23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenthi of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness.j You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides!k You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish,l but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.m 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs,n which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophetso and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30 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.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.p 32 Go ahead, then, and completeq what your ancestors started!r

33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers!s How will you escape being condemned to hell?t