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Beware of the Scribes and the Pharisees
Mat 23; Mk 12:38-40; Lk 20:45-47
Matt 23:1-39
- Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples,
- saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.
- "Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not
do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.
- "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.
- "But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries
broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.
- "They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues,
- "greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, 'Rabbi, Rabbi.'
- "But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and
you are all brethren.
- "Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in
heaven.
- "And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.
- "But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.
- "And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will
be exalted.
- "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.
- "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.
- "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.
- "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.'
- "Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies
the gold?
- "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.'
- "Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies
the gift?
- "Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it.
- "He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it.
- "And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits
on it.
- "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.
- "Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
- "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.
- "Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the
outside of them may be clean also.
- "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.
- "Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full
of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
- "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of
the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,
- "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.'
- "Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who
murdered the prophets.
- "Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt.
- "Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?
- "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,
- "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.
- "Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
- "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!
- "See! Your house is left to you desolate;
- "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!'"
Mark 12:38-40
38 Then He said to them in His teaching, "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go
around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces,
39 "the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts,
- "who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will
receive greater condemnation."
Luke 20:45-47
45 Then, in the hearing of all the people, He said to His disciples,
46 "Beware of the scribes, who desire to walk in long robes, love greetings in
the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts,
47 "who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will
receive greater condemnation."