The Gospel According to St. Matthew

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- Kapitel 23 -

(Luke 11:37–54)

Then Jesus spoke to the crowds, and to his disciples,

saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have sat down in the chair of Moses.

Therefore, all things whatsoever that they shall say to you, observe and do. Yet truly, do not choose to act according to their works. For they say, but they do not do.

For they bind up heavy and unbearable burdens, and they impose them on men’s shoulders. But they are not willing to move them with even a finger of their own.

Truly, they do all their works so that they may be seen by men. For they enlarge their phylacteries and glorify their hems.(a)

And they love the first places at feasts, and the first chairs in the synagogues,

and greetings in the marketplace, and to be called Master by men.

But you must not be called Master. For One is your Master, and you are all brothers.

And do not choose to call anyone on earth your father. For One is your Father, who is in heaven.(b)

Neither should you be called teachers. For One is your Teacher, the Christ.(c)

Whoever is greater among you shall be your minister.

But whoever has exalted himself, shall be humbled. And whoever has humbled himself, shall be exalted.

So then: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you close the kingdom of heaven before men. For you yourselves do not enter, and those who are entering, you would not permit to enter.

Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you consume the houses of widows, praying long prayers. Because of this, you shall receive the greater judgment.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you travel around by sea and by land, in order to make one convert. And when he has been converted, you make him twice the son of Hell that you are yourselves.

Woe to you, blind guides, who say: ‘Whoever will have sworn by the temple, it is nothing. But whoever will have sworn by the gold of the temple is obligated.’

You are foolish and blind! For which is greater: the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold?

And you say: ‘Whoever will have sworn by the altar, it is nothing. But whoever will have sworn by the gift that is on the altar is obligated.’

How blind you are! For which is greater: the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift?

Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears by it, and by all that is on it.

And whoever will have sworn by the temple, swears by it, and by him who dwells in it.

And whoever swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God, and by him who sits upon it.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you collect tithes on mint and dill and cumin, but you have abandoned the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, while not omitting the others.

You blind guides, straining out a gnat, while swallowing a camel!

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you clean what is outside the cup and the dish, but on the inside you are full of avarice and impurity.

You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the dish, and then what is outside becomes clean.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed sepulchers, which outwardly appear brilliant to men, yet truly, inside, they are filled with the bones of the dead and with all filth.

So also, you certainly appear to men outwardly to be just. But inwardly you are filled with hypocrisy and iniquity.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites, who build the sepulchers of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the just.(d)

And then you say, ‘If we had been there in the days of our fathers, we would not have joined with them in the blood of the prophets.’

And so you are witnesses against yourselves, that you are the sons of those who killed the prophets.

Complete, then, the measure of your fathers.

You serpents, you brood of vipers! How will you escape from the judgment of Hell?

For this reason, behold, I send to you prophets and wise men, and scribes. And some of these you will put to death and crucify; and some you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city,

so that upon you may fall all the blood of the just, which has been shed upon the earth, from the blood of Abel the just, even to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the temple and the altar.(e)

Amen I say to you, all these things shall fall upon this generation.

Lament over Jerusalem

(Luke 13:31–35)

Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and stone those who have been sent to you. How often I have wanted to gather your children together, in the way that a hen gathers her young under her wings. But you were not willing!

Behold, your house shall be abandoned to you, having been deserted.

For I say to you, you shall not see me again, until you say: ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”

Fußnoten

(a)23:5 Phylacteries:that is, parchments, on which they wrote the ten commandments, and carried them on their foreheads before their eyes: which the Pharisees affected to wear broader than other men; so to seem more zealous for the law.(Challoner)

(b)23:9 Call none your father--Neither be ye called masters, etc:The meaning is that our Father in heaven is incomparably more to be regarded, than any father upon earth: and no master to be followed, who would lead us away from Christ. But this does not hinder but that we are by the law of God to have a due respect both for our parents and spiritual fathers, (1 Cor. 4. 23:15,) and for our masters and teachers.(Challoner)

(c)23:10 This passage refers to the Trinity, with the First Person as Father, the Second Person as Teacher (the Christ), and the Third Person as Master (or Leader or Guide).(Conte)

(d)23:29 Build the sepulchres, etc:This is not blamed, as if it were in itself evil to build or adorn the monuments of the prophets: but the hypocrisy of the Pharisees is here taxed; who, whilst they pretended to honour the memory of the prophets, were persecuting even unto death the Lord of the prophets.(Challoner)

(e)23:35 That upon you may come, etc:Not that they should suffer more than their own sins justly deserved; but that the justice of God should now fall upon them with such a final vengeance, once for all, as might comprise all the different kinds of judgments and punishments, that had at any time before been inflicted for the shedding of just blood.(Challoner)

(Luke 11:37–54)

Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples,

saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat.

All things therefore whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do, but don’t do their works; for they say, and don’t do.

For they bind heavy burdens that are grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not lift a finger to help them.

But they do all their works to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries (a) broad and enlarge the fringes (b) of their garments,

and love the place of honor at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues,

the salutations in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi, Rabbi’ (c) by men.

But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi’, for one is your teacher, the Christ, and all of you are brothers.

Call no man on the earth your father, for one is your Father, he who is in heaven.

Neither be called masters, for one is your master, the Christ.

But he who is greatest among you will be your servant.

Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and as a pretense you make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men; for you don’t enter in yourselves, neither do you allow those who are entering in to enter. (d)

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel around by sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of Gehenna (e) as yourselves.

“Woe to you, you blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated.’

You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?

And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obligated.’

You blind fools! For which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift?

He therefore who swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it.

He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by him who has been living (f) in it.

He who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by him who sits on it.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, (g) and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone.

You blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel!

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and unrighteousness. (h)

You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the platter, that its outside may become clean also.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitened tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones and of all uncleanness.

Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the tombs of the righteous,

and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we wouldn’t have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’

Therefore you testify to yourselves that you are children of those who killed the prophets.

Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.

You serpents, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape the judgment of Gehenna? (i)

Therefore, behold, I send to you prophets, 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,

that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the sanctuary and the altar.

Most certainly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation.

Lament over Jerusalem

(Luke 13:31–35)

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I would have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not!

Behold, your house is left to you desolate.

For I tell you, you will not see me from now on, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’” (j)

Fußnoten

(a)23:5 phylacteries (tefillin in Hebrew) are small leather pouches that some Jewish men wear on their forehead and arm in prayer. They are used to carry a small scroll with some Scripture in it. See Deuteronomy 6:8 .

(b)23:5 or, tassels

(d)23:14 Some Greek texts reverse the order of verses 13 and 14, and some omit verse 13, numbering verse 14 as 13. NU omits verse 14.

(e)23:15 or, Hell

(f)23:21 NU reads “lives”

(g)23:23 cumin is an aromatic seed from Cuminum cyminum, resembling caraway in flavor and appearance. It is used as a spice.

(h)23:25 TR reads “self-indulgence” instead of “unrighteousness”

(i)23:33 or, Hell

(j)23:39 ℘ Psalms 118:26