Matthew 23:3–28

³So practice and observe everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. ⁴They tie up heavy, burdensome loads^a and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

⁵All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. ⁶They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues, ⁷the greetings in the marketplaces, and the title of ‘Rabbi’ by which they are addressed.^b

⁸But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹And do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. ¹⁰Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Christ. ¹¹The greatest among you shall be your servant. ¹²For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

¹³Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.^c

¹⁵Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You traverse land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell^d as you are.

¹⁶Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ ¹⁷You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred? ¹⁸And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’ ¹⁹You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes it sacred? ²⁰So then, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the One who dwells in it. ²²And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the One who sits on it.

²³Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. ²⁴You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.^e

²⁵Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you 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,^f so that the outside may become clean as well.

²⁷Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity. ²⁸In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.