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.
24
You blind guides! You strain gnats [out of your wine], but you swallow camels.
25
"How horrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You clean the outside of cups and dishes. But inside they are full of greed and uncontrolled desires.
26
You blind Pharisees! First clean the inside of the cups and dishes so that the outside may also be clean.
27
"How horrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You are like whitewashed graves that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead people's bones and every kind of impurity.
28
So on the outside you look as though you have God's approval, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29
"How horrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of those who had God's approval.
30
Then you say, 'If we had lived at the time of our ancestors, we would not have helped to murder the prophets.'
31
So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.