Jesus Denounces the Scribes and Pharisees

231 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 saying, The scribes and the Pharisees have set themselves down in Moses' seat: 3 all things therefore, whatever they may tell you, do and keep. But do not after their works, for they say and do not, 4 but bind burdens heavy and hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of men, but will not move them with their finger. 5 And all their works they do to be seen of men: for they make broad their phylacteries and enlarge the borders [of their garments], 6 and love the chief place in feasts and the first seats in the synagogues, 7 and salutations in the market-places, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. 8 But ye, be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your instructor, and all ye are brethren. 9 And call not [any one] your father upon the earth; for one is your Father, he who is in the heavens. 10 Neither be called instructors, for one is your instructor, the Christ. 11 But the greatest of you shall be your servant. 12 And whoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled, and whoever shall humble himself shall be exalted.

13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye shut up the kingdom of the heavens before men; for ye do not enter, nor do ye suffer those that are entering to go in. 14  15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye compass the sea and the dry [land] to make one proselyte, and when he is become [such], ye make him twofold more [the] son of hell than yourselves. 16 Woe to you, blind guides, who say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor. 17 Fools and blind, for which is greater, the gold, or the temple which sanctifies the gold? 18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it is a debtor. 19 [Fools and] blind ones, for which is greater, the gift, or the altar which sanctifies the gift? 20 He therefore that swears by the altar swears by it and by all things that are upon it. 21 And he that swears by the temple swears by it and by him that dwells in it. 22 And he that swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him that sits upon it. 23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye pay tithes of mint and anise and cummin, and ye have left aside the weightier matters of the law, judgment and mercy and faith: these ye ought to have done and not have left those aside. 24 Blind guides, who strain out the gnat, but drink down the camel. 25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but within they are full of rapine and intemperance. 26 Blind Pharisee, make clean first the inside of the cup and of the dish, that their outside also may become clean. 27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye are like whited sepulchres, which appear beautiful outwardly, but within are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. 28 Thus also ye, outwardly ye appear righteous to men, but within are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets and adorn the tombs of the just, 30 and ye 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. 31 So that ye bear witness of yourselves that ye are sons of those who slew the prophets: 32 and ye, fill ye up the measure of your fathers. 33 Serpents, offspring of vipers, how should ye escape the judgment of hell?

34 Therefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes; and [some] of them ye will kill and crucify, and [some] of them ye will scourge in your synagogues, and will persecute from city to city; 35 so that all righteous blood shed upon the earth should come upon you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. 36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

Jesus Laments over Jerusalem

37 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, [the city] that kills the prophets and stones those that are sent unto her, how often would I have gathered thy children as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate; 39 for I say unto you, Ye shall in no wise see me henceforth until ye say, Blessed [be] he that comes in the name of [the] Lord.

The Destruction of the Temple and Signs before the End

241 And Jesus went forth and went away from the temple, and his disciples came to [him] to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 And he answering said to them, Do ye not see all these things? Verily I say to you, Not a stone shall be left here upon a stone which shall not be thrown down. 3 And as he was sitting upon the mount of Olives the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be, and what is the sign of thy coming and [the] completion of the age?

4 And Jesus answering said to them, See that no one mislead you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and they shall mislead many. 6 But ye will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that ye be not disturbed; for all [these things] must take place, but it is not yet the end. 7 For nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places. 8 But all these [are the] beginning of throes. 9 Then shall they deliver you up to tribulation, and shall kill you; and ye will be hated of all the nations for my name's sake. 10 And then will many be offended, and will deliver one another up, and hate one another; 11 and many false prophets shall arise and shall mislead many; 12 and because lawlessness shall prevail, the love of the most shall grow cold; 13 but he that has endured to the end, he shall be saved. 14 And these glad tidings of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole habitable earth, for a witness to all the nations, and then shall come the end. 15 When therefore ye shall see the abomination of desolation, which is spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in [what is a] holy place, (he that reads let him understand,) 16 then let those who are in Judaea flee to the mountains; 17 let not him that is on the house come down to take the things out of his house; 18 and let not him that is in the field turn back to take his garment. 19 But woe to those that are with child, and those that give suck in those days. 20 But pray that your flight may not be in winter time nor on sabbath: 21 for then shall there be great tribulation, such as has not been from [the] beginning of [the] world until now, nor ever shall be; 22 and if those days had not been cut short, no flesh had been saved; but on account of the elect those days shall be cut short. 23 Then if any one say to you, Behold, here is the Christ, or here, believe [it] not. 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall give great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. 25 Behold, I have told you beforehand. 26 If therefore they say to you, Behold, he is in the desert, go not forth; behold, [he is] in the inner chambers, do not believe [it]. 27 For as the lightning goes forth from the east and shines to the west, so shall be the coming of the Son of man. 28 [For] wherever the carcase is, there will be gathered the eagles.

The Coming of the Son of Man

29 But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the land lament, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from [the one] extremity of [the] heavens to [the other] extremity of them.

32 But learn the parable from the fig-tree: When already its branch becomes tender and produces leaves, ye know that the summer is near. 33 Thus also ye, when ye see all these things, know that it is near, at the doors. 34 Verily I say to you, This generation will not have passed away until all these things shall have taken place. 35 The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but my words shall in no wise pass away.

No Man Knoweth the Day and Hour

36 But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of the heavens, but [my] Father alone. 37 But as the days of Noe, so also shall be the coming of the Son of man. 38 For as they were in the days which were before the flood, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day on which Noe entered into the ark, 39 and they knew not till the flood came and took all away; thus also shall be the coming of the Son of man. 40 Then two shall be in the field, one is taken and one is left; 41 two [women] grinding at the mill, one is taken and one is left. 42 Watch therefore, for ye know not in what hour your Lord comes. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have watched and not have suffered his house to be dug through [into]. 44 Wherefore ye also, be ye ready, for in that hour that ye think not the Son of man comes.

The Unfaithful Servant

45 Who then is the faithful and prudent bondman whom his lord has set over his household, to give them food in season? 46 Blessed is that bondman whom his lord on coming shall find doing thus. 47 Verily I say unto you, that he will set him over all his substance. 48 But if that evil bondman should say in his heart, My lord delays to come, 49 and begin to beat his fellow-bondmen, and eat and drink with the drunken; 50 the lord of that bondman shall come in a day when he does not expect it, and in an hour he knows not of, 51 and shall cut him in two and appoint his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.