231 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples , 2 saying : " The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses ; 3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe , but do not do according to their deeds ; for they say things and do not do them. 4 " They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders , but they themselves are unwilling e to move them with so much as a finger .#rl 5 "But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men ; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. 6 "They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues , 7 and respectful greetings in the market places , and being called Rabbi by men . 8 "But do not be called Rabbi ; for One is your Teacher , and you are all brothers . 9 "Do not call anyone on earth your father ; for One is your Father , He who is in heaven . 10 "Do not be called leaders ; for One is your Leader , that is, Christ . 11 " But the greatest among you shall be your servant . 12 " Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled ; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted .
13 " But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees , hypocrites , because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people ; for you do not enter in yourselves , nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 14 ["Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees , hypocrites , because you devour widows' houses , and for a pretense you make long prayers ; therefore e you will receive greater condemnation . 15 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees , hypocrites , because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte ; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves . 16 "Woe to you, blind guides , who say , ' Whoever e swears by the temple , that is nothing ; but whoever e swears by the gold of the temple is obligated .' 17 "You fools and blind men ! Which is more important , the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold ? 18 "And, 'Whoever e swears by the altar , that is nothing , but whoever e swears by the offering on it, he is obligated .' 19 "You blind men , which is more important , the offering , or the altar that sanctifies the offering ?#rl 20 "Therefore , whoever swears by the altar , swears both by the altar and by everything on it. 21 "And whoever swears by the temple , swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it.#rl 22 "And whoever swears by heaven , swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it. 23 " Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees , hypocrites ! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin , and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law : justice and mercy and faithfulness ; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others . 24 "You blind guides , who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel ! 25 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees , hypocrites ! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish , but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence . 26 "You blind Pharisee , first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish , so that the outside of it may become clean also . 27 " Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees , hypocrites ! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful , but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness . 28 "So you, too , outwardly appear righteous to men , but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness . 29 " Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees , hypocrites ! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous , 30 and say , 'If we had been living in the days of our fathers , we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets .' 31 "So you testify against yourselves , that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets . 32 "Fill up, then , the measure of the guilt of your fathers . 33 "You serpents , you brood of vipers , how will you escape the sentence of hell ?
34 " Therefore e , behold , I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes ; some of them you will kill and crucify , and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues , and persecute from city to city , 35 so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth , from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah , the son of Berechiah , whom you murdered between the temple and the altar . 36 "Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation .#rl
37 " Jerusalem , Jerusalem , who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together , the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings , and you were unwilling e . 38 "Behold , your house is being left to you desolate ! 39 "For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say , ' BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE Lord !' "
31 Now in those days John the Baptist came , preaching in the wilderness of Judea , saying , 2 " Repent , for the kingdom of heaven is at hand ." 3 For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said , " THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS , ' MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE Lord , MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT !' " 4 Now John himself had a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist ; and his food was locusts and wild honey . 5 Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan ; 6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River , as they confessed their sins .
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism , he said to them, "You brood of vipers , who warned you to flee from the wrath to come ? 8 " Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance ; 9 and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves , ' We have Abraham for our father '; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham . 10 "The axe is already laid at the root of the trees ; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire . 11 "As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance , but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals ; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire . 12 "His winnowing fork is in His hand , and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor ; and He will gather His wheat into the barn , but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire ."
13 Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John , to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying , "I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?" 15 But Jesus answering said to him, "Permit it at this time ; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness ." Then he permitted Him. 16 After being baptized , Jesus came up immediately from the water ; and behold , the heavens were opened , and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17 and behold , a voice out of the heavens said , " This is My beloved Son , in whom I am well-pleased ."
