Matthew 23:11-15

11 ¹The greatest among you shall be your servant.

12 ²Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

13 "But woe ³to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you ⁴shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you ⁵neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.^[a]

15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single ⁶proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a ⁷child of ⁸hell^[b] as yourselves.

Matthew 23:11-15 In-Context

9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.

10 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ.

11 The greatest among you shall be your servant.

12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

13 "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.

15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

16 "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, '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.'

Cross References

• 1. Matthew 20:26
• 2. Luke 14:11; Luke 18:14; [Matthew 18:4; Proverbs 29:23; Ezekiel 21:26; James 4:6, 10; 1 Peter 5:5, 6]
• 3. Luke 11:52
• 4. [Matthew 16:19]
• 5. [Matthew 5:20; Matthew 21:31; Luke 7:30]
• 6. Acts 2:10; Acts 6:5; Acts 13:43
• 7. [John 17:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:3]
• 8. See Matthew 5:29

Footnotes

• [a]. 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
• [b]. Greek Gehenna; also verse 33