| New International Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: | 1Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples: |
| 2"The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. | 2"The scribes and the Pharisees are seated in the chair of Moses. |
| 3So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. | 3Therefore do whatever they tell you, and observe it. But don't do what they do, because they don't practice what they teach. |
| 4They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. | 4They tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry and put them on people's shoulders, but they themselves aren't willing to lift a finger to move them. |
| 5"Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; | 5They do everything to be observed by others: They enlarge their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. |
| 6they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; | 6They love the place of honor at banquets, the front seats in the synagogues, |
| 7they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called 'Rabbi' by others. | 7greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called 'Rabbi by people. |
| 8"But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. | 8"But as for you, do not be called 'Rabbi,' because you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. |
| 9And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. | 9Do not call anyone on earth your father, because you have one Father, who is in heaven. |
| 10Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. | 10And do not be called masters either, because you have one Master, the Messiah. |
| 11The greatest among you will be your servant. | 11The greatest among you will be your servant. |
| 12For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. | 12Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. |
| 13"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. | 13"But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You lock up the kingdom of heaven from people. For you don't go in, and you don't allow those entering to go in. |
| 14 | 14"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You devour widows' houses and make long prayers just for show. This is why you will receive a harsher punishment. |
| 15"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are. | 15"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make one proselyte, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as fit for hell as you are! |
| 16"Woe to you, blind guides! You say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.' | 16"Woe to you, blind guides, who say, Whoever takes an oath by the sanctuary, it means nothing. But whoever takes an oath by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by his oath.' |
| 17You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? | 17Blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that sanctified the gold? |
| 18You also say, 'If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.' | 18Also, Whoever takes an oath by the altar, it means nothing. But whoever takes an oath by the gift that is on it is bound by his oath.' |
| 19You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? | 19Blind people! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? |
| 20Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. | 20Therefore, the one who takes an oath by the altar takes an oath by it and by everything on it. |
| 21And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. | 21The one who takes an oath by the sanctuary takes an oath by it and by Him who dwells in it. |
| 22And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God's throne and by the one who sits on it. | 22And the one who takes an oath by heaven takes an oath by God's throne and by Him who sits on it. |
| 23"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. | 23"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy, and faith. These things should have been done without neglecting the others. |
| 24You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. | 24Blind guides! You strain out a gnat, yet gulp down a camel! |
| 25"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. | 25"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence! |
| 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. | 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so the outside of it may also become clean. |
| 27"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. | 27"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every impurity. |
| 28In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. | 28In the same way, on the outside you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. |
| 29"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. | 29"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, |
| 30And you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' | 30and you say, If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we wouldn't have taken part with them in shedding the prophets' blood.' |
| 31So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. | 31You, therefore, testify against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. |
| 32Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started! | 32Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' sins! |
| 33"You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? | 33"Snakes! Brood of vipers! How can you escape being condemned to hell? |
| 34Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. | 34This is why I am sending you prophets, sages, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and hound from town to town. |
| 35And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. | 35So all the righteous blood shed on the earth will be charged to you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. |
| 36Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation. | 36I assure you: All these things will come on this generation! |
| 37"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. | 37"Jerusalem, Jerusalem! She who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, yet you were not willing! |
| 38Look, your house is left to you desolate. | 38See, your house is left to you desolate. |
| 39For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'" | 39For I tell you, you will never see Me again until you say, He who comes in the name of the Lord is the blessed One'!" |
| New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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