Mat 23:13 | NETfull | STEP | “But woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You keep locking people out of the kingdom of heaven! For you neither enter nor permit those trying to enter to go in.

Matthew 23:13

13 “But woe to you, experts in the law ^{▼▼ Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.} and you Pharisees, hypocrites! ^{▼▼ Grk “Woe to you…because you…” The causal particle ὅτι (hoti) has not been translated here for rhetorical effect (and so throughout this chapter).} You keep locking people out of the kingdom of heaven! ^{▼▼ Grk “because you are closing the kingdom of heaven before people.”} For you neither enter nor permit those trying to enter to go in. ^{▼▼ The most important mss (א B D L Z Θ f¹ 33 892* pc and several versional witnesses) do not have 23:14 “Woe to you experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You devour widows’ property, and as a show you pray long prayers! Therefore you will receive a more severe punishment.” Part or all of the verse is contained (either after v. 12 or after v. 13) in W 0102 0107 f¹³ Maj. and several versions, but it is almost certainly not original. The present translation follows NA²⁷ in omitting the verse number as well, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations. Note also that Mark 12:40 and Luke 20:47 are very similar in wording and are not disputed textually.}