Matthew 23
23
Chapter 23
Jesus talks about dangerous teachers
1After that, Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples. 2He said, ‘The teachers of God's Law and the Pharisees have authority to explain the Law of Moses. 3So you must obey everything that they teach you. But you should not do the same things that they do. They tell you what the Law of Moses teaches. But then they themselves do not obey it. 4The rules that they give you are difficult to obey. Their rules are like heavy luggage, which they make you carry. But they themselves will not help you to carry that luggage. They will not agree to use even one finger to help you. #23:4 The teachers of God's Law and the Pharisees taught extra rules to the Laws of Moses. This made it more difficult for people to obey all the Laws.
5The Pharisees do things only so that people will see them. They wear little boxes with words from the Bible in them, but they make them really big. They also make the tassels on their clothes very long. #23:5 These little boxes were called phylacteries. A Jewish man would tie one to his head or to his arm. There was some paper with words from the Bible in the box. They wore the phylacteries and the tassels for other people to see. They wanted people to think that they really loved God. 6They like to sit in the important places at special meals. They also choose to sit in the best seats in the meeting places. 7They like people to praise them in the market place. They want people to call them “Teacher.”
8You all belong to God's family. You have only one Teacher. So nobody should call another person, “Teacher”. #23:8 Jesus is our master and our teacher. 9Also, do not call any other person in the world, “Father”. You have only one Father, and he is in heaven. #23:9 Jesus was saying that God is their Father. 10And do not call each other “Leader”. You have only one Leader. He is the Messiah that God has chosen. 11The person among you who is most important will be your servant. 12Some people lift themselves up to be important. But God will bring them down low. Other people are humble. God will lift up those people to a good place.’
Jesus speaks against the teachers of God's Law and the Pharisees
13Jesus spoke to the teachers of God's Law and the Pharisees. ‘It will be very bad for you,’ he said. ‘You are hypocrites! You have stopped people who wanted to go into the kingdom of heaven. It is like you have shut the door so that they cannot go in. Then you yourselves do not even go in.
14[It will be very bad for you, teachers of God's Law and Pharisees. You are hypocrites! You take things away from women after their husbands have died. You pray for a long time so that other people will praise you. God will punish you much more than other people.] #23:14 Verse 14 is not in all copies of Matthew's book.
15It will be very bad for you, teachers of God's Law and Pharisees. You are hypocrites! You travel far across land and sea. You do this to make one person believe what you believe. Then, when he does believe your ideas, he becomes worse than you are. He shows that he belongs to hell even more than you do.
16It will be very bad for you, teachers. You cannot see what is true, but you show people which way to go. #23:16 Jesus meant that the teachers of God's Law and Pharisees did not understand about the kingdom. They were like men who could not see. They did not know God's way, but they were trying to teach it to other people. You say to people, “You may make a promise by the name of the temple. Then it is not a serious promise. You do not have to do it. But you may also make a promise by the gold things in the temple. Then it is a serious promise, and you must do it.” 17This shows that you are fools. You do not understand what is true. Think about which of these is more important. Is it the gold things in the temple? Or is it the temple itself? It is the temple that makes the gold things special. 18You also say to people, “You may make a promise by the altar in the temple. Then it is not a serious promise. You do not have to do it. But you may also make a promise by the gifts on that altar. Then it is a serious promise and you must do it.” 19You are people who cannot understand what is true. Think about which of these things is more important. Is it the gifts on the altar? Or is it the altar itself? It is the altar that makes the gifts special. 20Remember this: Somebody may make a promise by the name of the altar. Then he is making a promise by God's name. The altar as well as all the gifts on it are special to God. 21Also, somebody may make a promise by the name of the temple. Then he is making a promise in the name of God, who lives there. 22Or somebody may make a promise by heaven. Then he is making a promise by the place where God sits and rules. So he is making a promise by the name of God himself. #23:22 Perhaps a person wants to make a promise very strong. So he uses someone's name to make the promise stronger. Jesus says that we should not do this. If we make a promise, people should be able to trust us to do what we have said.
23It will be very bad for you, teachers of God's Law and Pharisees. You are hypocrites! When you grow spices to cook with food, you give a tenth part of these small things to God. You are right to obey this rule. But you do not obey the more important parts of God's Law. You do not help people in a good way. You are not kind to them. You do not always do what God says is right. You should have done these important things as well as the other small things. 24You are like blind people, but you show other people which way to go. You carefully take a small fly out of your water so that you do not drink it. But then you drink the large animal that is swimming in it! #23:24 The teachers of God's Law and the Pharisees obeyed the least important parts of the Law of Moses. But they did not obey the important parts. They did not understand that they were doing the wrong things.
25It will be very bad for you, teachers of God's Law and Pharisees. You are hypocrites! You always clean the outside of your cups and plates very carefully. You only clean the outside part that people can see. But on the inside, everything is still dirty. Inside you, your minds are full of bad thoughts. You want to have more things for yourself. You hurt other people to get what you want. 26Pharisees, you do not see what is true! You must first clean the inside of the cup. Then the outside that people can see will also be clean.
27It will be very bad for you, teachers of God's law and Pharisees. You are hypocrites! You are like a grave that has nice white paint on the outside and it looks beautiful. But on the inside it is full of bones and disgusting things. 28You are the same as that. Other people look at you. They think that you are good and you obey God. But on the inside you are hypocrites. Your minds are full of many bad thoughts.
29It will be very bad for you, teachers of God's Law and Pharisees. You are hypocrites! You build up the places where people have buried God's prophets. You make the places where they have buried good people to be beautiful. 30You say, “Our ancestors killed God's prophets long ago. If we had lived at that time, we would not have helped our ancestors to do that.” 31So you are speaking against yourselves. You show that you are the sons of those people who killed God's prophets. 32Now you must finish the work that your ancestors began to do!
33You are like a family of dangerous snakes! You will not be able to run away. God will surely punish you, and he will send you to hell. 34So listen to this. God says, “I will send prophets to you. I will also send to you people who know many things. And I will send people to teach you what is true. But you will kill some of these people. You will kill some of them on a cross. In the places where you meet to pray, you will hit some of them with whips. They will run from one town to another town, but you will follow them.” 35Because of all this, God will punish you for all the good people that you and your ancestors have killed. Long ago, Abel was the first of those good people. You also killed Zechariah, the son of Berekiah. He died in the yard of the temple near the altar. #23:35 Through the years bad men have killed many good men. The prophets wrote in the Bible about many people who died in that way. Abel was the first person like that. See Genesis 4:8. Zechariah was another good person that bad people killed. See 2 Chronicles 24:20-21. 36Yes, I tell you this: God will punish the people who are alive today for all those murders.
37Jerusalem, Jerusalem! Your people have killed God's prophets. They have thrown stones to kill other people that God has sent to you. Many times, I have wanted to bring all of your people near to me. A female bird covers her babies with her body to make them safe. But you would not let me keep you from danger like that. 38So listen! Your place will now become like a wilderness where nobody lives. 39And I tell you this. You will not see me again until the day when you say, “May the Lord God bless the man who comes with his authority!” ’ #23:39 See Psalms 118:26
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Matthew 23: EASY
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Matthew 23
23
Seven Woes Pronounced on the Scribes and Pharisees
1 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, 2saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on the seat of Moses. 3Therefore do and observe everything that they tell you, but do not do as they do,#Literally “their deeds” for they tell others to do something#*The words “others to do something” are not in the Greek text but are implied and do not do it themselves.#*The words “it themselves” are not in the Greek text but are implied 4And they tie up heavy burdens#Some manuscripts have “burdens that are heavy and hard to bear” and put them#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing with their finger to move them. 5And they do all their deeds in order to be seen by people, for they make their phylacteries broad and make their#Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun tassels long. 6And they love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues 7and the greetings in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by people. 8But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ because one is your teacher, and you are all brothers, 9And do not call anyone#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation your father on earth, for one is your heavenly Father. 10And do not be called teachers, because one is your teacher, the Christ. 11And the greatest among you will be your servant. 12And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
13“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you shut the kingdom of heaven before people! For you do not enter, nor permit those wanting to go in#*Here the present tense has been translated as voluntative (“wanting to go in”) to enter.#The most important Greek manuscripts omit v. 14, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you devour widows’ houses and for show you pray long prayers! Therefore you will receive the greater condemnation.”
15“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you travel around the sea and the dry land to make one convert, and when he becomes one,#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are!
16“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing! But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by his oath.’#The phrase “by his oath” is not in the Greek text but is implied 17Fools and blind people! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold holy? 18And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing! But whoever swears by the gift that is on it is bound by his oath.’#The phrase “by his oath” is not in the Greek text but is implied 19Blind people! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy? 20Therefore the one who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything that is on it. 21And the one who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22And the one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by the one who sits on it.
23“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you pay a tenth of mint and dill and cumin, and neglect the more important matters of the law—justice and mercy and faithfulness! It was necessary#Some manuscripts have “But it was necessary” to do these things while not neglecting those.#Literally “and those not to neglect” 24Blind guides who filter out a gnat and swallow a camel!
25“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence! 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the dish,#Some manuscripts omit “and the dish” so that the outside of it may become clean also.
27“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean! 28In the same way, on the outside you also appear righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, 30and 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!’ 31Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets! 32And you—fill up the measure of your fathers! 33Serpents! Offspring of vipers! How will you escape from the condemnation to hell? 34For 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, 35so 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. 36Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation!
The Lament over Jerusalem
37“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How many times I wanted to gather your children together the way#Literally “in the manner in which” a hen gathers her young together under her#*Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun wings, and you were not willing! 38Behold, your house has been left to you desolate! 39For I tell you, you will never see me from now on until you say,
‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”#A quotation from Ps 118:26
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