying this you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. ^23:32Fill up then the measure of your ancestors! ^23:33You snakes, you offspring of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?³⁷

^23:34“For this reason I³⁸ am sending you prophets and wise men and experts in the law,³⁹ some of whom you will kill and crucify,⁴⁰ and some you will flog⁴¹ in your synagogues⁴² and pursue from town to town, ^23:35so 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,⁴³ whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ^23:36I tell you the truth,⁴⁴ this generation will be held responsible for all these things!⁴⁵

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Footnotes

33 Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in .
34 Grk “Because you.” Here ὄτι (hoti) has not been translated.
35 Or perhaps “the monuments” (see L&N 7.75–76).
36 Grk “fathers” (so also in v. 32).
37 Grk “the judgment of Gehenna.” See the note on the word hell in .
38 Grk “behold I am sending.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis ( 1).
39 Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in .
40 See the note on crucified in .
41 μαστιγόω 1.a states, “of flogging as a punishment decreed by the synagogue (Dt 25:2f; s. the Mishna Tractate Sanhedrin-Makkoth, edited notes by SKrauss ’33) of pers. Mt 10:17; 23:34.”
42 See the note on synagogues in .
43 Spelling of this name (Βαραχίου, Barachiou) varies among the English versions: “Barachiah” (, ); “Berechiah” (); “Berachiah” ().
44 Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
45 Grk “all these things will come on this generation.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, saying, ‘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.’ Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!

“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we wouldn’t have taken part with them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your ancestors’ sins!

“Snakes! Brood of vipers! How can you escape being condemned to hell? This is why I am sending you prophets, sages, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. So all the righteous blood shed on the earth will be charged to you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly I tell you, all these things will come on this generation.

NLTNew Living Translation

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed, and you decorate the monuments of the godly people your ancestors destroyed. Then you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would never have joined them in killing the prophets.’

“But in saying that, you testify against yourselves that you are indeed the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Go ahead and finish what your ancestors started. Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?

“Therefore, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers of religious law. But you will kill some by crucifixion, and you will flog others with whips in your synagogues, chasing them from city to city. As a result, you will be held responsible for the murder of all godly people of all time—from the murder of righteous Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you killed in the Temple between the sanctuary and the altar. I tell you the truth, this judgment will fall on this very generation.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in the blood of the prophets!’ Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets! And you—fill up the measure of your fathers! Serpents! Offspring of vipers! How will you escape from the condemnation to hell? For this reason, behold, I am sending to you prophets and wise men and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and will pursue from town to town, so that upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of righteous Abel up to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation!

KJV 1900King James Version

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

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