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When
Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with
him; so he went in and reclined at the table. But the Pharisee,
noticing that Jesus did not first wash before the meal, was
surprised.
Then the Lord said to him, "Now then, you Pharisees clean the
outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and
wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the
outside make the inside also? But give what is inside the dish to
the poor, and everything will be clean for you.
"Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your
mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect
justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter
without leaving the former undone.
"Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important
seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.
"Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which men
walk over without knowing it."
One of the experts in the law answered him, "Teacher, when
you say these things, you insult us also."
Jesus replied, "And you experts in the law, woe to you,
because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry,
and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.
"Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it
was your forefathers who killed them. So you testify that you
approve of what your forefathers did; they killed the prophets,
and you build their tombs. Because of this, God in his wisdom
said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they
will kill and others they will persecute.' Therefore this
generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the
prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from
the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed
between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this
generation will be held responsible for it all.
"Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away
the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you
have hindered those who were entering."
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