Matthew 23
23
CHAPTER 23
1Then Jesus spake to the people, and to his disciples,
2and said, On the chair of Moses, scribes and Pharisees have sat.
3Therefore keep ye, and do ye all things, whatever things they say to you. But do not ye do after their works; for they say, and do not.
4And they bind grievous charges, and that may not be borne, and put on [the] shoulders of men; but with their finger they will not move them.
5Therefore they do all their works to be seen of men; for they draw abroad their phylacteries, and magnify [their] hems.
6And they love the first sitting places in [or at] suppers, and the first chairs in synagogues;
7and salutations in [the] chapping, and to be called of men, master.
8But do not ye be called master; for one is your master, and all ye be brethren.
9And do not ye call to you a father on earth, for one is your Father, that is in heavens.
10Neither be ye called masters, for one is your master, Christ.
11He that is greatest among you, shall be your minister.
12For he that higheth himself, shall be meeked; and he that meeketh himself, shall be enhanced.
13But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, that close the kingdom of heavens [or the realm of heaven] before men; and ye enter not, neither suffer other men entering to enter.
14Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, that eat the houses of widows, and pray by long prayer; for this thing ye shall take the more doom.
15Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, that go about the sea and the land, to make one proselyte; and when he is made, ye make him a son of hell, double more than ye be.
16Woe to you, blind leaders, that say, Whoever sweareth by the temple of God, it is nothing; but he that sweareth in the gold of the temple, is debtor [or oweth].
17Ye fools and blind, for what is greater, the gold, or the temple that halloweth the gold?
18And whoever sweareth in the altar, it is nothing; but he that sweareth in the gift that is on the altar, oweth [or is a debtor].
19Blind men, for what is more, the gift, or the altar that halloweth the gift?
20Therefore he that sweareth in the altar, sweareth in it, and in all things that be thereon.
21And he that sweareth in the temple, sweareth in it, and in him that dwelleth in the temple.
22And he that sweareth in heaven, sweareth in the throne of God, and in him that sitteth thereon.
23Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, that tithe mint, anise, and cumin, and have left those things that be of more charge of the law, doom, and mercy, and faith. And it behooved [or needed] to do these things, and not to leave those.
24Blind leaders, cleansing a gnat, but swallowing a camel.
25Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, that cleanse the cup and the platter withoutforth; but within ye be full of raven, and uncleanness.
26Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first the cup and the platter withinforth, that [also] that that is withoutforth be made clean.
27Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, that be like to sepulchres whited [or made white], which with-outforth seem fair to men; but within they be full of bones of dead men, and of all filth.
28So ye withoutforth seem just [or rightful] to men; but within ye be full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
29Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, that build [the] sepulchres of prophets, and make fair the burials of just men,
30and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we should not have been their fellows in the blood of prophets.
31And so ye be in witnessing to yourselves, that ye be the sons of them that slew the prophets.
32And full-fill ye the measure of your fathers.
33Ye adders, and adders’ brood [or fruits of adders], how shall ye flee from the doom of hell?
34Therefore lo! I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes [or writers]; and of them ye shall slay and crucify, and of them ye shall scourge in your synagogues, and shall pursue from city into city [or from city to city];
35that all the just blood come on you, that was shed on the earth, from the blood of just Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Barachiah, whom ye slew betwixt the temple and the altar.
36Truly I say to you, all these things shall come on this generation.
37Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that slayest prophets, and stonest them that be sent to thee, how oft would I gather together thy children, as an hen gathereth together her chickens under her wings, and thou wouldest not.
38Lo! your house shall be left to you desert [or forsaken].
39And I say to you, ye shall not see me from henceforth, till ye say, Blessed is he, that cometh in the name of the Lord.
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Matthew 23: WBMS
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Wycliffe’s Bible with Modern Spelling ©2017
Wycliffe’s Apocrypha ©2013, 2015
Wycliffe’s Bible © 2012, 2015
Wycliffe’s New Testament ©2001, 2011
Wycliffe’s Old Testament ©2001, 2010
Matthew 23
23
Pharisaism Exposed
1Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, 2saying: “The scribes and Pharisees have seated themselves in Moses’ chair [of authority as teachers of the Law]; 3so practice and observe everything they tell you, but do not do as they do; for they preach [things], but do not practice them. 4The scribes and Pharisees tie up #I.e. detailed instructions of rabbinic interpretations of the Law.heavy loads [that are hard to bear] and place them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves will not lift a finger [to make them lighter]. 5They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their #Small cases containing Scripture passages, worn on the left arm and the forehead.phylacteries (tefillin) wide [to make them more conspicuous] and make their #Tassels (tzitzit) were worn on the garments of all Jewish males, according to the Law.tassels long. 6They love the place of distinction and honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues [those on the platform near the scrolls of the Law, facing the congregation], 7and to be greeted [with respect] in the market places and public forums, and to have people call them Rabbi. 8But do not be called Rabbi (Teacher); for One is your Teacher, and you are all [equally] brothers. 9Do not call anyone on earth [who guides you spiritually] your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10Do not let yourselves be called leaders or teachers; for One is your Leader (Teacher), the Christ. 11But the greatest among you will be your servant. 12Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be raised to honor.
Eight Woes
13 “But woe (judgment is coming) to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who are [in the process of] entering to do so. 14#Early mss do not contain v 14.[Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you swallow up widows’ houses, and to cover it up you make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation.]
15 “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel over sea and land to make a single proselyte (convert to Judaism), and when he becomes a convert, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.
16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears [an oath] by the sanctuary of the temple, that is nothing (non-binding); but whoever swears [an oath] by the gold of the temple is obligated [as a debtor to fulfill his vow and keep his promise].’ 17You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the sanctuary of the temple that sanctified the gold? 18And [you scribes and Pharisees say], ‘Whoever swears [an oath] by the altar, that is nothing (non-binding), but whoever swears [an oath] by the offering on it, he is obligated [as a debtor to fulfill his vow and keep his promise].’ 19You [spiritually] blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering? 20Therefore, whoever swears [an oath] by the altar, swears both by it and by everything [offered] on it. 21And whoever swears [an oath] by the sanctuary of the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells within it. 22And whoever swears [an oath] by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.
23 “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you give a tenth (tithe) of your mint and dill and cumin [focusing on minor matters], and have neglected the weightier [more important moral and spiritual] provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the [primary] things you ought to have done without neglecting the others. 24You [spiritually] blind guides, who strain out a gnat [consuming yourselves with miniscule matters] and swallow a camel [ignoring and violating God’s precepts]!
25 “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and robbery and self-indulgence (unrestrained greed). 26You [spiritually] blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the plate [examine and change your inner self to conform to God’s precepts], so that the outside [your public life and deeds] may be clean also.
27 “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which look beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. 28So you, also, outwardly seem to be just and upright to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets and decorate and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30and you say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have joined them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32Fill up, then, the [allotted] measure of the guilt of your fathers’ sins. 33You #The serpent is the creature used by Satan to introduce evil into the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:1ff). Here Jesus continues the imagery of Satan as the serpent working through the religious leaders to continue the propagation of evil through deception, false teaching, and man-made laws and traditions which are given priority over God’s law.serpents, you spawn of vipers, how can you escape the penalty of hell?
34 “Therefore, take notice, I am sending you prophets and wise men [interpreters, teachers] and scribes [men educated in the Mosaic Law and the writings of the prophets]; some of them you will kill and even crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues, and pursue and persecute from city to city, 35so that on you will come the guilt of all the blood of the righteous shed on earth, from the blood of righteous #I.e. the first and last martyrs recorded in the Hebrew text.Abel to the blood of Zechariah [the priest], the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36I assure you and most solemnly say to you, [the judgment for] all these things [these vile and murderous deeds] will come on this generation.
Lament over Jerusalem
37 “ # The nation of Israel personified. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who murders the prophets and stones [to death] those [messengers] who are sent to her [by God]! How often I wanted to gather your children together [around Me], as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. 38Listen carefully: your house is being left to you desolate [completely abandoned by God and destitute of His protection]! 39For I say to you, you will not see Me again [ministering to you publicly] until you say, ‘Blessed [to be celebrated with praise] is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”
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