Mark 12:38–40

⁴⁵¶ Then in the audience of all the people he said unto his disciples,

⁴⁶Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts;

⁴⁷Which devour widows’ houses, and for a shew make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation.

¹THEN spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,

²Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat:

³All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.

⁴For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

⁵But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,

⁶And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,

⁷And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.

⁴³Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.

⁵¶ And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

⁷¶ And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them,

⁸When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him;

⁹And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room.

¹⁰But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.

¹¹For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

²And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,

¹⁷But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;

⁹I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.

²For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;

³And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:

⁴⁷Which devour widows’ houses, and for a shew make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation.

¹³¶ But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

³³Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

²⁵There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.

⁷But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

⁶For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,

⁴⁷And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.

⁴⁸But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

¹AND I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment?

²Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;

³Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron.

⁴Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.

²²But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.

²³And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

²⁴But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

²And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.