Mattityahu 23
23
1Then Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach spoke to the multitudes and to his Talmidim,
2Saying, Upon the Kisei Moshe (Chair of Moses) sit the Sofrim and the Perushim.
3Therefore, everything whatever they may tell you, be frum and be shomer, but according to their ma'asim (works) do not be shomer, for they do not practice what they preach.
4And they tie up heavy#23:4 extra-Biblical, Mt 4:4; 15:3,6-9; 22:29 loads, hard to bear, and they place them upon the shoulders of men, but they, with so much as a finger, are not willing to lift the oppressive burdens.
5And all their ma'asim hamitzvot (works of the commandments) they do in order to be seen by Bnei Adam, for they broaden their tefillin and lengthen their tzitziyot,
6and they love the places of honor at the seudot (banquet dinners), and the shuls,
7And the#23:7 obsequious Birkat Shalom greetings in the market places, and to be called by Bnei Adam, Rebbe.
8But you are not to have pretentious titles like Rebbe, for One is your Rebbe,#23:8 Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach and all of you are Achim b'Moshiach.
9And do not refer to anyone in the Olam Hazeh as your Abba, for One is your Av shbaShomayim.
10Neither be called Moreinu, for One is your Moreh (teacher) the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach.#23:10 Moreinu
11And the greatest among you will be your eved mesharet (servant, minister).
12But whoever will lift up himself will be humbled, and whoever will humble himself will be lifted up.
13But oy to you, Sofrim and Perushim, tzevuim (hypocrites), for in front of Bnei Adam you shut the Malchut HaShomayim. You do not go in yourselves, and the ones entering, you do not permit to enter.
14Oy to you, Sofrim and Perushim, tzevuim! You devour the batim of almanot and for the sake of chashuve (importance) appearance you make long tefillot; therefore your gezar din (verdict) will be more severe.
15Oy to you, Sofrim and Perushim, tzevuim. You travel over the sea and the dry land for the giyyur (proselytization) of one proselyte; then, when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of Gehinnom as you.
16Oy to you, morei derech ivrim (blind guides), the, ones saying, Whoever swears by the Beis Hamikdash, it is a worthless shevuah (oath): but whoever swears by the gold of the Beis Hamikdash, he is obligated.
17Ivrim! (blind ones), for which is greater, the gold or the Beis Hamikdash which gives the gold its kedushah (holiness, sanctity)?
18And whoever swears by the Mizbeach (altar), it is worthless; but whoever swears by the korban upon it, he is obligated.
19Ivrim, blind ones, for which is greater, the korban or Mizbeach which gives the korban its kedushah (holiness, sanctity)?
20Therefore, the one having sworn by the Mizbeach swears by it and everything upon it.
21And the one having sworn by the Beis Hamikdash swears by it and by everything indwelling it.
22And the one having sworn by Shomayim swears by the kes malchut of Hashem and by the One sitting upon the kes malchut.
23Oy to you, Sofrim and Perushim, tzevuim, for you give maasros (tithe) of mint and dill and cumin, and you have neglected the matters of the Torah of greater consequence: mishpat, chesed, and emunah. These things it was necessary to do and those#23:23 others not to neglect.
24Morei derech ivrim (blind guides), the ones that strain out a gnat and swallow a camel.
25Oy to you, Sofrim and Perushim, tzevuim, you cleanse the outside of the kos (cup) and the dish, but inside they are full of chamdanut (greed) and taavanut (lust).
26Blind Parush, first cleanse the inside of the kos, that perhaps also the outside may become clean.
27Oy to you, Sofrim and Perushim, tzevuim, for you are like kevarim (graves) having been whitewashed, which on the outside indeed appear ois vaist (ostensibly) shein (beautiful), but on the inside are full of the unclean bones of the mesim (dead ones) and every trayfnyak.
28Thus on the outside you indeed appear tzaddikim (righteous ones) to Bnei Adam, but on the inside you are full of tzeviut (hypocrisy) and you are lawlessly against the Torah.
29Oy to you, Sofrim and Perushim, tzevuim, for you build kevarim of the Neviim and decorate matsevot (gravestones) of the tzaddikim,
30And you say, If we were in the yamim (days) of Avoteinu (our Fathers), we would not have been shuttafim (partners) with them in the dahm haNeviim (blood of the Prophets).
31Therefore, you are edim (witnesses) against yourselves that you are the banim (sons) of the ratzchaniyot (murderers) of the Neviim.
32And you fill up the measure of your Avot.
33Snakes, you banim of nachashim, how can you escape the Yom HaDin of Gehinnom?
34For this reason hinei! I send to you Neviim and Chachamim and Sofrim, some of whom you will kill and some you will make talui al haetz#23:34 Dt 21:23 (being hanged on the Tree) and some you will subject to the shot (whip) in your shuls, and you will drive them out from city to city,
35So that upon you may come all the dahm naki (innocent blood) shed upon the earth from the blood of Hevel to the blood of Zecharyah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the Heikhal and the Mizbeach.#23:35 trans. note: cf. Lk 11:51 for Mtʼs probable original text here
36Omein, I say to you, that all these things will come upon this generation.
37Yerushalayim, Yerushalayim, the ones that kill the Neviim and stone those having been sent to you! How often have I wanted to gather your yeladim, as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but you were not willing!
38Hinei! Look! KI LECHARBAH YIH'YEH HABEIT HAZEH#23:38 Jer 22:5 (for this House will become a ruin).#23:38 (i.e. churban)
39For I say to you, by no means will you see me#23:39 Moshiach from now until you say, BARUCH HABAH B'SHEM ADONOI.
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Mattityahu 23: TOJB2011
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THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE
FOURTH EDITION © Artists For Israel Intl Inc., 2002-2011, 2021.
Matthew 23
23
Jesus Accuses the Leaders
1Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his followers. Jesus said, 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 don’t do the things themselves. 4They make strict rules and try to force people to obey them. But they themselves will not try to follow any of those rules.
5“The reason they do good things is so other people will see them. They make the boxes# Small leather boxes containing four important Scriptures. Some Jews tied these to the forehead and left arm, probably to show they were very religious. of Scriptures that they wear bigger and bigger. And they make their special prayer clothes very long so that people will notice them. 6Those Pharisees and teachers of the law love to have the most important seats at the feasts. And they love to have the most important seats in the synagogues. 7They love people to show respect to them in the marketplaces. And they love to have people call them ‘Teacher.’
8“But you must not be called ‘Teacher.’ You are all brothers and sisters together. You have only one Teacher. 9And don’t call any person on earth ‘Father.’ You have one Father. He is in heaven. 10And you should not be called ‘Master.’ You have only one Master, the Christ. 11He who serves you as a 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. 14[How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees. You are hypocrites. You take away widows’ houses, and you make long prayers so that people can see you. So you will have a worse punishment.]# Some Greek copies do not contain the bracketed text.
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 follow your ways. When you find that person, you make him more fit for hell than you are.
16“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You guide the people, but you are blind. You say, ‘If anyone swears by the Temple when he makes a promise, that means nothing. But if anyone swears by the gold that is in the Temple, then he must keep that promise.’ 17You are blind fools! Which is greater: the gold or the Temple? The Temple makes that gold holy. 18And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar when he makes a promise, that means nothing. But if he swears by the gift on the altar, then he must keep his promise.’ 19You are blind! Which is greater: the gift or the altar? The altar 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 uses the Temple to make a promise is really using the Temple and also everything in the Temple. 22The person who uses heaven to make a promise 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 cummin.# Small plants grown in gardens and used for spices. Only very religious people would be careful enough to give a tenth of these plants. But you don’t obey the really important teachings of the law—being fair, showing 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 his drink and then swallows a camel!# Meaning, “You worry about the smallest mistakes but commit the biggest sin.”
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 that you got by cheating others and pleasing only yourselves. 26Pharisees, you are blind! First make the inside of the cup clean and good. 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 are there. 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. You show honor to the graves of people who lived good lives. 30And you say, ‘If we had lived during the time of our fathers, we would not have helped them kill the prophets.’ 31But you give proof that you are children of those people who murdered the prophets. 32And you will complete the sin that your fathers started!
33“You are snakes! A family of poisonous snakes! You will not escape God. You will all be judged guilty and be sent to hell! 34So I tell you this: I am sending to you prophets and wise men and teachers. You will kill some of these people. You will nail some of them to crosses. You will beat some of them in your synagogues. You will chase them from town to town. 35So you will be guilty for the death of all the good people who have been killed on earth. You will be guilty for the murder of that good man Abel. And you will be guilty for the murder of Zechariah# In the Hebrew Old Testament, the first and last men to be murdered. son of Berakiah. He was murdered when he was 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 kill with stones those men God sent to you. Many times I wanted to help your people! I wanted to gather them together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you did not let me. 38Now your home 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.’”# Quotation from Psalm 118:26.
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