Matthew 22-23

Matthew 22

¹And Jesus answering, again spake to them in similes, saying,

²‘The reign of the heavens was likened to a man, a king, who made marriage-feasts for his son,

³and he sent forth his servants to call those having been called to the marriage-feasts, and they were not willing to come.

⁴‘Again he sent forth other servants, saying, Say to those who have been called: Lo, my dinner I prepared, my oxen and the fatlings have been killed, and all things are ready, come ye to the marriage-feasts;

⁵and they, having disregarded it, went away, the one to his own field, and the other to his merchandise;

⁶and the rest, having laid hold on his servants, did insult and slay them.

⁷‘And the king having heard, was wroth, and having sent forth his soldiers, he destroyed those murderers, and their city he set on fire;

⁸then saith he to his servants, The marriage-feast indeed is ready, and those called were not worthy,

⁹be going, then, on to the cross-ways, and as many as ye may find, call ye to the marriage-feasts.

¹⁰‘And those servants, having gone forth to the ways, did gather all, as many as they found, both bad and good, and the marriage-feast apartment was filled with those reclining.

¹¹‘And the king having come in to view those reclining, saw there a man not clothed with clothing of the marriage-feast,

¹²and he saith to him, Comrade, how didst thou come in hither, not having clothing of the marriage-feast? and he was speechless.

¹³‘Then said the king to the ministrants, Having bound his feet and hands, take him up and cast forth to the outer darkness, there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth;

¹⁴for many are called, and few chosen.'

¹⁵Then the Pharisees having gone, took counsel how they might ensnare him in words,

¹⁶and they send to him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, ‘Teacher, we have known that thou art true, and the way of God in truth thou dost teach, and thou art not caring for any one, for thou dost not look to the face of men;

¹⁷tell us, therefore, what dost thou think? is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not?'

¹⁸And Jesus having known their wickedness, said, ‘Why me do ye tempt, hypocrites?

¹⁹show me the tribute-coin?' and they brought to him a denary;

²⁰and he saith to them, ‘Whose is this image and the inscription?'

²¹they say to him, ‘Caesar's;' then saith he to them, ‘Render therefore the things of Caesar to Caesar, and the things of God to God;'

²²and having heard they wondered, and having left him they went away.

²³In that day there came near to him Sadducees, who are saying there is not a rising again, and they questioned him, saying,

²⁴‘Teacher, Moses said, If any one may die not having children, his brother shall marry his wife, and shall raise up seed to his brother.

²⁵‘And there were with us seven brothers, and the first having married did die, and not having seed, he left his wife to his brother;

²⁶in like manner also the second, and the third, unto the seventh,

²⁷and last of all died also the woman;

²⁸therefore in the rising again, of which of the seven shall she be wife -- for all had her?'

²⁹And Jesus answering said to them, ‘Ye go astray, not knowing the Writings, nor the power of God;

³⁰for in the rising again they do not marry, nor are they given in marriage, but are as messengers of God in heaven.

³¹‘And concerning the rising again of the dead, did ye not read that which was spoken to you by God, saying,

³²I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not a God of dead men, but of living.'

³³And having heard, the multitudes were astonished at his teaching;

³⁴and the Pharisees, having heard that he did silence the Sadducees, were gathered together unto him;

³⁵and one of them, a lawyer, did question, tempting him, and saying,

³⁶‘Teacher, which is the great command in the Law?'

³⁷And Jesus said to him, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thine understanding --

³⁸this is a first and great command;

³⁹and the second is like to it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself;

⁴⁰on these -- the two commands -- all the law and the prophets do hang.'

⁴¹And the Pharisees having been gathered together, Jesus did question them,

⁴²saying, ‘What do ye think concerning the Christ? of whom is he son?' They say to him, ‘Of David.'

⁴³He saith to them, ‘How then doth David in the Spirit call him lord, saying,

⁴⁴The Lord said to my lord, Sit at my right hand, till I may make thine enemies thy footstool?

⁴⁵If then David doth call him lord, how is he his son?'

⁴⁶And no one was able to answer him a word, nor durst any from that day question him any more.

Matthew 23

¹Then Jesus spake to the multitudes, and to his disciples,

²saying, ‘On the seat of Moses sat down the scribes and the Pharisees;

³all, then, as much as they may say to you to observe, observe and do, but according to their works do not, for they say, and do not;

⁴for they bind together burdens heavy and grievous to be borne, and lay upon the shoulders of men, but with their finger they will not move them.

⁵‘And all their works they do to be seen by men, and they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the fringes of their garments,

⁶they love also the chief couches in the supper, and the chief seats in the synagogues,

⁷and the salutations in the market-places, and to be called by men, Rabbi, Rabbi.

⁸‘And ye -- ye may not be called Rabbi, for one is your director -- the Christ, and all ye are brethren;

⁹and ye may not call any your father on the earth, for one is your Father, who is in the heavens,

¹⁰nor may ye be called directors, for one is your director -- the Christ.

¹¹And the greater of you shall be your ministrant,

¹²and whoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled, and whoever shall humble himself shall be exalted.

¹³‘Wo to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye shut up the reign of the heavens before men, for ye do not go in, nor those going in do ye suffer to enter.

¹⁴‘Wo to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye eat up the houses of the widows, and for a pretence make long prayers, because of this ye shall receive more abundant judgment.

¹⁵‘Wo to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye go round the sea and the dry land to make one proselyte, and whenever it may happen -- ye make him a son of gehenna twofold more than yourselves.

¹⁶‘Wo to you, blind guides, who are saying, Whoever may swear by the sanctuary, it is nothing, but whoever may swear by the gold of the sanctuary -- is debtor!

¹⁷Fools and blind! for which is greater, the gold, or the sanctuary that is sanctifying the gold?

¹⁸‘And, whoever may swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever may swear by the gift that is upon it -- is debtor!

¹⁹Fools and blind! for which is greater, the gift, or the altar that is sanctifying the gift?

²⁰‘He therefore who did swear by the altar, doth swear by it, and by all things on it;

²¹and he who did swear by the sanctuary, doth swear by it, and by Him who is dwelling in it;

²²and he who did swear by the heaven, doth swear by the throne of God, and by Him who is sitting upon it.

²³‘Wo to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye give tithe of the mint, and the dill, and the cumin, and did neglect the weightier things of the Law -- the judgment, and the kindness, and the faith; these it behoved you to do, and those not to neglect.

²⁴‘Blind guides! who are straining out the gnat, and the camel are swallowing.

²⁵‘Wo to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye make clean the outside of the cup and the plate, and within they are full of rapine and incontinence.

²⁶‘Blind Pharisee! cleanse first the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside of them also may become clean.

²⁷‘Wo to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye are like to whitewashed sepulchres, which outwardly indeed do appear beautiful, and within are full of bones of dead men, and of all uncleanness;

²⁸so also ye outwardly indeed do appear to men righteous, and within ye are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹‘Wo to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and adorn the tombs of the righteous,

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.

³¹So that ye testify to yourselves, that ye are sons of them who did murder the prophets;

³²and ye -- ye fill up the measure of your fathers.

³³‘Serpents! brood of vipers! how may ye escape from the judgment of the gehenna?

³⁴‘Because of this, lo, I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes, and of them ye will kill and crucify, and of them ye will scourge in your synagogues, and will pursue from city to city;

³⁵that on you may come all the righteous blood being poured out on the earth from the blood of Abel the righteous, unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the altar:

³⁶verily I say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation.

³⁷‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that art killing the prophets, and stoning those sent unto thee, how often did I will to gather thy children together, as a hen doth gather her own chickens under the wings, and ye did not will.

³⁸Lo, left desolate to you is your house;

³⁹for I say to you, ye may not see me henceforth, till ye may say, Blessed is he who is coming in the name of the Lord.'