Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you make clean the outside of the cup and the plate; but within they are full of rapine and excess. Blind Pharisee! first make clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside of them also may be clean. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like whitened sepulchers, which without appear beautiful, but within are full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. read more.
So also you outwardly appear to men to be just, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

(for the Pharisees and all the Jews eat not, unless they wash their hands carefully, because they hold the tradition of the elders: and when they come from the market, they do not eat, unless they immerse themselves. And there are many other things, which they have received to hold, as the immersion of cups and pitchers and brazen vessels and beds:)

And the Lord said to him: Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and the plate; but your inward part is full of extortion and wickedness. Senseless men, did not he who made the outside, make the inside also? But give as charity the contents of the cup, and behold, all things are clean for you. read more.
But alas for you, Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and pass by the justice and the love of God; these you ought to have done, and those you ought not to have left undone.


Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, its justice, its mercy, and its faithfulness. These you ought to have done, and those you ought not to have neglected.

And that servant who knew his lord's will, but made no preparation, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes;


Then will he answer them, saying: Verily I say to you, Inasmuch as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.





And as he spoke, a certain Pharisee asked him to dine with him. And he went in and reclined at table. And when the Pharisee saw it, he wondered that he had not first immersed himself before dinner. And the Lord said to him: Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and the plate; but your inward part is full of extortion and wickedness. read more.
Senseless men, did not he who made the outside, make the inside also? But give as charity the contents of the cup, and behold, all things are clean for you. But alas for you, Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and pass by the justice and the love of God; these you ought to have done, and those you ought not to have left undone. Alas for you, Pharisees! for you love the chief seat in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like graves that are not seen; and men that walk over them know it not. And one of the lawyers answered and said to him: Teacher, in saying these things, you reproach us also. He replied: Alas for you, lawyers, also! for you bind upon men burdens hard to be borne, and you yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers, Alas for you! for you build the sepulchers of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. Therefore you attest and approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their sepulchers. For this reason also the Wisdom of God said: I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill, and persecute, that the blood of all the prophets, which has been shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the temple; yes, I say to you, It shall be required of this generation. Alas for you, lawyers! for you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not go in yourselves, and those who were entering in, you prevented. And when he said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very angry, and to put questions to him about many things, trying to entrap him, and seeking to lay hold on something from his mouth, that they might accuse him.








And when you fast, do not put on a sad countenance, as the hypocrites do; for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear to men to be fasting. Verily, I say to you, They have their reward. But do you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face; that you may not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Hear another parable: There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard, and put a hedge around it, and rigged in it a wine-press, and built a tower, and let it out to vine-dressers, and went into another country. And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the vine-dressers to receive the fruits of it. And the vine-dressers took his servants, and scourged one, and killed another, and stoned another. read more.
Again he sent other servants more than the first: and they treated them in like manner. But afterward he sent to them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But the vine-dressers, when they saw the son, said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and seize upon the inheritance. And they took him, and carried him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine dressers? They said to him: He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and let out his vineyard to other vine dressers, who will give him the fruits in their season. Jesus said to them: Did you never read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner? This was from the Lord, and it is wondrous in our eyes. For this reason, I say to you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation that will bring forth the fruits of it. And he that falls upon this stone shall be dashed to pieces; but him on whom it shall fall, it will make like chaff for the wind. And when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he spoke of them. And when they sought to lay hold of him, they feared the multitude, because they regarded him as a prophet.

When, therefore, you do a charitable deed, do not cause a trumpet to be sounded before you, as the hypocrites do, in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be glorified by men. Verily, I say to you, They have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, let not your left hand know what your right hand does; that your charitable deeds may be in secret; and. your Father, who sees in secret, himself will reward you openly. read more.
And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites; for they love to pray standing in the synagogues, and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Verily, I say to you, They have their reward. But do you, when you pray, go into your closet, and when you have closed the door, pray to your Father who is in secret: and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. But when you pray, do not use vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Be not, there fore, like them; for your Father knows what things you need before you ask him.

Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees that were of Jerusalem, saying: Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they do not wash their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said to them: And why do you transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? read more.
For God commanded, saying, Honor your father and your mother; and, He that curses father or mother shall surely be put to death. But you say, Whoever shall say to his father or his mother, Whatever of mine might profit you, is a gift, he must in no way honor his father or his mother; and you make the commandment of God of no effect for the sake of your tradition. Hypocrites! well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people draws near to me with their mouth, and honors me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain, do they worship me, teaching precepts, the commandments of men.

And the Pharisees and Sadducees came to tempt him, and asked him to show them a sign from heaven. But he answered and said to them: When it is evening, you say, Fair weather; for the sky is red. And in the morning, A storm to-day; for the sky is red and lowering. Hypocrites! you know how to judge of the face of the sky; but you can not judge of the signs of the times. read more.
A wicked and adulterous generation seeks for a sign: and no sign shall be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. And he left them and departed. And his disciples came to the other side, and had forgotten to take bread. And Jesus said to them: Take heed and be ware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves, saying: It is because we took no bread. And Jesus perceiving it, said to them: you of little faith! why are you reasoning among yourselves because you took no bread? Do you not yet understand, nor remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up? Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets you took up? How is it that you do not understand, that I did not speak of bread when I commanded you to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then they understood that he did not bid them beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

saying: The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses seat: therefore, all things that they command you to observe, observe and do. But do not according to their works: for they command, and do not. For they bind up burdens that are heavy and hard to be borne, and lay them on the shoulders of men; but they refuse to move them with one of their fingers. read more.
And they do all their works for the purpose of being seen by men. They make their amulets broad, and enlarge the fringes of their mantles. They also love the most honorable places at suppers, and the first seats in the synagogues, and salutations in the markets, and to be called by men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But you must not be called Rabbi; for one is your leader, and all of you are brethren. And call no man on earth your father; for one is your Father, who is in heaven. And be not called leaders; for one is your leader, the Christ. And the greatest among you shall be your minister. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. But alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you eat up the houses of widows, and for a pretext make long prayers. For this reason, you shall receive the greater condemnation. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you close the kingdom of heaven in the face of men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you suffer those who are entering, to go in. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you traverse sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is made, you make him twofold more a child of hell than yourselves. Alas for you, blind guides! who say, Whoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, becomes a debtor. Fools and blind! for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold? And, Whoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever shall swear by the gift that is on it, becomes a debtor. Fools and blind! 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 swears by the temple, swears by it, and by him that dwells in it. And he that swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God, and by him that sits upon it. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, its justice, its mercy, and its faithfulness. These you ought to have done, and those you ought not to have neglected. Blind guides! who strain out a gnat, but swallow a camel. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you make clean the outside of the cup and the plate; but within they are full of rapine and excess. Blind Pharisee! first make clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside of them also may be clean. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like whitened sepulchers, which without appear beautiful, but within are full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. So also you outwardly appear to men to be just, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you build the tombs of the prophets, and adorn the sepulchers of the righteous, and 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. So then you testify against yourselves, that you are the sons of those who killed the prophets. Do you also fill up the measure of your fathers. Serpents, generation of vipers, how can you escape the condemnation of hell?

And he was casting out a demon, and it was dumb; and it came to pass, when the demon had gone out, that the dumb man spoke: and the multitudes wondered. But some of them said: He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons. And others, that they might tempt him, asked of him a sign from heaven. read more.
But, knowing their purpose, he said to them: Every kingdom divided against itself, is brought to desolation; and a house that is divided against a house, falls. If Satan be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? For you say, that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. But if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then has the kingdom of God already come upon you. When the strong man armed keeps guard over his palace, his goods are in peace; but when one stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes away all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils. He that is not with me, is against me; and he that gathers not with me, scatters. "When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, I will return to my house out of which I came. And he comes and finds it swept, and set in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits, more wicked than himself, and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. And it came to pass, that, when he said these things, a certain woman from among the multitude lifted up her voice, and said to him: Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the breasts that thou didst suck. And he said: Yes, rather blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it. And when the multitudes were crowded together, he began to say: This is an evil generation; it asks for a sign, and no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so the Son of man shall also be to this generation. The queen of the south shall rise in the judgment with the men of this generation, and shall condemn them; for she came from the most distant parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and lo, something greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh shall rise in the judgment with this generation, and condemn it; for they repented in accordance with the preaching of Jonah; and lo. something greater than Jonah is here. No one, when he has lighted a lamp, puts it in a secret place, nor under the measure, but upon the lamp-stand, that those who come in may see the light. The lamp of the body is the eye; when, therefore, your eye is sound, your whole body also is light; but if it be diseased, your body also is dark. Take heed, therefore, lest the light that is in you be darkness. If, therefore, your whole body is light, having no part dark, the whole shall be light, as when a lamp, by its brightness, gives you light. And as he spoke, a certain Pharisee asked him to dine with him. And he went in and reclined at table. And when the Pharisee saw it, he wondered that he had not first immersed himself before dinner. And the Lord said to him: Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and the plate; but your inward part is full of extortion and wickedness. Senseless men, did not he who made the outside, make the inside also? But give as charity the contents of the cup, and behold, all things are clean for you. But alas for you, Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and pass by the justice and the love of God; these you ought to have done, and those you ought not to have left undone. Alas for you, Pharisees! for you love the chief seat in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like graves that are not seen; and men that walk over them know it not. And one of the lawyers answered and said to him: Teacher, in saying these things, you reproach us also. He replied: Alas for you, lawyers, also! for you bind upon men burdens hard to be borne, and you yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers, Alas for you! for you build the sepulchers of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. Therefore you attest and approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their sepulchers. For this reason also the Wisdom of God said: I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill, and persecute, that the blood of all the prophets, which has been shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the temple; yes, I say to you, It shall be required of this generation. Alas for you, lawyers! for you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not go in yourselves, and those who were entering in, you prevented. And when he said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very angry, and to put questions to him about many things, trying to entrap him, and seeking to lay hold on something from his mouth, that they might accuse him.

And all the publicans and the sinners came near to him to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying: This man receives sinners, and eats with them. And he spoke this parable to them, saying: read more.
What man of you that has a hundred sheep, and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the desert, and go after that which is lost, till he find it? And when he finds it, he puts it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, and says to them., Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost. I say to you, That thus there shall be joy in heaven over one sinner that repents, more than over ninety-nine just persons, who need no repentance. Or, what woman that has ten drachmas, if she lose one drachma, does not light a lamp, and sweep the house, and search carefully till she find it? And when she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the drachma that I lost.


And as he spoke, a certain Pharisee asked him to dine with him. And he went in and reclined at table. And when the Pharisee saw it, he wondered that he had not first immersed himself before dinner. And the Lord said to him: Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and the plate; but your inward part is full of extortion and wickedness. read more.
Senseless men, did not he who made the outside, make the inside also? But give as charity the contents of the cup, and behold, all things are clean for you. But alas for you, Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and pass by the justice and the love of God; these you ought to have done, and those you ought not to have left undone. Alas for you, Pharisees! for you love the chief seat in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like graves that are not seen; and men that walk over them know it not. And one of the lawyers answered and said to him: Teacher, in saying these things, you reproach us also. He replied: Alas for you, lawyers, also! for you bind upon men burdens hard to be borne, and you yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers, Alas for you! for you build the sepulchers of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. Therefore you attest and approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their sepulchers. For this reason also the Wisdom of God said: I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill, and persecute, that the blood of all the prophets, which has been shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the temple; yes, I say to you, It shall be required of this generation. Alas for you, lawyers! for you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not go in yourselves, and those who were entering in, you prevented. And when he said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very angry, and to put questions to him about many things, trying to entrap him, and seeking to lay hold on something from his mouth, that they might accuse him.


saying: The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses seat: therefore, all things that they command you to observe, observe and do. But do not according to their works: for they command, and do not. For they bind up burdens that are heavy and hard to be borne, and lay them on the shoulders of men; but they refuse to move them with one of their fingers. read more.
And they do all their works for the purpose of being seen by men. They make their amulets broad, and enlarge the fringes of their mantles. They also love the most honorable places at suppers, and the first seats in the synagogues, and salutations in the markets, and to be called by men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But you must not be called Rabbi; for one is your leader, and all of you are brethren. And call no man on earth your father; for one is your Father, who is in heaven. And be not called leaders; for one is your leader, the Christ. And the greatest among you shall be your minister. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. But alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you eat up the houses of widows, and for a pretext make long prayers. For this reason, you shall receive the greater condemnation. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you close the kingdom of heaven in the face of men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you suffer those who are entering, to go in. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you traverse sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is made, you make him twofold more a child of hell than yourselves. Alas for you, blind guides! who say, Whoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, becomes a debtor. Fools and blind! for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold? And, Whoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever shall swear by the gift that is on it, becomes a debtor. Fools and blind! 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 swears by the temple, swears by it, and by him that dwells in it. And he that swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God, and by him that sits upon it. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, its justice, its mercy, and its faithfulness. These you ought to have done, and those you ought not to have neglected. Blind guides! who strain out a gnat, but swallow a camel. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you make clean the outside of the cup and the plate; but within they are full of rapine and excess. Blind Pharisee! first make clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside of them also may be clean. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like whitened sepulchers, which without appear beautiful, but within are full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. So also you outwardly appear to men to be just, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you build the tombs of the prophets, and adorn the sepulchers of the righteous, and 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. So then you testify against yourselves, that you are the sons of those who killed the prophets. Do you also fill up the measure of your fathers. Serpents, generation of vipers, how can you escape the condemnation of hell?

And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, that they might entrap him in his words. And they came and said to him: Teacher, we know that you are true, and that you care for no one; for you do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? Must we give, or must we not give? But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them: Why do you tempt me? Bring me a denarius, that I may see it. read more.
They brought it; and he said to them: Whose image and superscription is this? They said to him: Caesar's. And Jesus answered and said to them: Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar s, and to God the things that are God s. And they were astonished at him. And the Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection, came to him, and put a question to him, saying: Teacher, Moses wrote for us, If any man's brother die, and leave a wife, and leave no children, his brother shall take his wife, and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and dying, left no child; and the second took her, and he died, and left no child; and the third, likewise; and the seven took her, and left no child. Last of all, the woman also died. Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, of which of them shall she be the wife? for the seven had her as a wife. And Jesus answered and said to them: Do you not err for this reason, because you know not the scriptures, nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels in heaven. But concerning the dead, that they do rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, at The Bush, how God spoke to him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. Therefore, you do greatly err. And one of the scribes came, and heard them reasoning together; and perceiving that he had answered them well, he asked him: Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him: The first commandment of all is, Hear, Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. And you shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with your whole mind, and with your whole strength. This is the first commandment. And the second, which is like it, is this: You shall love your neighbor as your self. There is no other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said to him: Teacher, in truth you have well said, that there is one God, and there is no other beside him; and to love him with the whole heart, and with the whole understanding, and with the whole soul, and with the whole strength, and to love one's neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices. And Jesus perceiving that he answered with understanding, said to him: You are not far from the kingdom of God. And no one, after that, ventured to ask him a question. And Jesus, as he was teaching in the temple, answered and said: How say the scribes that the Christ is the son of David? For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, till I make thy enemies thy footstool. David himself, then, calls him Lord; and how is he his son? And the great multitude heard him with pleasure. And he said to them in his teaching: Beware of the scribes, who love to walk in robes, and love salutations in the markets, and the first seats in the synagogues, and the first places at suppers; who eat up the houses of widows, and, as a pretext, make long prayers: these shall receive more abundant condemnation.

And the Lord said to him: Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and the plate; but your inward part is full of extortion and wickedness. Senseless men, did not he who made the outside, make the inside also? But give as charity the contents of the cup, and behold, all things are clean for you. read more.
But alas for you, Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and pass by the justice and the love of God; these you ought to have done, and those you ought not to have left undone. Alas for you, Pharisees! for you love the chief seat in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like graves that are not seen; and men that walk over them know it not. And one of the lawyers answered and said to him: Teacher, in saying these things, you reproach us also. He replied: Alas for you, lawyers, also! for you bind upon men burdens hard to be borne, and you yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers, Alas for you! for you build the sepulchers of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. Therefore you attest and approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their sepulchers. For this reason also the Wisdom of God said: I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill, and persecute, that the blood of all the prophets, which has been shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the temple; yes, I say to you, It shall be required of this generation. Alas for you, lawyers! for you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not go in yourselves, and those who were entering in, you prevented. And when he said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very angry, and to put questions to him about many things, trying to entrap him, and seeking to lay hold on something from his mouth, that they might accuse him.


No one, when he has lighted a lamp, puts it in a secret place, nor under the measure, but upon the lamp-stand, that those who come in may see the light. The lamp of the body is the eye; when, therefore, your eye is sound, your whole body also is light; but if it be diseased, your body also is dark. Take heed, therefore, lest the light that is in you be darkness. read more.
If, therefore, your whole body is light, having no part dark, the whole shall be light, as when a lamp, by its brightness, gives you light. And as he spoke, a certain Pharisee asked him to dine with him. And he went in and reclined at table. And when the Pharisee saw it, he wondered that he had not first immersed himself before dinner. And the Lord said to him: Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and the plate; but your inward part is full of extortion and wickedness. Senseless men, did not he who made the outside, make the inside also? But give as charity the contents of the cup, and behold, all things are clean for you. But alas for you, Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and pass by the justice and the love of God; these you ought to have done, and those you ought not to have left undone. Alas for you, Pharisees! for you love the chief seat in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like graves that are not seen; and men that walk over them know it not. And one of the lawyers answered and said to him: Teacher, in saying these things, you reproach us also. He replied: Alas for you, lawyers, also! for you bind upon men burdens hard to be borne, and you yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers, Alas for you! for you build the sepulchers of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. Therefore you attest and approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their sepulchers. For this reason also the Wisdom of God said: I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill, and persecute, that the blood of all the prophets, which has been shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the temple; yes, I say to you, It shall be required of this generation. Alas for you, lawyers! for you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not go in yourselves, and those who were entering in, you prevented. And when he said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very angry, and to put questions to him about many things, trying to entrap him, and seeking to lay hold on something from his mouth, that they might accuse him.

They answered him: We are the posterity of Abraham, and have never been in bondage to any one. How say you, You shall be made free? Jesus answered them: Verily, verily I say to you, whoever works sin is the servant of sin. The servant continues not in the house forever; but the Son continues forever. read more.
Therefore, if the Son make you free, you shall be free indeed. I know that you are the posterity of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me, because my word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have seen with your father. They answered and said to him: Abra ham is our father. Jesus said to them: If you were the children of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill me, a man that has spoken to you the truth, which I have heard from God; this Abraham did not. You do the works of your father. They said to him: We were not born of lewdness; we have one father, God. Jesus said to them: If God were your father, you would love me; for I came forth from God and have come hither; nor, indeed, did I come of myself, but he sent me. Why do you not know what I say? Because you can not understand my words. You are of your father, the devil; and the desires of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the be ginning, and stood not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks that which is false, he speaks from what is his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it. But because I speak the truth, you believe me not. Which of you convicts me of sin? If I speak the truth, why do you not believe me? He that is of God, hears God's words. For this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God. The Jews answered, and said to him: Do we not well say that you are a Samaritan, and have a demon? Jesus answered: I have not a demon; but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. I seek not my own glory; there is one that seeks and judges. Verily, verily I say to you, if any one will keep my word, he shall never see death. Then said the Jews to him: Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and you say, If a man keep my word, he shall never taste of death. Are you greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead; whom do you make yourself? Jesus answered: If I honor myself, my honor is nothing; it is my Father that honors me, of whom you say, that he is your God. And yet you have not known him. But I know him; and if I should say that I do not know him, I should be like yourselves, a liar. But I know him, and I keep his word. Abraham, your father, rejoiced that he could see my day; and he saw it, and was glad. Then the Jews said to him: You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham? Jesus said to them: Verily, verily I say to you, before Abraham came into being, I was. Then they took up stones to throw at him. But Jesus concealed himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them; and so passed by.

They reviled him, and said: You are the disciple of that man; but we are the disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses; but as for this man, we know not whence he is. The man answered and said to them: Why, there is some thing wonderful in this, that you know not whence he is, and yet he has opened my eyes. read more.
We know that God hears not sinners; but if any one be a worshiper of God, and do his will, him he hears. Since the beginning it has not been heard that any one opened the eyes of one who had been born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing. They answered and said to him: You were wholly born in sins, and do you teach us? And they cast him out.


Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you make clean the outside of the cup and the plate; but within they are full of rapine and excess. Blind Pharisee! first make clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside of them also may be clean. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like whitened sepulchers, which without appear beautiful, but within are full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. read more.
So also you outwardly appear to men to be just, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

And the Lord said to him: Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and the plate; but your inward part is full of extortion and wickedness. Senseless men, did not he who made the outside, make the inside also? But give as charity the contents of the cup, and behold, all things are clean for you. read more.
But alas for you, Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and pass by the justice and the love of God; these you ought to have done, and those you ought not to have left undone. Alas for you, Pharisees! for you love the chief seat in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like graves that are not seen; and men that walk over them know it not.





Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, its justice, its mercy, and its faithfulness. These you ought to have done, and those you ought not to have neglected.

And that servant who knew his lord's will, but made no preparation, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes;


Then will he answer them, saying: Verily I say to you, Inasmuch as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.





Whoever, there fore, shall make void one of the least of these commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever shall do and teach, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

saying: The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses seat: therefore, all things that they command you to observe, observe and do. But do not according to their works: for they command, and do not. For they bind up burdens that are heavy and hard to be borne, and lay them on the shoulders of men; but they refuse to move them with one of their fingers. read more.
And they do all their works for the purpose of being seen by men. They make their amulets broad, and enlarge the fringes of their mantles. They also love the most honorable places at suppers, and the first seats in the synagogues, and salutations in the markets, and to be called by men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But you must not be called Rabbi; for one is your leader, and all of you are brethren. And call no man on earth your father; for one is your Father, who is in heaven. And be not called leaders; for one is your leader, the Christ. And the greatest among you shall be your minister. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. But alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you eat up the houses of widows, and for a pretext make long prayers. For this reason, you shall receive the greater condemnation. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you close the kingdom of heaven in the face of men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you suffer those who are entering, to go in. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you traverse sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is made, you make him twofold more a child of hell than yourselves. Alas for you, blind guides! who say, Whoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, becomes a debtor. Fools and blind! for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold? And, Whoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever shall swear by the gift that is on it, becomes a debtor. Fools and blind! 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 swears by the temple, swears by it, and by him that dwells in it. And he that swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God, and by him that sits upon it. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, its justice, its mercy, and its faithfulness. These you ought to have done, and those you ought not to have neglected. Blind guides! who strain out a gnat, but swallow a camel. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you make clean the outside of the cup and the plate; but within they are full of rapine and excess. Blind Pharisee! first make clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside of them also may be clean. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like whitened sepulchers, which without appear beautiful, but within are full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. So also you outwardly appear to men to be just, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you build the tombs of the prophets, and adorn the sepulchers of the righteous, and 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. So then you testify against yourselves, that you are the sons of those who killed the prophets. Do you also fill up the measure of your fathers. Serpents, generation of vipers, how can you escape the condemnation of hell?

Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they do not wash their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said to them: And why do you transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honor your father and your mother; and, He that curses father or mother shall surely be put to death. read more.
But you say, Whoever shall say to his father or his mother, Whatever of mine might profit you, is a gift, he must in no way honor his father or his mother; and you make the commandment of God of no effect for the sake of your tradition. Hypocrites! well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people draws near to me with their mouth, and honors me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain, do they worship me, teaching precepts, the commandments of men. And he called the multitude to him, and said to them: Hear and understand; That which enters the mouth does not defile the man; but that which comes out of the mouth, this defiles the man. Then came his disciples and said to him: Dost thou know that the Pharisees, when they heard that saying, were offended? But he answered and said: Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone; they are blind leaders of the blind; and if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the pit. But Peter answered and said to him: Explain to us this dark saying. Jesus replied: Are you also yet without understanding? Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth passes into the belly, and is cast out into the sink? But those things which go out from the mouth, come from the heart; and these defile the man. For from the heart come evil reasonings, murders, adulteries, lewd actions, thefts, false testimonies, impious words. These are the things that defile the man. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.

And when the Pharisee saw it, he wondered that he had not first immersed himself before dinner. And the Lord said to him: Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and the plate; but your inward part is full of extortion and wickedness. Senseless men, did not he who made the outside, make the inside also? read more.
But give as charity the contents of the cup, and behold, all things are clean for you. But alas for you, Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and pass by the justice and the love of God; these you ought to have done, and those you ought not to have left undone. Alas for you, Pharisees! for you love the chief seat in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like graves that are not seen; and men that walk over them know it not. And one of the lawyers answered and said to him: Teacher, in saying these things, you reproach us also. He replied: Alas for you, lawyers, also! for you bind upon men burdens hard to be borne, and you yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers, Alas for you! for you build the sepulchers of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. Therefore you attest and approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their sepulchers. For this reason also the Wisdom of God said: I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill, and persecute, that the blood of all the prophets, which has been shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the temple; yes, I say to you, It shall be required of this generation. Alas for you, lawyers! for you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not go in yourselves, and those who were entering in, you prevented.


Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, its justice, its mercy, and its faithfulness. These you ought to have done, and those you ought not to have neglected.


And he spoke this parable to some, who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and who despised others. Two men went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself: God, I thank thee that I am not as other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. read more.
I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I possess.





Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, its justice, its mercy, and its faithfulness. These you ought to have done, and those you ought not to have neglected.




Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, its justice, its mercy, and its faithfulness. These you ought to have done, and those you ought not to have neglected.

And that servant who knew his lord's will, but made no preparation, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes;


Then will he answer them, saying: Verily I say to you, Inasmuch as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.