1 Then said Jesus to the crowds and to his disciples,
2 "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat;
3 so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice.
4 They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger.
5 They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long,
6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues,
7 and salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by men.
8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren.
9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.
10 Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ.
11 He who is greatest among you shall be your servant;
12 whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
13 "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you shut the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither enter yourselves, nor allow those who would enter to go in.
15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you traverse 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.
16 "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, `If any one swears by the temple, it is nothing; but if any one swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.'
17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred?
18 And you say, `If any one swears by the altar, it is nothing; but if any one swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.'
19 You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
20 So he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it;
21 and he who swears by the temple, swears by it and by him who dwells in it;
22 and he who swears by heaven, swears 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 matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!
25 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and rapacity.
26 You blind Pharisee! first cleanse the inside of the cup and of the plate, that the outside also may be clean.
27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.
28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
29 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn 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 sons of those who murdered the prophets.
32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.
33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?
34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from town to town,
35 that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of Zechari'ah the son of Barachi'ah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.
36 Truly, I say to you, all this will come upon this generation.
37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!
38 Behold, your house is forsaken and desolate.
39 For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, `Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
Versículos relacionados com Matthew, 23:
St. Matthew 23 contains a strong condemnation of Jesus to the religious leaders of the time for his hypocrisy and arrogance. He accuses them of imposing heavy burdens on the people as they do not practice what they preach. Below are five verses related to the topics covered in this chapter:
Jeremiah 7:9-10: "They steal and kill, commit adultery and swear falsely; they make offerings to Baal and follow other gods they have not known. And they still come to my temple and profane it, my house is called by them 'sanctuary 'But they turned it into thieves' lady! " - Jesus accuses the religious leaders of hypocrisy for imposing rules and burdens on the people as they commit serious sins themselves.
Proverbs 23:1-3: "When you sit to eat with a ruler, think well what you are in front of you, and put a knife to your throat if you are given to many appetites. Do not covet your fine acepipe misleading food. " - Jesus warns that religious leaders are motivated by the desire for personal gain and power rather than taking care of the people.
Isaiah 29:13: "This people approach me with my mouth and honor me with the lips, but their hearts are far from me. The worship that gives me is made only of rules taught by men." - Jesus accuses religious leaders to focus only on the external appearance of religion and not true worship of God.
Ezekiel 34:2-3: "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesie and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, Woe to the shepherds of Israel who are noticed to themselves! "You eat fat, wearing the wool, degolais the barley, but not the sheep." - Jesus accuses religious leaders not to properly take care of the people, but instead focus on their own comfort and enrichment.
Matthew 6:1-2: "Beware of the practice of justice before others, just to be seen by them. If you act like this, you will have no reward from the heavenly Father. Therefore, when you give alms, do not announce it with trumpets , as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, in order to be honored by others. I assure them that they have already received their full reward. " - Jesus accuses religious leaders of doing good things just to be seen by others rather than having the true motivation to please God.
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