Mattithyahu (Matthew) 23
23
1Then יהושע spoke to the crowds and to His taught ones,
2saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on the seat of Mosheh.
3Therefore, whatever they#Four of eleven available Shem Toḇ texts read “he says”, referring to Mosheh, instead of “they say”, referring to the Pharisees. say to you to guard, guard and do. But do not do according to their works, for they say, and do not do.
4“For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders, but with their finger they do not wish to move them.
5And they do all their works to be seen by men, and they make their t’fillen#See Explanatory Notes - "T’fillen". wide and lengthen the tzitzit#See Explanatory Notes - "Tzitzit" and Num. 15:37-41; Deu. 22:12 of their garments,
6and they love the best place at feasts, and the best seats in the congregations,
7and the greetings in the market-places, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’#Rabbi - A Semitic term literally meaning “My Great One.”
8“But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi,’ for One is your Teacher, the Messiah, and you are all brothers.
9“And do not call anyone on earth your father, for One is your Father, He who is in the heavens.
10“Neither be called leaders, for One is your Leader, the Messiah.
11“But the greatest among you shall be your servant.
12“And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
13“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you shut up the reign of the heavens before men, for you do not go in, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
14“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you eat up widows’ houses, and for a show make long prayers. Because of this you shall receive greater judgment.
15“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you go about the land and the sea to win one convert, and when he is won, you make him a son of GĕHinnom twofold more than yourselves.
16“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the Dwelling Place, it does not matter, but whoever swears by the gold of the Dwelling Place, is bound by oath.’
17Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the Dwelling Place that sets the gold apart?”
18“And, ‘Whoever swears by the slaughter-place, it does not matter, but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, is bound by oath.’
19Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the slaughter-place that sets the gift apart?”
20“He, then, who swears by the slaughter-place, swears by it and by all that is upon it.
21“And he who swears by the Dwelling Place, swears by it and by Him who is dwelling in it.
22“And he who swears by the heaven, swears by the throne of Elohim and by Him who is sitting upon it.
23“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you tithe the mint and the anise and the cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the Torah: the right-ruling and the compassion and the belief.#The wording in Luke 11:42 is somewhat different. These need to have been done, without neglecting the others.
24“Blind guides – straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!
25“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are filled with plunder and unrighteousness.
26“Blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside of them becomes clean too.
27“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you are like whitewashed tombs which outwardly indeed look well, but inside are filled with dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.
28“So you too outwardly indeed appear righteous to men, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.#See Mat. 5:20
29“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous,
30and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in the blood of the prophets.’
31Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who did murder the prophets –
32and you fill up the measure of your fathers!
33“Serpents, brood of adders! How would you escape the judgment of GĕHinnom?
34“Because of this, see, I send you prophets, and wise men, and scholars of Scripture.#See Mat. 13:52 Some of them you shall kill and impale, and some of them you shall flog in your congregations and persecute from city to city,
35so that on you should come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Heḇel to the blood of Zeḵaryah, son of Bereḵyah, whom you murdered between the Dwelling Place and the slaughter-place.
36Truly, I say to you, all this shall come upon this generation.#Or ‘race’.
37“Yerushalayim, Yerushalayim, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to her! How often I wished to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but you would not!
38See! Your house is left to you laid waste,# Jer. 22:5
39for I say to you, from now on you shall by no means see Me, until you say, ‘Blessed is He who is coming in the Name of יהוה!’ ”# Psa. 118:26
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Mattithyahu (Matthew) 23: TS2009
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Matthew 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.