GOSPEL 20:1-12
On the Empty Religion of the Clergy
Ninth Scroll
ON THE EMPTY RELIGION OF THE CLERGY
20 1And it happened sometime around then that Jesus was teaching, and there were Pharisees and Bible teachers sitting there. For they had come from every village of the Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem.
2And Jesus said to the crowds:
“Beware the clergy! They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in houses of worship and the places of honor at banquets. 3They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers.
4As it is written:
‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’
5Woe to you, clergymen, you hypocrites! You tithe a tenth. But you have neglected the more important things—justice, mercy and faithfulness. 6You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
7You have let go the true knowledge of God and cling instead to the traditions of men. Indeed, you have a fine way of setting aside the divine commandment just so you can observe your own tradition!
8Thus you nullify the wisdom of God by your tradition, which you continue to pass along. And you do countless things like this.
9Woe to you, clergymen, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets!’ 10But in this you only testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets. 11Go ahead, then, and complete what your fathers started! You snakes, you brood of vipers!”
12And so the clergy looked for a way to arrest him because they knew that he was speaking about them. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.
ON THE EMPTY RELIGION OF THE CLERGY
20 1Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν μιᾷ τῶν ἡμερῶν καὶ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἦν διδάσκων, καὶ ἦσαν καθήμενοι Φαρισαῖοι καὶ νομοδιδάσκαλοι οἳ ἦσαν ἐληλυθότες ἐκ πάσης κώμης τῆς Γαλιλαίας καὶ Ἰουδαίας καὶ Ἰερουσαλήμ. 2τότε ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐλάλησεν τοῖς ὄχλοις λέγων·
Προσέχετε ἀπὸ τῶν γραμματέων τῶν θελόντων περιπατεῖν ἐν στολαῖς καὶ φιλούντων ἀσπασ-μοὺς ἐν ταῖς ἀγοραῖς καὶ πρωτοκαθεδρίας ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις καὶ πρωτοκλισίας ἐν τοῖς δείπνοις, 3οἳ κατεσθίουσιν τὰς οἰκίας τῶν χηρῶν καὶ προφάσει μακρὰ προσεύχονται·
4Ὡς γέγραπται ὅτι·
οὗτος ὁ λαὸς τοῖς χείλεσίν με τιμᾷ,
ἡ δὲ καρδία αὐτῶν πόρρω ἀπέχει ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ·
μάτην δὲ σέβονταί με
διδάσκοντες διδασκαλίας ἐντάλματα ἀνθρώπων.
5Οὐαὶ ὑμῖν, γραμματεῖς ὑποκριταί, ὅτι ἀποδεκατοῦτε καὶ ἀφήκατε τὰ βαρύτερα, τὴν κρίσιν καὶ τὸ ἔλεος καὶ τὴν πίστιν· 6ὁδηγοὶ τυφλοί, οἱ διϋλίζοντες τὸν κώνωπα, τὴν δὲ κάμηλον καταπίνοντες.
7Ἀφέντες τὴν γνῶσιν τοῦ θεοῦ κρατεῖτε τὴν παράδοσιν τῶν ἀνθρώπων. καλῶς δὴ ἀθετεῖτε τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ θεοῦ, ἵνα τὴν παράδοσιν ὑμῶν στήσητε.
8Ἀκυροῦντες τὴν σοφίαν τοῦ θεοῦ τῇ παραδόσει ὑμῶν ᾗ παρεδώκατε· καὶ παρόμοια τοιαῦτα πολλὰ ποιεῖτε.
9Οὐαὶ ὑμῖν, γραμματεῖς ὑποκριταί, ὅτι οἰκοδομεῖτε τοὺς τάφους τῶν προφητῶν καὶ κοσμεῖτε τὰ μνημεῖα τῶν δικαίων, καὶ λέγετε· Εἰ ἤμεθα ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν, οὐκ ἂν ἤμεθα αὐτῶν κοινωνοὶ ἐν τῷ αἵματι τῶν προφητῶν. 10ὥστε μαρτυρεῖτε ἑαυτοῖς ὅτι υἱοί ἐστε τῶν φονευσάντων τοὺς προφήτας. 11καὶ ὑμεῖς πληρώσατε τὸ μέτρον τῶν πατέρων ὑμῶν.
ὄφεις, γεννήματα ἐχιδνῶν.
12Καὶ ἐζήτουν αὐτὸν κρατῆσαι, καὶ ἐφοβήθησαν τὸν ὄχλον, ἔγνωσαν γὰρ ὅτι πρὸς αὐτοὺς τὸν λόγον εἶπεν. καὶ ἀφέντες αὐτὸν ἀπῆλθον.
But the best one is “you travel land and sea to win a single convert and when he becomes one, you make him twice the son of hell that you are.”