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Matthew 23

1Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and his disciples, 2saying, “The scribes and Pharisees have seated themselves on Moses' seat. 3So do and observe everything they tell you, but do not act according to their deeds, for they say and do not do. 4They tie up heavy burdens and put them on people's shoulders, but they themselves do not want to move them with their finger. 5They do all their deeds to be seen by people, for they broaden their phylacteries and enlarge their tassels. 6They love the place of honor at dinners and the first seats in the synagogues, 7greetings in the marketplaces, and being called ‘Rabbi’ by people. 8But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for one is your teacher, and you are all brothers. 9And call no one on earth your father, for one is your Father, the heavenly one. 10Nor are you to be called instructors, because one is your instructor, the Messiah. 11The greatest among you will be your servant. 12Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

13“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you do not enter, and you do not allow those entering to go in. 14Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You devour widows' houses and make long prayers as a pretense. Because of this you will receive greater condemnation.

15“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You travel around sea and dry land to make one convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of Gehenna as yourselves.

16“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the sanctuary, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the sanctuary's gold is bound.’ 17Fools and blind people! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that made the gold holy? 18And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift on it is bound.’ 19Blind people! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy? 20So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21Whoever swears by the sanctuary swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22Whoever swears by heaven swears by God's throne and by the one sitting on it.

23“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have done these without neglecting those. 24Blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

25“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that its outside may also become clean.

27“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful outside, but inside are full of dead people's bones and every uncleanness. 28In the same way, you too look righteous to people outside, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

29“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You build the prophets' tombs and decorate the righteous people's monuments, 30and say, ‘If we had been in our fathers' days, we would not have been their partners in the prophets' blood.’ 31So you testify against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32You too, fill up your fathers' measure! 33Snakes, brood of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of Gehenna? 34Because of this, look, I am sending you prophets, wise people, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town, 35so that all the righteous blood shed on the earth may come upon you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36Truly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation.

37“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you did not want it! 38Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39For I tell you, from now on you will certainly not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Translation notes 8

23:2–4 — Moses' seat and burdens. The seat represents teaching authority associated with Moses. “Have seated themselves” can also be rendered “sit”; it does not by itself accuse them of usurping the position. The command to observe their words and avoid their deeds is retained without adding an exception. The base says “heavy” without the additional “hard to carry” found in other editions.

23:5–12 — Display and titles. Phylacteries are small cases containing Scripture passages, worn on the body. Tassels are the garment's religiously significant fringes. “Brothers” preserves the family image for fellow disciples; its scope need not exclude women. Teacher and instructor translate different Greek words. The prohibitions of honorific naming are retained in their direct form.

23:14 — Bracketed verse. This verse is absent from SBLGNT and is likely a later insertion resembling Mark 12:40 and Luke 20:47. The complete traditional verse is retained in double brackets. Its wording and position follow the Textus Receptus alternative recorded in the SBLGNT apparatus; another textual form places it before verse 13. “Houses” can include widows' property or households.

23:15, 33 — Son of Gehenna; judgment. The son-image describes belonging or character, not literal parentage. Gehenna is the judgment term also used earlier in Matthew; NET renders it “hell” in both verses. It is kept distinct here from Hades. “Twice as much” preserves the severity of the comparison without turning it into a measured scale of punishment.

23:16–24 — Sanctuary, oaths, and weight. “Sanctuary” distinguishes the central sacred building from the broader temple precincts. Being “bound” means being obligated by an oath. “Faithfulness” renders the word also used for faith, here in a list of weighty obligations. The heavy/weightier contrast and the gnat/camel image remain visible.

23:25–28 — Inside and outside. “Plunder” describes predatory gain, not mere untidiness. The cup and dish image moves between vessels and the people using them. Verse 26 retains both “cup and dish” and the singular “its” from the base; other texts omit the dish or use a plural pronoun. Whitewashed tombs preserve the external beauty/internal uncleanness contrast.

23:29–36 — Fathers, sons, and blood. “Fathers” refers to ancestors; the next verses develop the family image with sons and a filled measure. The blood language concerns responsibility for killing. Zechariah's identification is disputed: the murder in 2 Chronicles 24 concerns Jehoiada's son, while the prophet Zechariah is identified with Berechiah. Matthew's “son of Barachiah” and “whom you murdered” are retained rather than corrected. “This generation” remains the stated recipient of the warning.

23:37–39 — Jerusalem and the hen. The city is addressed as a woman, and the mother-bird image is preserved. The Greek moves from singular address to plural “you” in the refusal, addressing the city's people. “Desolate” is in the base. “Your house” may include the temple, but the word is not replaced with that interpretation. The closing blessing repeats 21:9.