Parallel Bible results for "matthew 23"

Matthew 23

The Bible in Basic English BBE

1 Then Jesus said to the people and to his disciples:

2 The scribes and the Pharisees have the authority of Moses;

3 All things, then, which they give you orders to do, these do and keep: but do not take their works as your example, for they say and do not.

4 They make hard laws and put great weights on men's backs; but they themselves will not put a finger to them

5 But all their works they do so as to be seen by men: for they make wide their phylacteries, and the edges of their robes,

6 And the things desired by them are the first places at feasts, and the chief seats in the Synagogues,

7 And words of respect in the market-places, and to be named by men, Teacher.

8 But you may not be named Teacher: for one is your teacher, and you are all brothers.

9 And give no man the name of father on earth: because one is your Father, who is in heaven.

10 And you may not be named guides: because one is your Guide, even Christ.

11 But let the greatest among you be your servant.

12 And whoever makes himself high will be made low, and whoever makes himself low will be made high.

13 But a curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! because you are shutting the kingdom of heaven against men: for you do not go in yourselves, and those who are going in, you keep back.

14 [

15 A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you go about land and sea to get one disciple and, having him, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

16 A curse is on you, blind guides, who say, Whoever takes an oath by the Temple, it is nothing; but whoever takes an oath by the gold of the Temple, he is responsible.

17 You foolish ones and blind: which is greater, the gold, or the Temple which makes the gold holy?

18 And, Whoever takes an oath by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever takes an oath by the offering which is on it, he is responsible.

19 You blind ones: which is greater, the offering, or the altar which makes the offering holy

20 He, then, who takes an oath by the altar, takes it by the altar and by all things on it.

21 And he who takes an oath by the Temple, takes it by the Temple and by him whose house it is

22 And he who takes an oath by heaven, takes it by the seat of God, and by him who is seated on it.

23 A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you make men give a tenth of all sorts of sweet-smelling plants, but you give no thought to the more important things of the law, righteousness, and mercy, and faith; but it is right for you to do these, and not to let the others be undone.

24 You blind guides, who take out a fly from your drink, but make no trouble over a camel.

25 A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you make clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of violent behaviour and uncontrolled desire.

26 You blind Pharisee, first make clean the inside of the cup and of the plate, so that the outside may become equally clean.

27 A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you are like the resting-places of the dead, which are made white, and seem beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and of all unclean things.

28 Even so you seem to men to be full of righteousness, but inside you are all false and full of wrongdoing.

29 A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! because you put up buildings for housing the dead bodies of the prophets, and make fair the last resting-places of good men, and say,

30 If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in the blood of the prophets.

31 So that you are witnesses against yourselves that you are the sons of those who put the prophets to death.

32 Make full, then, the measure of your fathers.

33 You snakes, offspring of snakes, how will you be kept from the punishment of hell?

34 For this reason, I send you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: some of them you will put to death and put on the cross, and to some of them you will give blows in your Synagogues, driving them from town to town;

35 So that on you may come all the blood of the upright on the earth, from the blood of upright Abel to the blood of Zachariah, son of Barachiah, whom you put to death between the Temple and the altar.

36 Truly I say to you, All these things will come on this generation

37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, putting to death the prophets, and stoning those who are sent to her! Again and again would I have taken your children to myself as a bird takes her young ones under her wings, and you would not!

38 See, your house is made waste

39 For I say to you, You will not see me from this time till you say, A blessing on him who comes in the name of the Lord.

Good News Translation GNT

1 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples.

2 "The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees are the authorized interpreters of Moses' Law.

3 So you must obey and follow everything they tell you to do; do not, however, imitate their actions, because they don't practice what they preach.

4 They tie onto people's backs loads that are heavy and hard to carry, yet they aren't willing even to lift a finger to help them carry those loads

5 They do everything so that people will see them. Look at the straps with scripture verses on them which they wear on their foreheads and arms, and notice how large they are! Notice also how long are the tassels on their cloaks!

6 They love the best places at feasts and the reserved seats in the synagogues;

7 they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to have people call them "Teacher.'

8 You must not be called "Teacher,' because you are all equal and have only one Teacher.

9 And you must not call anyone here on earth "Father,' because you have only the one Father in heaven.

10 Nor should you be called "Leader,' because your one and only leader is the Messiah.

11 The greatest one among you must be your servant.

12 Whoever makes himself great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be made great.

13 "How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You lock the door to the Kingdom of heaven in people's faces, but you yourselves don't go in, nor do you allow in those who are trying to enter!

15 "How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You sail the seas and cross whole countries to win one convert; and when you succeed, you make him twice as deserving of going to hell as you yourselves are!

16 "How terrible for you, blind guides! You teach, "If someone swears by the Temple, he isn't bound by his vow; but if he swears by the gold in the Temple, he is bound.'

17 Blind fools! Which is more important, the gold or the Temple which makes the gold holy?

18 You also teach, "If someone swears by the altar, he isn't bound by his vow; but if he swears by the gift on the altar, he is bound.'

19 How blind you are! Which is the more important, the gift or the altar which makes the gift holy

20 So then, when a person swears by the altar, he is swearing by it and by all the gifts on it;

21 and when he swears by the Temple, he is swearing by it and by God, who lives there

22 and when someone swears by heaven, he is swearing by God's throne and by him who sits on it.

23 "How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You give to God one tenth even of the seasoning herbs, such as mint, dill, and cumin, but you neglect to obey the really important teachings of the Law, such as justice and mercy and honesty. These you should practice, without neglecting the others.

24 Blind guides! You strain a fly out of your drink, but swallow a camel!

25 "How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You clean the outside of your cup and plate, while the inside is full of what you have gotten by violence and selfishness.

26 Blind Pharisee! Clean what is inside the cup first, and then the outside will be clean too!

27 "How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look fine on the outside but are full of bones and decaying corpses on the inside.

28 In the same way, on the outside you appear good to everybody, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and sins.

29 "How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You make fine tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of those who lived good lives;

30 and you claim that if you had lived during the time of your ancestors, you would not have done what they did and killed the prophets.

31 So you actually admit that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets!

32 Go on, then, and finish up what your ancestors started!

33 You snakes and children of snakes! How do you expect to escape from being condemned to hell?

34 And so I tell you that I will send you prophets and wise men and teachers; you will kill some of them, crucify others, and whip others in the synagogues and chase them from town to town.

35 As a result, the punishment for the murder of all innocent people will fall on you, from the murder of innocent Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the Temple and the altar.

36 I tell you indeed: the punishment for all these murders will fall on the people of this day

37 "Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and stone the messengers God has sent you! How many times I wanted to put my arms around all your people, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not let me!

38 And so your Temple will be abandoned and empty.

39 From now on, I tell you, you will never see me again until you say, "God bless him who comes in the name of the Lord.' "