23:1  Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples,

23:2  saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses;

23:3  therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.

23:4  "They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves show unwillingness to move them with so much as a finger.

23:5  "But they do all their deeds to receive notice by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.

23:6  "They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues,

23:7  and respectful greetings in the market places, and receiving the approbation of Rabbi by men.

23:8  "But do not desire the approbation Rabbi; for One serves as your Teacher, and you all call yourselves brothers.

23:9  "Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One you may call your Father, He who lives in heaven.

23:10  "Do not desire the approbation leaders; for One you must consider your Leader, namely, Christ.

23:11  "But the greatest among you shall become a servant.

23:12  "Whoever exalts himself shall become humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall receive exaltation.

23:13  "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who desire to enter to go in.

23:14  ["Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.]

23:15  "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

23:16  "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, that counts for nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple obligates himself.'

23:17  "You fools and blind men! Which do you consider more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold?

23:18  "And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, that counts for nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he has obligated himself.'

23:19  "You blind men, which has more importance, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering?

23:20  "Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it.

23:21  "And whoever swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it.

23:22  "And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

23:23  "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these things you should have done without neglecting the others.

23:24  "You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

23:25  "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they show themselves full of robbery and self-indulgence.

23:26  "You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.

23:27  "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you resemble whitewashed tombs, which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they look like dead men's bones having all uncleanness.

23:28  "So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you prove yourselves full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

23:29  "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,

23:30  and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have accompanied them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'

23:31  "So you testify against yourselves, that you act like the sons of those who murdered the prophets.

23:32  "Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers.

23:33  "You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?

23:34  "Therefore, behold, I send you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city,

23:35  so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

23:36  "Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

23:37  "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones the ones sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you showed yourself unwilling.

23:38  "Behold, your house will become to you desolate!

23:39  "For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, 'WE CONSIDER BLESSED THE ONE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!'"