Matthew 23:20-30

20 So whoever swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it;
21 and whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears by it and by the one who dwells in it
22 and whoever swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by the one who is seated upon it.
23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others.
24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!
25 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean.
27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth.
28 So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous,
30 and you say, "If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Other ancient authorities add [and of the plate]
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.