Matthew 5:19-20

5:19 So anyone who breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others ¹  to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever obeys them and teaches others to do so will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 5:20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law ²  and the Pharisees, ³  you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 15:6

15:6 he does not need to honor his father.’ ⁴  You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition.

Matthew 23:23-24

23:23 “Woe to you, experts in the law ⁵  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth ⁶  of mint, dill, and cumin, ⁷  yet you neglect what is more important in the law – justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You ⁸  should have done these things without neglecting the others. 23:24 Blind guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel! ⁹ 

Hosea 8:12

8:12 I spelled out my law for him in great detail,

but they regard it as something totally unknown ¹⁰  to them!

Mark 12:28-33

The Greatest Commandment

12:28 Now ¹¹  one of the experts in the law ¹²  came and heard them debating. When he saw that Jesus ¹³  answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 12:29 Jesus answered, “The most important is: ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 12:30 Love ¹⁴  the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ ¹⁵  12:31 The second is: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ¹⁶  There is no other commandment greater than these.” 12:32 The expert in the law said to him, “That is true, Teacher; you are right to say that he is one, and there is no one else besides him. ¹⁷  12:33 And to love him with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength ¹⁸  and to love your neighbor as yourself ¹⁹  is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

Luke 11:42

11:42 “But woe to you Pharisees! ²⁰  You give a tenth ²¹  of your mint, ²²  rue, ²³  and every herb, yet you neglect justice ²⁴  and love for God! But you should have done these things without neglecting the others. ²⁵ 

[5:19]  ¹ tn Grk “teaches men” ( in a generic sense, people).

[5:20]  ² tn Or “that of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[5:20]  ³ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[15:6]  ⁴ tc The logic of v. 5 would seem to demand that both father and mother are in view in v. 6. Indeed, the majority of mss (C L W Θ 0106 ˹ Ï) have “or his mother” (ἢ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, h thn mhtera autou) after “honor his father” here. However, there are significant witnesses that have variations on this theme (καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ [kai thn mhtera autou, “and his mother”] in Φ 565 1241 pc and ἢ τὴν μητέρα [“or mother”] in 073 ˹³ 33 579 700 892 pc), which is usually an indication of a predictable addition to the text rather than an authentic reading. Further, the shorter reading (without any mention of “mother”) is found in early and important witnesses (א B D sa). Although it is possible that the shorter reading came about accidentally (due to the repetition of –ερα αὐτοῦ), the evidence more strongly suggests that the longer readings were intentional scribal alterations.

[23:23]  ⁵ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:23]  ⁶ tn Or “you tithe mint.”

[23:23]  ⁷ sn Cumin (alternately spelled cummin) was an aromatic herb native to the Mediterranean region. Its seeds were used for seasoning.

[23:23]  ⁸ tc ‡ Many witnesses (B C K L W Δ 0102 33 565 892 pm) have δέ (de, “but”) after ταῦτα (tauta, “these things”), while many others lack it (א D Γ Θ Ë^1,13 579 700 1241 1424 pm). Since asyndeton was relatively rare in Koine Greek, the conjunction may be an intentional alteration, and is thus omitted from the present translation. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[23:24]  ⁹ tn Grk “Blind guides who strain out a gnat yet who swallow a camel!”

[8:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “foreign” or “alien”; NASB, NRSV “as a strange thing.”

[12:28]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[12:28]  ¹² tn Or “One of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

[12:28]  ¹³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:30]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “You will love.” The future indicative is used here with imperatival force (see ExSyn 452 and 569).

[12:30]  ¹⁵ sn A quotation from Deut 6:4-5 and Josh 22:5 (LXX). The fourfold reference to different parts of the person says, in effect, that one should love God with all one’s being.

[12:31]  ¹⁶ sn A quotation from Lev 19:18.

[12:32]  ¹⁷ sn A quotation from Deut 4:35.

[12:33]  ¹⁸ sn A quotation from Deut 6:5.

[12:33]  ¹⁹ sn A quotation from Lev 19:18.

[11:42]  ²⁰ tn Grk “Woe to you…because you…” The causal particle ὅτι (Joti) has not been translated here for rhetorical effect (and so to the end of this chapter).

[11:42]  ²¹ tn Or “you tithe mint.”

[11:42]  ²² sn These small herbs were tithed with great care (Mishnah, m. Demai 2:1).

[11:42]  ²³ tn Grk “and rue.” Καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[11:42]  ²⁴ sn Justice was a major theme of OT ethics (Mic 6:8; Zech 7:8-10).

[11:42]  ²⁵ tn Grk “those”; but this has been translated as “the others” to clarify which are meant.