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 condemns the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law of Moses
(Mark 12.38-40; Luke 11.37-52; 20.45-47)
1Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:
2The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law are experts in the Law of Moses. 3So obey everything they teach you, but don't do as they do. After all, they say one thing and do something else.
4They pile heavy burdens on people's shoulders and won't lift a finger to help. 5Everything they do is just to show off in front of others. They even make a big show of wearing Scripture verses on their foreheads and arms, and they wear big tassels#23.5 wearing Scripture verses on their foreheads and arms…tassels: As a sign of their love for the Lord and his teachings, the Jewish people had started wearing Scripture verses in small leather boxes. But the Pharisees tried to show off by making the boxes bigger than necessary. The Jewish people were also taught to wear tassels on the four corners of their robes to show their love for God. for everyone to see.#Mt 6.1; Dt 6.8; Nu 15.38. 6They love the best seats at banquets and the front seats in the meeting places. 7And when they are in the market, they like to have people greet them as their teachers.
8But none of you should be called a teacher. You have only one teacher, and all of you are like brothers and sisters. 9Don't call anyone on earth your father. All of you have the same Father in heaven. 10None of you should be called the leader. The Messiah is your only leader. 11Whoever is the greatest should be the servant of the others.#Mt 20.26,27; Mk 9.35; 10.43,44; Lk 22.26. 12If you put yourself above others, you will be put down. But if you humble yourself, you will be honoured.#Lk 14.11; 18.14.
13-14You Pharisees and teachers of the Law of Moses are in for trouble! You're nothing but show-offs. You lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. You won't go in yourselves, and you keep others from going in.#23.13,14 from going in: Some manuscripts add, “You Pharisees and teachers are in for trouble! And you're nothing but show-offs! You cheat widows out of their homes and then pray long prayers just to show off. So you will be punished most of all.”
15You Pharisees and teachers of the Law of Moses are in for trouble! You're nothing but show-offs. You travel over land and sea to win one follower. And when you have done so, you make that person twice as fit for hell as you are.
16You are in for trouble! You are supposed to lead others, but you are blind. You teach that it doesn't matter if a person swears by the temple. But you say that it does matter if someone swears by the gold in the temple. 17You blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred?
18You also teach that it doesn't matter if a person swears by the altar. But you say that it does matter if someone swears by the gift on the altar. 19Are you blind? Which is more important, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20Anyone who swears by the altar also swears by everything on it. 21And anyone who swears by the temple also swears by God, who lives there. 22To swear by heaven is the same as swearing by God's throne and by the one who sits on that throne.#Is 66.1; Mt 5.34.
Jesus continued:
23You Pharisees and teachers are show-offs, and you're in for trouble! You give God a tenth of the spices from your garden, such as mint, dill, and cumin. Yet you neglect the more important matters of the Law, such as justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These are the important things you should have done, though you should not have left the others undone either.#Lv 27.30. 24You blind leaders! You strain out a small fly but swallow a camel.
25You Pharisees and teachers are show-offs, and you're in for trouble! You wash the outside of your cups and dishes, while inside there is nothing but greed and selfishness. 26You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of a cup, and then the outside will also be clean.
27You Pharisees and teachers are in for trouble! You're nothing but show-offs. You're like tombs that have been whitewashed.#23.27 whitewashed: Tombs were whitewashed to keep anyone from accidentally touching them. A person who touched a dead body or a tomb was considered unclean and could not worship with the rest of the Jewish people. On the outside they are beautiful, but inside they are full of bones and filth.#Ac 23.3. 28That's what you are like. Outside you look good, but inside you are evil and only pretend to be good.
29You Pharisees and teachers are nothing but show-offs, and you're in for trouble! You build monuments for the prophets and decorate the tombs of good people. 30And you claim that you would not have taken part with your ancestors in killing the prophets. 31But you prove that you really are the relatives of the ones who killed the prophets. 32So keep on doing everything they did. 33You are nothing but snakes and the children of snakes! How can you escape going to hell?#Mt 3.7; 12.34; Lk 3.7.
34I will send prophets and wise people and experts in the Law of Moses to you. But you will kill them or nail them to a cross or beat them in your meeting places or chase them from town to town. 35That's why you will be held guilty for the murder of every good person, beginning with the good man Abel. This also includes Barachiah's son Zechariah,#23.35 Zechariah: Genesis is the first book in the Jewish Scriptures, and it tells that Abel was the first person to be murdered. The Second Book of Chronicles is the last book in the Jewish Scriptures, and the last murder that it tells about is that of Zechariah. the man you murdered between the temple and the altar.#Gn 4.8; 2 Ch 24.20,21. 36I can promise that you people living today will be punished for all these things!
Jesus loves Jerusalem
(Luke 13.34,35)
Jesus continued:
37Jerusalem, Jerusalem! Your people have killed the prophets and have stoned the messengers who were sent to you. I have often wanted to gather your people, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you wouldn't let me. 38And now your temple will be deserted.#Jr 22.5. 39You won't see me again until you say,#Ps 118.26.
“Blessed is the one who comes
in the name of the Lord.”
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012