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 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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