New Living Translation NLT
Wycliffe WYC
1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,
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Then Jesus spake to the people, and to his disciples, [Then Jesus spake to the companies, and to his disciples,]
2 “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses.
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and said, On the chair of Moses, scribes and Pharisees have sat. [saying, Scribes and Pharisees sat on the chair of Moses.]
3 So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach.
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Therefore keep ye, and do ye all things, whatever things they say to you [whatever they shall say to you]. But do not ye do after their works; for they say, and do not.
4 They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.
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And they bind grievous charges, and that be not able to be borne [Soothly they bind grievous charges, and unportable, or that may not be borne], and put on [the] shoulders of men; but with their finger they will not move them
5 “Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels.
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Therefore [Forsooth] they do all their works to be seen of men; for they draw abroad their phylacteries, and magnify [their] hems.
6 And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues.
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And they love the first sitting places in suppers [Soothly they love the first sitting places at suppers], and the first chairs in synagogues;
7 They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’
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and salutations in [the] market, and to be called of men, master [and to be called of men, masters].
8 “Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters.
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But do not ye be called master; for one is your master, and all ye be brethren.
9 And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father.
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And do not ye call to you a father on earth [And do not ye call to you a father upon earth], for one is your Father, that is in heavens.
10 And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Messiah.
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Neither be ye called masters, for one is your master, Christ.
11 The greatest among you must be a servant.
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He that is greatest among you, shall be your minister.
12 But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
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For he that higheth himself, shall be meeked; and he that meeketh himself, shall be enhanced. [Forsooth he that shall high himself, shall be meeked; and he that shall meek himself, shall be enhanced.]
13 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.
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But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, that close the kingdom of heavens before men; and ye enter not, neither suffer other men entering to enter [+for ye close the realm of heaven before men; for ye enter not, neither ye suffer men entering to enter].
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Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, that eat the houses of widows, and pray by long prayer; for this thing ye shall take the more doom
15 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are!
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Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, that go about the sea and the land, to make one proselyte [that compass the sea and the land, to make one proselyte, that is, converted to your order]; and when he is made, ye make him a son of hell, double more than ye be [double more than you].
16 “Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear ‘by God’s Temple,’ but that it is binding to swear ‘by the gold in the Temple.’
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Woe to you, blind leaders, that say, Whoever sweareth by the temple of God, it is nothing; but he that sweareth in the gold of the temple, is debtor. [+Woe to you, blind leaders, that say, Whoever shall swear by the temple of God, it is nought; soothly he that shall swear in the gold of the temple, oweth, or is debtor.]
17 Blind fools! Which is more important—the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred?
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Ye fools and blind, for what is greater, the gold, or the temple that halloweth the gold?
18 And you say that to swear ‘by the altar’ is not binding, but to swear ‘by the gifts on the altar’ is binding.
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And whoever sweareth in the altar [And whoever shall swear in the altar], it is nothing; but he that sweareth in the gift that is on the altar, oweth [is debtor].
19 How blind! For which is more important—the gift on the altar or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
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Blind men, for what is more, the gift, or the altar that halloweth the gift
20 When you swear ‘by the altar,’ you are swearing by it and by everything on it.
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Therefore he that sweareth in the altar, sweareth in it, and in all things that be thereon.
21 And when you swear ‘by the Temple,’ you are swearing by it and by God, who lives in it.
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And he that sweareth in the temple, sweareth in it, and in him that dwelleth in the temple
22 And when you swear ‘by heaven,’ you are swearing by the throne of God and by God, who sits on the throne.
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And he that sweareth in heaven, sweareth in the throne of God, and in him that sitteth thereon.
23 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.
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Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, that tithe mint, anise, and cummin, and have left those things that be of more charge of the law, doom, and mercy, and faith. And it behooved to do these things [And these things it behooved, or needed, to do], and not to leave those.
24 Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!
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Blind leaders, cleansing a gnat, but swallowing a camel.
25 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence!
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Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, that cleanse the cup and the platter withoutforth [that make clean that thing of the cup and of the platter, that is withoutforth]; but within ye be full of raven and uncleanness.
26 You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too.
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Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first the cup and the platter withinforth, that that that is withoutforth be made clean. [+Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that thing of the cup and platter which is within, that also that thing that is withoutforth be made clean.]
27 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity.
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Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, that be like to sepulchres whited [that be like to sepulchres made white], which withoutforth seem fair to men; but within they be full of bones of dead men, and of all filth.
28 Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.
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So [and] ye withoutforth seem just to men [So and ye forsooth withoutforth appear rightful to men]; but within ye be full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
29 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed, and you decorate the monuments of the godly people your ancestors destroyed.
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Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, that build [the] sepulchres of prophets, and make fair the burials of just men,
30 Then you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would never have joined them in killing the prophets.’
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and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we should not have been their fellows in the blood of prophets.
31 “But in saying that, you testify against yourselves that you are indeed the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.
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And so ye be in witnessing to yourselves [And so ye be into witnessing to yourselves], that ye be the sons of them that slew the prophets.
32 Go ahead and finish what your ancestors started.
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And full-fill ye the measure of your fathers. [And fill ye the measure of your fathers.]
33 Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?
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Ye adders, and adders' brood [Ye serpents, fruits of adders], how shall ye flee from the doom of hell?
34 “Therefore, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers of religious law. But you will kill some by crucifixion, and you will flog others with whips in your synagogues, chasing them from city to city.
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Therefore lo! I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes [Therefore lo! I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes, or writers]; and of them ye shall slay and crucify, and of them ye shall scourge in your synagogues, and shall pursue from city into city;
35 As a result, you will be held responsible for the murder of all godly people of all time—from the murder of righteous Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you killed in the Temple between the sanctuary and the altar.
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that all the just blood come on [upon] you, that was shed on the earth, from the blood of just Abel [till] to the blood of Zacharias, the son of Barachias, whom ye slew betwixt the temple and the altar [whom ye slew between the temple and the altar].
36 I tell you the truth, this judgment will fall on this very generation.
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Truly I say to you, all these things shall come on [upon] this generation
37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me.
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Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that slayest prophets, and stonest them that be sent to thee, how oft would I gather together thy children, as an hen gathereth together her chickens under her wings, and thou wouldest not.
38 And now, look, your house is abandoned and desolate.
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Lo! your house shall be left to you desert
39 For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the !’ ”
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And I say to you, ye shall not see me from henceforth, till ye say, Blessed is he, that cometh in the name of the Lord.