Study Desk

And the families of the scribes who lived at Jabez: the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and the Sucathites. These were the Kenites who came from Hammath, the father of the house of Recab.

were over the porters and were directing all who worked on each task. And some of the Levites were scribes, officials, and gatekeepers.

How can you say, ‘We are wise and the law of Yahweh is with us'? Look, surely the lying stylus of the scribes has made it a lie.

and after calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired from them where the Christ was to be born.

For I say to you that unless your righteousness greatly surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter into the kingdom of heaven.

because he was teaching them like one who had authority, and not like their scribes.

And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming!"

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from you!"

Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying,

From that time on Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised on the third day.

And the disciples asked him, saying, "Then why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"

The Transfiguration And after six days Jesus took along Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothing became bright as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him. So Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good that we are here! If you want, I will make here three shelters, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him!" And when the disciples heard this, they fell down on their faces and were extremely frightened. And Jesus came and touched them and said, "Get up and do not be afraid." And when they lifted up their eyes they saw no one except him—Jesus alone. And as they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them saying, "Tell no one the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead." And the disciples asked him, saying, "Then why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" And he answered and said, "Elijah indeed is coming, and will restore all things. But I say to you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did with him whatever they wanted. In the same way also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." Then the disciples understood that he had spoken to them about John the Baptist. And when they came to the crowd, a man approached him, kneeling down before him and saying, "Lord, have mercy on my son, because he has seizures and suffers severely, for often he falls into the fire and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they were not able to heal him." And Jesus answered and said, "O unbelieving and perverse generation! How long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me!" And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him and the boy was healed from that hour. Then the disciples approached Jesus privately and said, Why were we not able to expel it?" And he said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly I say to you, if you have faith like a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you."

"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death,

But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children shouting in the temple courts and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant.

saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on the seat of Moses.

"But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you shut the kingdom of heaven before people! For you do not enter, nor permit those wanting to go in to enter. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you travel around the sea and the dry land to make one convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are! "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing! But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by his oath.' Fools and blind people! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold holy? And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing! But whoever swears by the gift that is on it is bound by his oath.' Blind people! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy? Therefore the one who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything that is on it. And the one who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And the one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by the one who sits on it. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you pay a tenth of mint and dill and cumin, and neglect the more important matters of the law—justice and mercy and faithfulness! It was necessary to do these things while not neglecting those. Blind guides who filter out a gnat and swallow a camel! "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence! Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean! In the same way, on the outside you also appear righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in the blood of the prophets!' Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets! And you—fill up the measure of your fathers! Serpents! Offspring of vipers! How will you escape from the condemnation to hell? For this reason, behold, I am sending to you prophets and wise men and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and will pursue from town to town, so that upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of righteous Abel up to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation! "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How many times I wanted to gather your children together the way a hen gathers her young together under her wings, and you were not willing! Behold, your house has been left to you desolate! For I tell you, you will never see me from now on until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!'"

Seven Woes Pronounced on the Scribes and Pharisees Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on the seat of Moses. Therefore do and observe everything that they tell you, but do not do as they do, for they tell others to do something and do not do it themselves. And they tie up heavy burdens and put them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing with their finger to move them. And they do all their deeds in order to be seen by people, for they make their phylacteries broad and make their tassels long. And they love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi' by people. But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,' because one is your teacher, and you are all brothers, And do not call anyone your father on earth, for one is your heavenly Father. And do not be called teachers, because one is your teacher, the Christ. And the greatest among you will be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you shut the kingdom of heaven before people! For you do not enter, nor permit those wanting to go in to enter.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you travel around the sea and the dry land to make one convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are!

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you pay a tenth of mint and dill and cumin, and neglect the more important matters of the law—justice and mercy and faithfulness! It was necessary to do these things while not neglecting those.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence!