Matthew 23:13-33

Seven Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees

13 "But woe n to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you o shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you p neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. 1 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single q proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a r child of s hell 2 as yourselves.

16 "Woe to t you, u blind guides, who say, v '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 w 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 x the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.' 19 You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or y 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 z him who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by a heaven swears by b the throne of God and by c him who sits upon it.

23 d "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For e you tithe mint and dill and f cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: g justice and mercy and faithfulness. h These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing i a camel!

25 j "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For k you clean the outside of l the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of m greed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of l the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

27 n "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like o whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and p all uncleanness. 28 So you also q outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of r hypocrisy and lawlessness.

29 s "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 t sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 u Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, v you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to w hell?

  1. Cross References
    Luke 11:52
    Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.
  2. Cross References
    Matthew 16:19
    I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
  3. Cross References
    Matthew 5:20
    For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
    Matthew 21:31
    Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.
    Luke 7:30
    But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)
  4. Cross References
    Acts 2:10
    Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome.
    Acts 6:5
    And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.
    Acts 13:43
    And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.
  5. Cross References
    John 17:12
    While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
    2 Thessalonians 2:3
    Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.
  6. Cross References
    Matthew 5:29
    If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.
  7. Cross References
    Matthew 15:14
    Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.
  8. Cross References
    Matthew 23:17
    You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold...
    Matthew 23:19
    You blind men! For which is greater, the gift o...
    Matthew 23:26
    You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of t...
    John 9:39 - 41
    Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this worl...
    Romans 2:19
    And if you are sure that you yourself are a gui...
    2 Peter 1:9
    For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsig...
    Revelation 3:17
    For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I...
  9. Cross References
    Matthew 5:33 - 35
    "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.'
  10. Cross References
    Exodus 30:29
    You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them will become holy.
  11. Cross References
    Matthew 5:23
    So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you.
  12. Cross References
    Exodus 29:37
    Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it, and the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar shall become holy.
  13. Cross References
    1 Kings 8:13
    I have indeed built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.
    2 Chronicles 6:2
    But I have built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.
    Psalms 26:8
    O Lord, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells.
    Psalms 132:14
    This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
  14. Cross References
    Matthew 21:25
    The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?" And they discussed it among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?
  15. Cross References
    Matthew 5:34
    But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God.
  16. Cross References
    Revelation 4:2
    At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne.
  17. Cross References
    Luke 11:42
    But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
  18. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 14:22
    You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year.
    Luke 18:12
    I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.
  19. Cross References
    Isaiah 28:25
    When he has leveled its surface, does he not scatter dill, sow cumin, and put in wheat in rows and barley in its proper place, and emmer as the border?
    Isaiah 28:27
    Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin, but dill is beaten out with a stick, and cumin with a rod.
  20. Cross References
    Psalms 33:5
    He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.
    Jeremiah 5:1
    Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, look and take note! Search her squares to see if you can find a man, one who does justice and seeks truth, that I may pardon her.
    Micah 6:8
    He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
    Zechariah 7:9
    Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another.
  21. Cross References
    1 Samuel 15:22
    And Samuel said, "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord ? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.
  22. Cross References
    Matthew 19:24
    Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.
  23. Cross References
    Matthew 23:25 - 28
    Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
    Matthew 15:11 - 20
    It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.
  24. Cross References
    Luke 11:39 - 40
    And the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.
  25. Cross References
    Mark 7:4
    And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.)
  26. Cross References
    Luke 16:14
    The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him.
    Luke 20:47
    Who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.
  27. Cross References
    Matthew 23:25
    Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
  28. Cross References
    Luke 11:44
    Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.
  29. Cross References
    Acts 23:3
    Then Paul said to him, "God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?
  30. Cross References
    Ephesians 5:3
    But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.
    Numbers 19:16
    Whoever in the open field touches someone who was killed with a sword or who died naturally, or touches a human bone or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
    2 Kings 23:16
    And as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the mount. And he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar and defiled it, according to the word of the Lord that the man of God proclaimed, who had predicted these things.
  31. Cross References
    Matthew 23:5
    They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long.
  32. Cross References
    Luke 12:1
    In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
  33. Cross References
    Luke 11:47 - 48
    Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed.
  34. Cross References
    Acts 7:51 - 52
    You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.
  35. Cross References
    Genesis 15:16
    And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.
    Daniel 8:23
    And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king of bold face, one who understands riddles, shall arise.
    1 Thessalonians 2:15 - 16
    Who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind
  36. Cross References
    Matthew 3:7
    But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
    Matthew 12:34
    You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
  37. Cross References
    Matthew 23:15
    Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.