Montgomery - Matthew - 23

23:1  Then said Jesus to the crowds and to his disciples.

23:2  "The Scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat;

23:3  "therefore do and observe whatever they bid you; but do not do as they do, for they preach, but do not practise.

23:4  "For they bind heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves will not lift a finger to move them.

23:5  "For they do all their good deeds to be gazed on of men. They widen their phylacteries,

23:6  "and lengthen the tassels, and are fond of the best places at banquets, and the front seats in the synagogues.

23:7  "They enjoy salutations in the market-places, and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’

23:8  "But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi’;for one is your Teacher, and you are all brothers;

23:9  "and call no one ‘Father’ on earth, for One is your Father in heaven.

23:10  "And call no one ‘Leader,’ because One is your leader, even the Christ.

23:11  "Whoever is great among you shall be your minister;

23:12  "whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted.

23:13  "But woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces; for you do not enter, yourselves, nor do you permit those who are about to come in, to enter.

23:14  (Is wanting in the oldest manuscripts.)

23:15  "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you scour sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is gained, you make him twofold more a son of hell than you are, yourselves.

23:16  "Woe unto you, blind guides, who say, If any one swears by the Sanctuary, it is nothing, but if any one swears by the gold of the Sanctuary, the oath is binding.

23:17  "You fools and blind; for which is greater, the gold, or the Sanctuary which hallows the gold?

23:18  "You say, too, that whoever swears by the offering that is upon it, his oath is binding.

23:19  "You blind! Which is greater, the offering or the altar which hallows the offering?

23:20  "He then, who swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it;

23:21  "and he who swears by the Sanctuary swears by it and by Him who dwells therein;

23:22  "and he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits thereon.

23:23  "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and anise and cummin, and neglect the weightier matters of the Law - justice and mercy and good faith; these latter you ought to have done, and not to have left the former undone.

23:24  "You blind guides! who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!

23:25  "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but within they are filled with extortion and excess.

23:26  "You blind Pharisees, first clean the inside of the cup and of the plate, so that the outside of it may be clean also.

23:27  "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like white- washed sepulchers. They look beautiful without, but within they are filled with dead men’s bones and all rottenness.

23:28  "Just so you also outwardly appear to men, just, but within you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

23:29  "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You rebuild the tombs of the prophets, and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say,

23:30  "‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been their comrades in the murder of the prophets.’

23:31  "So you bear witness against yourselves, that you are the descendants of those who slew the prophets!

23:32  "Fill up then the measure of your fathers!

23:33  "You serpents! You vipers brood! How shall you escape the judgment of hell?

23:34  "For this cause, behold! I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify; some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and pursue from city to city;

23:35  "that upon your heads may come every drop of innocent blood spilt upon the earth, from the blood of Abel, the just, to the blood of Zechariah the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the Sanctuary and the altar.

23:36  "In solemn truth I tell you that all these things will come upon this generation.

23:37  "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, murdering the prophets, and stoning those who have been sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together, as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not!

23:38  "Behold, your house is left to you desolate!

23:39  "For I tell you that never shall you see me again until you say, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." "nor did they know until the deluge came and swept them away; so will be the coming of the Son of man.