Seven Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees

1 ^vThen Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on ^wMoses’ seat, 3 so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. 4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,¹ and lay them on people’s shoulders, but ^xthey themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. 5 They do all their deeds to be ^yseen by others. For they make their ^zphylacteries broad and their ^afringes long, 6 and they love the ^bplace of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues 7 and ^cgreetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi² by others. 8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers.³ 9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have ^done Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. 11 ^eThe greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 ^fWhoever exalts himself will be humbled, and ^gwhoever humbles himself will be exalted.

13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, ^hhypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither ⁱenter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.⁴ 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell⁵ as yourselves.

16 “Woe to you, ^jblind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is ^kbound 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 anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone 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 ^lthat makes the gift sacred? 20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by ^mhim who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by ⁿheaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.

23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you ^otithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the ^pweightier matters of the law: ^qjustice and mercy and faithfulness. 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 clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of ^rgreed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like ^swhitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all ^tuncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate 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 ^ushedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 ^vFill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you ^wbrood 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 flog in your ^xsynagogues and ^ypersecute from town to town, 35 so that ^zon you may come all the ^arighteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous ^bAbel to the blood of ^cZechariah the son of Barachiah,⁶ whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

Lament over Jerusalem

37 ^d“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that ^ekills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a ^fhen gathers her brood under her wings, and ^gyou were not willing! 38 See, your house is left to you ^hdesolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ⁱ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

1 ^jJesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will ^knot be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Signs of the End of the Age

3 ^lAs he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your ^mcoming and of ⁿthe ^oend of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

9 ^p“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to ^qdeath, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then many will fall away⁷ and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 ^rBut the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be ^sproclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then ^tthe end will come.

The Abomination of Desolation

15 ^u“So when you see ^vthe abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet ^wDaniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee ^xto the mountains. 17 ^yLet the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, 18 and ^zlet the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 19 And ^aalas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be ^bgreat tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 ^cThen if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great ^dsigns and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as the ^elightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 ^fWherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

29 ^g“Immediately after the tribulation of those days ^hthe sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the ⁱstars will fall from heaven, and the ^jpowers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then ^kall the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man ^lcoming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud ^mtrumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

32 ⁿ“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is ^onear, at the very gates. 34 Truly, I say to you, ^pthis generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

No One Knows That Day and Hour

36 ^q“But concerning that day and hour ^rno one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son,⁸ but the Father only. 37 For as were the ^sdays of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, ^tuntil the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, ^ustay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that ^vif the master of the house had known in what part of the night the ^wthief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

45 ^x“Who then is the faithful and wise servant,⁹ whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants¹⁰ and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be ^yweeping and gnashing of teeth.

How Great Are Your Works

A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath.