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Matthew 23 :: New King James Version (NKJV)

Woe to the Scribes and Pharisees
Jesus Rebukes the Scribes and Pharisees
(Mark 12:38–40; Luke 20:45–47 )

Mat 23:1

Mat 23:1Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples,

Mat 23:2

Mat 23:2saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.

Mat 23:3

Mat 23:3“Therefore whatever they tell you to observe,[fn] that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.

Mat 23:4

Mat 23:4“For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

Mat 23:5

Mat 23:5“But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.

Mat 23:6

Mat 23:6“They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues,

Mat 23:7

Mat 23:7“greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’

Mat 23:8

Mat 23:8“But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ,[fn] and you are all brethren.

Mat 23:9

Mat 23:9“Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.

Mat 23:10

Mat 23:10“And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.

Mat 23:11

Mat 23:11“But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.

Mat 23:12

Mat 23:12“And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Mat 23:13

Mat 23:13“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.

Mat 23:14

Mat 23:14“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.[fn]

Mat 23:15

Mat 23:15“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

Mat 23:16

Mat 23:16“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’

Mat 23:17

Mat 23:17“Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies[fn] the gold?

Mat 23:18

Mat 23:18“And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.’

Mat 23:19

Mat 23:19“Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?

Mat 23:20

Mat 23:20“Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it.

Mat 23:21

Mat 23:21“He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells[fn] in it.

Mat 23:22

Mat 23:22“And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.

Mat 23:23

Mat 23:23“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

Mat 23:24

Mat 23:24“Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

Mat 23:25

Mat 23:25“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.[fn]

Mat 23:26

Mat 23:26“Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.

Mat 23:27

Mat 23:27“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.

Mat 23:28

Mat 23:28“Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Mat 23:29

Mat 23:29“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,

Mat 23:30

Mat 23:30“and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’

Mat 23:31

Mat 23:31“Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.

Mat 23:32

Mat 23:32“Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt.

Mat 23:33

Mat 23:33“Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?

Mat 23:34

Mat 23:34“Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city,

Mat 23:35

Mat 23:35“that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

Mat 23:36

Mat 23:36“Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
Jesus Laments over Jerusalem
(Luke 13:34, 35 )

Mat 23:37

Mat 23:37“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one 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, but you were not willing!

Mat 23:38

Mat 23:38“See! Your house is left to you desolate;

Mat 23:39

Mat 23:39“for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ ”[fn]
See the NKJV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NKJV Footnotes
NU-Text omits to observe.
NU-Text omits the Christ.
NU-Text omits this verse.
NU-Text reads sanctified.
M-Text reads dwelt.
M-Text reads unrighteousness.
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New King James Version, © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

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For more information on this translation, see the NKJV Preface.

Matthew Chapter 23 — Additional Translations:

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