Matthew 23:1-25:13

English Standard Version

Seven Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees

23 Then Jesus ^(A)said to the crowds and to his disciples, ^2 (B)“The scribes and the Pharisees ^(C)sit on Moses' seat, ³ so do and observe whatever they tell you, ^(D)but not the works they do. ^(E)For they preach, but do not practice. ^4 (F)They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,^[a] and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. ^5 (G)They do all their deeds ^(H)to be seen by others. For they make ^(I)their phylacteries broad and ^(J)their fringes long, ⁶ and they ^(K)love the place of honor at feasts and ^(L)the best seats in the synagogues ⁷ and ^(M)greetings in ^(N)the marketplaces and being called ^(O)rabbi^[b] by others. ^8 (P)But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are ^(Q)all brothers.^{[c] 9 (R)}And call no man your father on earth, for ^(S)you have one Father, who is in heaven. ¹⁰ Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, ^(T)the Christ. ^11 (U)The greatest among you shall be your servant. ^12 (V)Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

¹³ “But woe ^(W)to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you ^(X)shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you ^(Y)neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.^{[d] 15} Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single ^(Z)proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a ^(AA)child of ^(AB)hell^[e] as yourselves.

¹⁶ “Woe to ^(AC)you, ^(AD)blind guides, who say, ^(AE)‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ ¹⁷ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or ^(AF)the temple that has made the gold sacred? ¹⁸ And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by ^(AG)the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ ¹⁹ You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or ^(AH)the altar that makes the gift sacred? ²⁰ So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹ And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by ^(AI)him who dwells in it. ²² And whoever swears by ^(AJ)heaven swears by ^(AK)the throne of God and by ^(AL)him who sits upon it.

^23 (AM)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ^(AN)you tithe mint and dill and ^(AO)cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: ^(AP)justice and mercy and faithfulness. ^(AQ)These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. ²⁴ You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing ^(AR)a camel!

^25 (AS)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ^(AT)you clean the outside of ^(AU)the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of ^(AV)greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶ You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of ^(AW)the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

^27 (AX)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like ^(AY)whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and ^(AZ)all uncleanness. ²⁸ So you also ^(BA)outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of ^(BB)hypocrisy and lawlessness.

^29 (BC)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate 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 ^(BD)sons of those who murdered the prophets. ^32 (BE)Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. ³³ You serpents, ^(BF)you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to ^(BG)hell? ^34 (BH)Therefore ^(BI)I send you ^(BJ)prophets and wise men and ^(BK)scribes, ^(BL)some of whom you will kill and crucify, and ^(BM)some you will ^(BN)flog in your synagogues and ^(BO)persecute from town to town, ³⁵ so that on you may come all ^(BP)the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous ^(BQ)Abel to the blood of ^(BR)Zechariah the son of Barachiah,^[f] whom you murdered between ^(BS)the sanctuary and ^(BT)the altar. ³⁶ Truly, I say to you, ^(BU)all these things will come upon this generation.

Lament over Jerusalem

^37 (BV)“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that ^(BW)kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have ^(BX)gathered ^(BY)your children together ^(BZ)as a hen gathers her brood ^(CA)under her wings, and ^(CB)you were not willing! ³⁸ See, ^(CC)your house is left to you desolate. ³⁹ For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ^(CD)‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

24 ^(CE)Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. ² But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, ^(CF)there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Signs of the End of the Age

³ As he sat on ^(CG)the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him ^(CH)privately, saying, “Tell us, ^(CI)when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your ^(CJ)coming and of ^(CK)the end of the age?” ⁴ And Jesus answered them, ^(CL)“See that no one leads you astray. ⁵ For ^(CM)many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am ^(CN)the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. ⁶ And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you ^(CO)are not alarmed, for this ^(CP)must take place, but the end is not yet. ⁷ For ^(CQ)nation will rise against nation, and ^(CR)kingdom against kingdom, and there will be ^(CS)famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are but the beginning of ^(CT)the birth pains.

⁹ “Then ^(CU)they will deliver you up ^(CV)to tribulation and ^(CW)put you to death, and ^(CX)you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. ¹⁰ And then many will fall away^[g] and ^(CY)betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ And many ^(CZ)false prophets will arise ^(DA)and lead many astray. ¹² And because lawlessness will be increased, ^(DB)the love of many will grow cold. ^13 (DC)But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom ^(DD)will be proclaimed throughout the whole world ^(DE)as a testimony ^(DF)to all nations, and ^(DG)then the end will come.

The Abomination of Desolation

¹⁵ “So when you see the abomination of desolation ^(DH)spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in ^(DI)the holy place (^(DJ)let the reader understand), ¹⁶ then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ^17 (DK)Let the one who is on ^(DL)the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, ¹⁸ and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. ¹⁹ And ^(DM)alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! ²⁰ Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be ^(DN)great tribulation, ^(DO)such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. ²² And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for ^(DP)the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. ^23 (DQ)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. ²⁴ For ^(DR)false christs and ^(DS)false prophets will arise and ^(DT)perform great signs and wonders, ^(DU)so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ See, ^(DV)I have told you beforehand. ²⁶ So, if they say to you, ‘Look, ^(DW)he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ^27 (DX)For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be ^(DY)the coming of the Son of Man. ^28 (DZ)Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁹ “Immediately after ^(EA)the tribulation of those days ^(EB)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and ^(EC)the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ Then ^(ED)will appear in heaven ^(EE)the sign of the Son of Man, and then ^(EF)all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and ^(EG)they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven ^(EH)with power and great glory. ³¹ And ^(EI)he will send out his angels with a loud ^(EJ)trumpet call, and they will ^(EK)gather ^(EL)his elect from ^(EM)the four winds, ^(EN)from one end of heaven to the other.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

³² “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³ So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, ^(EO)at the very gates. ^34 (EP)Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ^35 (EQ)Heaven and earth will pass away, but ^(ER)my words will not pass away.

No One Knows That Day and Hour

³⁶ “But concerning that day and hour ^(ES)no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, ^(ET)nor the Son,^{[h] (EU)}but the Father only. ^37 (EV)For as were the days of Noah, ^(EW)so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ^38 (EX)For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, ^(EY)marrying and giving in marriage, until ^(EZ)the day when Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, ^(FA)so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. ^41 (FB)Two women will be grinding ^(FC)at the mill; one will be taken and one left. ⁴² Therefore, ^(FD)stay awake, for you do not know on what day ^(FE)your Lord is coming. ^43 (FF)But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night ^(FG)the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ Therefore you also must be ^(FH)ready, for ^(FI)the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

⁴⁵ “Who then is ^(FJ)the faithful and ^(FK)wise servant,^[i] whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? ^46 (FL)Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. ⁴⁷ Truly, I say to you, ^(FM)he will set him over all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master ^(FN)is delayed,’ ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow servants^[j] and eats and drinks with ^(FO)drunkards, ⁵⁰ the master of that servant will come ^(FP)on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know ⁵¹ and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place ^(FQ)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

25 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ^(FR)ten virgins who took their lamps^[k] and went to meet ^(FS)the bridegroom.^{[l] 2} Five of them were foolish, and five were ^(FT)wise. ³ For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, ⁴ but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. ⁵ As the bridegroom ^(FU)was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. ⁶ But ^(FV)at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷ Then all those virgins rose and ^(FW)trimmed their lamps. ⁸ And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and ^(FX)those who were ready went in with him to ^(FY)the marriage feast, and ^(FZ)the door was shut. ¹¹ Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ^(GA)‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ ^12 (GB)But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, ^(GC)I do not know you.’ ^13 (GD)Watch therefore, for you ^(GE)know neither the day nor the hour.