Mattityahu (Mat) 23
23
1Then Yeshua addressed the crowds and his talmidim: 2“The Torah-teachers and the P’rushim,” he said, “sit in the seat of Moshe. 3So whatever they tell you, take care to do it. But don’t do what they do, because they talk but don’t act! 4They tie heavy loads onto people’s shoulders but won’t lift a finger to help carry them. 5Everything they do is done to be seen by others; for they make their t’fillin broad and their tzitziyot long, 6they love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, 7and they love being greeted deferentially in the marketplaces and being called ‘Rabbi.’
8“But you are not to let yourselves be called ‘Rabbi’; because you have one Rabbi, and you are all each other’s brothers. 9And do not call anyone on earth ‘Father.’ because you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10Nor are you to let yourselves be called ‘leaders,’ because you have one Leader, and he is the Messiah! 11The greatest among you must be your servant, 12for whoever promotes himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be promoted.
13“But woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P’rushim! For you are shutting the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces, neither entering yourselves nor allowing those who wish to enter to do so. 14
15“Woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P’rushim! You go about over land and sea to make one proselyte; and when you succeed, you make him twice as fit for Gei-Hinnom as you are!
16“Woe to you, you blind guides! You say, ‘If someone swears by the Temple, he is not bound by his oath; but if he swears by the gold in the Temple, he is bound.’ 17You blind fools! Which is more important? the gold? or the Temple which makes the gold holy? 18And you say, ‘If someone swears by the altar, he is not bound by his oath; but if he swears by the offering on the altar, he is bound.’ 19Blind men! Which is more important? the sacrifice? or the altar which makes the sacrifice holy? 20So someone who swears by the altar swears by it and everything on it. 21And someone who swears by the Temple swears by it and the One who lives in it. 22And someone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and the One who sits on it.
23“Woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P’rushim! You pay your tithes of mint, dill and cumin; but you have neglected the weightier matters of the Torah — justice, mercy, trust. These are the things you should have attended to — without neglecting the others! 24Blind guides! — straining out a gnat, meanwhile swallowing a camel!
25“Woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P’rushim! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. 26Blind Parush! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside may be clean too.
27“Woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P’rushim! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look fine on the outside but inside are full of dead people’s bones and all kinds of rottenness. 28Likewise, you appear to people from the outside to be good and honest, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and far from Torah.
29“Woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P’rushim! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the tzaddikim, 30and you say, ‘Had we lived when our fathers did, we would never have taken part in killing the prophets.’ 31In this you testify against yourselves that you are worthy descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32Go ahead then, finish what your fathers started!
33“You snakes! Sons of snakes! How can you escape being condemned to Gei-Hinnom? 34Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and Torah-teachers — some of them you will kill, indeed, you will have them executed on stakes as criminals; some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35And so, on you will fall the guilt for all the innocent blood that has ever been shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Hevel to the blood of Z’kharyah Ben-Berekhyah, whom you murdered between the Temple and the altar. 36Yes! I tell you that all this will fall on this generation!
37“Yerushalayim! Yerushalayim! You kill the prophets! You stone those who are sent to you! How often I wanted to gather your children, just as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but you refused! 38Look! God is abandoning your house to you, leaving it desolate. 39For I tell you, from now on, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of Adonai.’”
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Mattityahu (Mat) 23: CJB
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Learn More About Complete Jewish BibleMatthew 23
23
Jesus Accuses Some Leaders
1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his followers, 2“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees have the authority to tell you what the law of Moses says. 3So you should obey and follow whatever they tell you, but their lives are not good examples for you to follow. They tell you to do things, but they themselves don’t do them. 4They make strict rules and try to force people to obey them, but they are unwilling to help those who struggle under the weight of their rules.
5“They do good things so that other people will see them. They enlarge the little boxes holding Scriptures that they wear, and they make their special prayer clothes very long. 6Those Pharisees and teachers of the law love to have the most important seats at feasts and in the synagogues. 7They love people to greet them with respect in the marketplaces, and they love to have people call them ‘Teacher.’
8“But you must not be called ‘Teacher,’ because you have only one Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters together. 9And don’t call any person on earth ‘Father,’ because you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10And you should not be called ‘Master,’ because you have only one Master, the Christ. 11Whoever is your servant is the greatest among you. 12Whoever makes himself great will be made humble. Whoever makes himself humble will be made great.
13“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You close the door for people to enter the kingdom of heaven. You yourselves don’t enter, and you stop others who are trying to enter. [14How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees. You are hypocrites. You take away widows’ houses, and you say long prayers so that people will notice you. So you will have a worse punishment.]
15“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You travel across land and sea to find one person who will change to your ways. When you find that person, you make him more fit for hell than you are.
16“How terrible for you! You guide the people, but you are blind. You say, ‘If people swear by the Temple when they make a promise, that means nothing. But if they swear by the gold that is in the Temple, they must keep that promise.’ 17You are blind fools! Which is greater: the gold or the Temple that makes that gold holy? 18And you say, ‘If people swear by the altar when they make a promise, that means nothing. But if they swear by the gift on the altar, they must keep that promise.’ 19You are blind! Which is greater: the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy? 20The person who swears by the altar is really using the altar and also everything on the altar. 21And the person who swears by the Temple is really using the Temple and also everything in the Temple. 22The person who swears by heaven is also using God’s throne and the One who sits on that throne.
23“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You give to God one-tenth of everything you earn—even your mint, dill, and cumin. But you don’t obey the really important teachings of the law—justice, mercy, and being loyal. These are the things you should do, as well as those other things. 24You guide the people, but you are blind! You are like a person who picks a fly out of a drink and then swallows a camel!
25“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You wash the outside of your cups and dishes, but inside they are full of things you got by cheating others and by pleasing only yourselves. 26Pharisees, you are blind! First make the inside of the cup clean, and then the outside of the cup can be truly clean.
27“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You are like tombs that are painted white. Outside, those tombs look fine, but inside, they are full of the bones of dead people and all kinds of unclean things. 28It is the same with you. People look at you and think you are good, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and evil.
29“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets, and you show honor to the graves of those who lived good lives. 30You say, ‘If we had lived during the time of our ancestors, we would not have helped them kill the prophets.’ 31But you give proof that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32And you will complete the sin that your ancestors started.
33“You are snakes! A family of poisonous snakes! How are you going to escape God’s judgment? 34So I tell you this: I am sending to you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify. Some of them you will beat in your synagogues and chase from town to town. 35So you will be guilty for the death of all the good people who have been killed on earth—from the murder of that good man Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berakiah, whom you murdered between the Temple and the altar. 36I tell you the truth, all of these things will happen to you people who are living now.
Jesus Feels Sorry for Jerusalem
37“Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and stone to death those who are sent to you. Many times I wanted to gather your people as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you did not let me.38Now your house will be left completely empty. 39I tell you, you will not see me again until that time when you will say, ‘God bless the One who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.