13
"How horrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. You don't enter it yourselves, and you don't permit others to enter when they try.
15
"How horrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You cross land and sea to recruit a single follower, and when you do, you make that person twice as fit for hell as you are.
16
"How horrible it will be for you, you blind guides! You say, 'To swear an oath by the temple doesn't mean a thing. But to swear an oath by the gold in the temple means a person must keep his oath.'
17
You blind fools! What is more important, the gold or the temple that made the gold holy?
18
Again you say, 'To swear an oath by the altar doesn't mean a thing. But to swear an oath by the gift on the altar means a person must keep his oath.'
19
You blind men! What is more important, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy?
20
To swear an oath by the altar is to swear by it and by everything on it.
21
To swear an oath by the temple is to swear by it and by the one who lives there.
22
And to swear an oath by heaven is to swear by God's throne and the one who sits on it.
23
"How horrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You give [God] one-tenth of your mint, dill, and cumin. But you have neglected justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These are the most important things in Moses' Teachings. You should have done these things without neglecting the others.