Matthew 23
23
Seven Woes
1Then Yeshua spoke to the crowds and to His disciples,
2saying, “The Torah scholars and Pharisees sit on the seat of Moses.
3So whatever they tell you, do and observe. But don’t do what they do; for what they say, they do not do.
4They tie up heavy loads, hard to carry, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves aren’t willing to lift a finger to move them.
5All their works they do to be noticed by men. They make their tefillin wide and their tzitziyot long.
6They love the place of honor at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues,
7greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called rabbi by men.
8“But you are not to be called rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers.
9And call no man on earth your father; for One is your Father, who is in heaven.
10Nor are you to be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Messiah.
11But the greatest among you shall be your servant.
12Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
13“But woe to you, Torah scholars and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not enter yourselves, nor do you let those enter who are trying to go in.
14
15“Woe to you, Torah scholars and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel over land and sea to make one convert. And when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of Gehenna as yourself.
16“Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘Whoever swears by the Temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the Temple, he is obligated.’
17O fools and blind ones! Which is greater, the gold or the Temple that made the gold holy?
18And you say, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.’
19O blind ones! Which is greater, the offering or the altar that makes the offering holy?
20Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and everything on it.
21And whoever swears by the Temple, swears both by the Temple and by Him who dwells in it.
22And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.
23“Woe to you, Torah scholars and Pharisees, hypocrites! You tithe mint and dill and cumin, yet you have neglected the weightier matters of Torah—justice and mercy and faithfulness. It is necessary to do these things without neglecting the others.
24O blind guides, straining out a gnat while swallowing a camel!
25“Woe to you, Torah scholars and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and uncontrolled desire.
26O blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well.
27“Woe to you, Torah scholars 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.
28In the same way, you appear righteous to men on the outside, but are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29“Woe to you, Torah scholars and Pharisees, hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the tzaddikim.
30And you say, ‘If we’d been alive in the days of our forefathers, we wouldn’t have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
31So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
32Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers!
33O snakes, you brood of vipers! How will you escape the condemnation of Gehenna?
34“Because of this, behold, I’m sending you prophets and wise men and Torah scholars. Some of them you will kill and execute at the stake, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city.
35And so, upon you shall come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the Temple and the altar.
36Amen, I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation.”
Holy Temple to Be Destroyed
37“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
38Look, your house is left to you desolate!
39For I tell you, you will never see Me again until you say, ‘ Baruch ha-ba b’shem Adonai. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
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Matthew 23: TLV
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Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
Matthew 23
23
A Warning Against Doing Things for the Wrong Reasons
1Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples. 2“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat,” he said. 3“So you must be careful to do everything they say. But don’t do what they do. They don’t practice what they preach. 4They tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry. Then they put them on other people’s shoulders. But they themselves aren’t willing to lift a finger to move them.
5“Everything they do is done for others to see. On their foreheads and arms they wear little boxes that hold Scripture verses. They make the boxes very wide. And they make the tassels on their coats very long. 6They love to sit down in the place of honor at dinners. They also love to have the most important seats in the synagogues. 7They love to be greeted with respect in the markets. They love it when people call them ‘Rabbi.’
8“But you shouldn’t be called ‘Rabbi.’ You have only one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9Do not call anyone on earth ‘father.’ You have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10You shouldn’t be called ‘teacher.’ You have one Teacher, and he is the Messiah. 11The most important person among you will be your servant. 12People who lift themselves up will be made humble. And people who make themselves humble will be lifted up.
How Terrible for the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees
13-14“How terrible it will be for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter. And you will not let those enter who are trying to.
15“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You travel everywhere to win one person to your faith. Then you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.
16“How terrible for you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone makes a promise in the name of the temple, it means nothing. But anyone who makes a promise in the name of the gold of the temple must keep that promise.’ 17You are blind and foolish! Which is more important? Is it the gold? Or is it the temple that makes the gold holy? 18You also say, ‘If anyone makes a promise in the name of the altar, it means nothing. But anyone who makes a promise in the name of the gift on the altar must keep that promise.’ 19You are blind! Which is more important? Is it the gift? Or is it the altar that makes the gift holy? 20So anyone making a promise in the name of the altar makes a promise in the name of it and everything on it. 21And anyone making a promise in the name of the temple makes a promise in the name of it and the one who lives in it. 22And anyone making a promise in the name of heaven makes a promise in the name of God’s throne and the one who sits on it.
23“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You give God a tenth of your spices, like mint, dill and cumin. But you have not practiced the more important things of the law, which are fairness, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the last things without failing to do the first. 24You blind guides! You remove the smallest insect from your food. But you swallow a whole camel!
25“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You clean the outside of a cup and dish. But on the inside you are full of greed. You only want to satisfy yourselves. 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish. Then the outside will also be clean.
27“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You are like tombs that are painted white. They look beautiful on the outside. But on the inside they are full of the bones of the dead. They are also full of other things that are not pure and ‘clean.’ 28It is the same with you. On the outside you seem to be doing what is right. But on the inside you are full of what is wrong. You pretend to be what you are not.
29“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You build tombs for the prophets. You decorate the graves of the godly. 30And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of those who lived before us, we wouldn’t have done what they did. We wouldn’t have helped to kill the prophets.’ 31So you are witnesses against yourselves. You admit that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets. 32So go ahead and finish the sins that those who lived before you started!
33“You nest of poisonous snakes! How will you escape from being sentenced to hell? 34So I am sending you prophets, wise people, and teachers. You will kill some of them. You will nail some to a cross. Others you will whip in your synagogues. You will chase them from town to town. 35So you will pay for all the godly people’s blood spilled on earth. I mean from the blood of godly Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berekiah. Zechariah was the one you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36What I’m about to tell you is true. All this will happen to those who are now living.
37“Jerusalem! Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and throw stones in order to kill those who are sent to you. Many times I have wanted to gather your people together. I have wanted to be like a hen who gathers her chicks under her wings. And you would not let me! 38Look, your house is left empty. 39I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ” (Psalm 118:26)
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