12 (A)For whosoever [a]will exalt himself, shall be brought low: and whosoever will humble himself, shall be exalted.

13 [b]Woe therefore be unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, [c]hypocrites, because ye shut up the kingdom of heaven before men: for ye yourselves go not in, neither suffer ye them that would [d]enter, to come in.

14 (B)[e]Woe be unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: for ye devour widows’ houses, even [f]under a color of long prayers: wherefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 23:12 He seemeth to allude to the name of the Rabbis, for Rabbi signifieth one that is aloft.
  2. Matthew 23:13 Hypocrites can abide none to be better than themselves.
  3. Matthew 23:13 Christ when he reproveth any man sharply, uses this word, to give us to understand that there is nothing more detestable than hypocrisy and falsehood in religion.
  4. Matthew 23:13 Which are even at the door.
  5. Matthew 23:14 It is a common thing among hypocrites, to abuse the pretence of zeal to covetousness and extortion.
  6. Matthew 23:14 Word for word, under a color of long praying. And this word, Even, noteth a double naughtiness in them: the one, that they devoured widows’ goods: the other, that they did it under a color of godliness.

12 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.(A)

Seven Woes on the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees

13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!(B) You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.(C) [14] [a]

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 23:14 Some manuscripts include here words similar to Mark 12:40 and Luke 20:47.