1 Then Jesus 1said to the crowds and to his disciples,
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2"The scribes and the Pharisees 3sit on Moses' seat,
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so practice and observe whatever they tell you--4but not what they do. 5For they preach, but do not practice.
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6They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,[a] and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.#rl
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7They do all their deeds 8to be seen by others. For they make 9their phylacteries broad and 10their fringes long,
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and they 11love the place of honor at feasts and 12the best seats in the synagogues
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and 13greetings in 14the marketplaces and being called 15rabbi[b] by others.
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16But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are 17all brothers.[c]
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18And call no man your father on earth, for 19you have one Father, who is in heaven.
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Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, 20the Christ.
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21The greatest among you shall be your servant.
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22Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
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"But woe 23to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you 24shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you 25neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.[d]
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Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single 26proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a 27child of 28hell[e] as yourselves.
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"Woe to 29you, 30blind guides, who say, 31'If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.'
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You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or 32the temple that has made the gold sacred?
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And you say, 'If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by 33the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.'
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You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or 34the altar that makes the gift sacred?
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So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.
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And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by 35him who dwells in it.#rl
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And whoever swears by 36heaven swears by 37the throne of God and by 38him who sits upon it.
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39"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For 40you tithe mint and dill and 41cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: 42justice and mercy and faithfulness. 43These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
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You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing 44a camel!
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45"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For 46you clean the outside of 47the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of 48greed and self-indulgence.
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You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of 49the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.
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50"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like 51whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and 52all uncleanness.
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So you also 53outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of 54hypocrisy and lawlessness.
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55"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous,
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saying, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'
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Thus you witness against yourselves that you are 56sons of those who murdered the prophets.
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You serpents, 58you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to 59hell?
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60Therefore 61I send you 62prophets and wise men and 63scribes, 64some of whom you will kill and crucify, and 65some you will 66flog in your synagogues and 67persecute from town to town,
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so that on you may come all 68the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of innocent 69Abel to the blood of 70Zechariah the son of Barachiah,[f] whom you murdered between 71the sanctuary and 72the altar.
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Truly, I say to you, 73all these things will come upon this generation.#rl
[d].
Some manuscripts add here (or after verse 12) verse 14: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation