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Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 23

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Matthew 23 RSV - Revised Standard VersionMatthew 23 RSV - Revised Standard Version

Chapter 23 of Matthew—Revised Standard Version (RSV)

  1. ¶ Then said Jesus to the crowds and to his disciples,
  2. “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat;
  3. so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice.
  4. They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear,[a] and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger.
  5. They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long,
  6. and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues,
  7. and salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by men.
  8. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren.
  9. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.
  10. Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ.
  11. He who is greatest among you shall be your servant;
  12. whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
  13. ¶ “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you shut the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither enter yourselves, nor allow those who would enter to go in.
  14. [b]
  15. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you traverse sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell[c] as yourselves.
  16. ¶ “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If any one swears by the temple, it is nothing; but if any one swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’
  17. You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred?
  18. And you say, ‘If any one swears by the altar, it is nothing; but if any one swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’
  19. You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
  20. So he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it;
  21. and he who swears by the temple, swears by it and by him who dwells in it;
  22. and he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.
  23. ¶ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
  24. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!
  25. ¶ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and rapacity.
  26. You blind Pharisee! first cleanse the inside of the cup and of the plate, that the outside also may be clean.
  27. ¶ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.
  28. So you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
  29. ¶ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,
  30. saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
  31. Thus you witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
  32. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.
  33. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?[d]
  34. Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from town to town,
  35. that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of Zechari′ah the son of Barachi′ah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.
  36. Truly, I say to you, all this will come upon this generation.
  37. ¶ “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!
  38. Behold, your house is forsaken and desolate.[e]
  39. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

FOOTNOTES

  1. ^ Other ancient authorities omit hard to bear
  2. ^ Other authorities add here (or after verse 12) verse 14, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you devour widows’ houses and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation
  3. ^ Greek Gehenna
  4. ^ Greek Gehenna
  5. ^ Other ancient authorities omit and desolate

Read Matthew Chapter 23 in other Bible versions:

Comments

  1. Kiamia DoelKiamia Doel
    Jan 9, 2025 23:00 GMT

    The NWT adds words to the text that are not in the greek Manuscripts to fit it's own doctrinal position for example

    Compare the wording of the NWT and the NKJV at Colossians 1:15-17

    NKJV says

    15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

    NWT says

    15 He is the image of the invisible God,the firstborn OF all creation;16 because by means of him all OTHER things were created in the heavens and on the earth, the things visible and the things invisible,whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All OTHER things have been created through him and for him. 17 Also, he is before all OTHER things,and by means of him all OTHER things were made to exist,

    The word “other” is not in the Greek but they add it Why? So they can decieve their followers into thinking that Christ was created by the Father and that he then created other things, that is not what the Greek says.

    1. SmeSme
      Feb 27, 2025 11:17 GMT

      Truth is from God and those that follow him. As for lies? John8:44

      Kiamia, I noticed you used a modern version of kjv to make your point about the nwt.

      Why didn’t you use the original kjv of col1:15?

      Is it because it disproves your point? It proves the opposite of what you wrote?

      Here is kjv col1:15 ¶” Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn OF every creature:“

      Now I appeal to your Christian nature to correct your mistake as God is watching each of us, and let us bless the God of Jesus his father.

      Kjv 1Pe 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ….

  2. YanekYanek
    Dec 24, 2024 22:18 GMT

    Joshua, Jehovah’s Witnesses have never denied the deity of the Messiah in his prehuman existence. While on Earth he was fully 100% human. I do not mean he was a mere human, he was not affected by Adam’s unfaithful behavior, he was sinless.

  3. David yakubuDavid yakubu
    Oct 29, 2022 08:05 GMT

    When i do read some comments and seeing that its the same people that are supposed to be called believers but are talking ill of other denominations, it hurts. Let us all remember that We should judge not

    1. jonas smithjonas smith
      Apr 23, 2023 02:57 GMT

      The bible tells us to test the spirits. Satan disguises himself as angel of light. So yes some denomination are not teaching the truth. You are responsible for judging which ones are not. You have to judge the truth at all times. this is what the bible teaches

  4. THTH
    Apr 7, 2021 00:20 GMT

    The NWT is a very good translation. Dr. Jason David BeDuhn PhD attests to that in his book Truth in Translation. drive.google.com/...5p16melHzg8/view

    1. James LernerJames Lerner
      Jul 20, 2024 09:48 GMT

      The NWT is Satanic filth to its very core.

      The JW Cult is Satanic to its very core.

      Praise Yahweh I will never be a victim of JW brainwashing. If I burn in Hell for eternity or I am ultimately annihilated so be it

      May Yahweh's curse rest on the Watchtower Society and its Satanic leadership

    2. jim mcleodjim mcleod
      Aug 22, 2021 06:16 GMT

      NWT is a false translation that takes away from the deity of Jesus !

  5. SlightlyChaoticSlightlyChaotic
    Jan 30, 2021 16:33 GMT

    Thank you for taking the time to provide this service. I like seeing the NASB on your web page in the same format as I read on paper. On other sites, the text area is smaller, and so I have to keep scrolling down to read and sometimes I lose the context. So I really appreciate the format.

    As far as the NWT, you are certainly free to do whatever you think best with your own web pages. I'd suggest that you make a note anytime you have a translation that is associated with only one denomination or church, for example:
    New World Translation (Jehovah's Witness version).

    In Jesus' parable of the wheat and the tares. the main idea seems to be that you can't easily distinguish between God's people and not-God's people on this earth, so our Lord's response is to wait until they are shown to be the kind of people they are inside. But the NWT seems like false teaching to me. So I think the warning passages from Jesus' apostles are more applicable, as in 2 Peter 3:15-16, when he talks about Paul's writings:
    "There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures."
    And we also have the positive exhortations, as in 2 Timothy 2:15:
    "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth."

    1. BroderickBroderick
      Jan 31, 2021 00:57 GMT

      Your suggestion regarding the denominational flagging is duly noted. But I can’t help but wonder, wouldn’t a Catholic also want “Protestant versions” marked as well?

      As for the parable, I’m pretty sure the slaves were convinced in their own minds that they could tell the tares from the wheat. After all, aren’t they the ones who identified the problem in the first place? But the master obviously thought otherwise.

      Furthermore, even at the time when Jesus himself was walking the earth, not everybody who claimed fellowship actually followed him causing John to inquire at Mark 9:39, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him . . . for he who is not against us is for us.”

  6. Joshua HarderJoshua Harder
    Dec 11, 2020 17:48 GMT

    Hello, question.. why have you included the NWT with other legitimate bible translations? Or why have you not atleast included a warning to readers? Don't you fear that someone could be influenced by the Watchtower's intentional heresies? Thank you.

    1. KevinKevin
      Jul 11, 2021 17:45 GMT

      en.m.wikipedia.org/..._Holy_Scriptures

      See the section critical review

    2. ChrisChris
      Jan 8, 2021 07:15 GMT

      Please site these intentional heresies. I am well versed in the watch tower outline and agree they are in many ways incorrect but i also bet i can point many out from EVERY established or main denomination. There is much to learn from them all as one who drinks milk?

      Judge not lest ye be judged, that is not to pass judgement on you either brother.

      I debate with scripture. I don't hold it to be true that Michael is Y'Shua HaMeshiach but I also firmly hold it to be true that our G-d and Heavenly Father are not the word encarnate and only begotten son.

      I love not seeing "lord" which i relate to baal. I feel the catholic church is a satanic establishment and I am aware a freemason started the hovies but there are evil in high places and our fight is also with principalities.

      What i'm saying is that in my darkest hours, those two were some of if not the only ones who would bring a Bible and eucharist and pray with me.

      We all fall short of the glory of G-d.

      Don't forget the NWT was recognized as the most accurate translation on Jeopardy.

      Lastly, this is different I noted than the NWT i have read and am very familiar with. Pull up the watchtower page and compare. I truly look forward to getting this one!

  7. julietjuliet
    Aug 17, 2022 09:36 GMT

    the sky is blue

  8. mercymercy
    Aug 12, 2022 21:23 GMT

    i am Mercy, the sky is blue what else do you need

    1. mercymercy
      Aug 12, 2022 21:25 GMT

      i am so sorry, it was a big mistake

  9. God is able to do all thingsGod is able to do all things
    May 17, 2021 17:59 GMT

    Jesus how much love calling yo name

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    Jul 4, 2025 19:06 GMT

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