Matthew

Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,

1Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples.

2Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat:

2He said, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. They teach the law God gave through Moses."

3All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.

3"So do and obey whatever they tell you. But do not copy what they do, because they do not practice what they teach."

4For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

4"They tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry and put them on people's shoulders. But they will not lift a finger to help."

5But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,

5"Everything they do is done so that people will watch them. They wear wide prayer boxes and long tassels on their clothes."

NotePhylacteries were small leather boxes holding pieces of Scripture, tied to the head and arm during prayer. The "borders" were tassels sewn on the corners of a robe. Making them bigger made them easier for others to notice.

6And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,

6"They love the best seats at dinners and the most important seats in the synagogues, where people meet to worship."

7And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.

7"They love being greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and being called 'Rabbi,' which means teacher."

8But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.

8"But you are not to be called Rabbi. You have only one Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brothers and sisters."

9And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.

9"And do not call anyone on earth your father, because you have one Father, and he is in heaven."

10Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.

10"Do not let people call you leaders and instructors, because you have one leader, the Christ."

11But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.

11"The greatest one among you will be the one who serves the rest."

12And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

12"Anyone who lifts himself up will be brought down. Anyone who makes himself low will be lifted up."

13But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

13"How terrible for you, scribes and Pharisees, you pretenders! You slam the door of God's kingdom in people's faces. You do not go in, and you will not let others go in either."

NoteIn 1611 English, "suffer" meant allow or permit, not hurt. "Neither suffer ye them" means "you do not let them."

14Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.

14"How terrible for you, scribes and Pharisees, you pretenders! You swallow up widows' homes, and then say long prayers to look good. Your punishment will be all the worse."

ManuscriptsMost modern translations leave this verse out. It is in the Greek text the King James translators worked from, but not in the older manuscripts found since, so scholars generally take it as a copyist’s addition rather than part of the original.

15Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

15"How terrible for you, scribes and Pharisees, you pretenders! You cross sea and land to win one convert. Then you make him twice as fit for hell as you are."

16Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!

16"How terrible for you, blind guides! You say a promise sworn by the temple counts for nothing. But a promise sworn by the temple's gold must be kept."

17Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?

17"You blind fools! Which matters more, the gold, or the temple that makes the gold holy?"

18And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.

18"You also say a promise sworn by the altar counts for nothing. But a promise sworn by the gift on the altar must be kept."

19Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?

19"You blind men! Which matters more, the gift, or the altar that makes the gift holy?"

20Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.

20"So anyone who swears by the altar swears by the altar and by everything on it."

21And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.

21"And anyone who swears by the temple swears by the temple and by the God who lives in it."

22And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.

22"And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God's throne and by the One who sits on it."

23Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

23"How terrible for you, scribes and Pharisees, you pretenders! You give God a tenth of your garden herbs, even mint, dill, and cumin. But you ignore the far more important parts of the law: fair judgment, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have done these, without leaving the other undone."

24Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.

24"You blind guides! You strain a gnat out of your drink, and then swallow a camel."

Note"Strain at a gnat" is an old printing of "strain out a gnat." It pictures pouring a drink through cloth to catch a tiny insect, while a camel goes down whole.

25Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.

25"How terrible for you, scribes and Pharisees, you pretenders! You wash the outside of the cup and the dish. Inside, you are full of greed and selfishness."

26Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

26"Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the dish. Then the outside will be clean too."

27Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.

27"How terrible for you, scribes and Pharisees, you pretenders! You are like tombs painted white. They look beautiful outside, but inside they are full of dead people's bones and rot."

28Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

28"In the same way, on the outside you look good and right to people. But inside you are full of pretending and wrongdoing."

29Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,

29"How terrible for you, scribes and Pharisees, you pretenders! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of good people."

30And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.

30"And you say, 'If we had lived back in our ancestors' time, we would not have helped them kill the prophets.'"

31Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.

31"By saying that, you testify against yourselves. You admit you are the children of the men who murdered the prophets."

32Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.

32"Go ahead, then. Finish what your ancestors started."

Note"Fill up the measure of your fathers" pictures a container being topped off. It means finishing the same wrong their ancestors began.

33Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

33"You snakes! You family of poisonous snakes! How can you escape being sentenced to hell?"

34Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:

34"So listen. I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and nail to a cross. Others you will whip in your synagogues and chase from town to town."

35That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.

35"So the blame for all the innocent blood spilled on the earth will fall on you. That runs from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom you killed between the temple and the altar."

36Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

36"I tell you the truth: all of this will come upon the people living now."

37O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

37"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you kill the prophets and throw stones at the messengers sent to you. How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you would not let me."

38Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

38"Look, your house is left to you empty."

39For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

39"I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'"