A while back, some time ago, a peaceable man, a patriot, and political activist, an itinerant, underemployed Aramaic handyman by the name of Eshoo ben Yosep, who got nailed to a tree for bucking the establishment by carrying a message of Truth and Love and Hope and Peace to the people of his land and to the world, had this to say about the bankers, priests, lawyers of his day, as he was traipsing about the temple [the seat of government and of the money changers] talking with the people gathered there ....... The Priests, the Pharisees, and Scribes were the bankers, politicians, and lawyers then, the political establishment, as they still are in much of the Muslim and Jewish world, and whether we like it or not, are alive and well in our world in the Good Ol' USofA.

A correct translation of Matthew 23 from the original Aramaic, in context ...

23 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, "The scholars and Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses. This means you're supposed to observe and follow everything they tell you. But don't do what they do; after all, they're all talk and no action. They invent heavy burdens and lay them on folks' shoulders, but they themselves won't lift a finger to move them. Everything they do, they do for show. So they widen their phylacteries and enlarge their tassels. They love the best couches at banquets and prominent seats in synagogues and respectful greetings in marketplaces, and they like to be called 'Rabbi' by everyone. But you are not to be called 'Rabbi'; after all, you only have one teacher, and all of you belong to the same family. And don't call anyone on earth 'father,' since you have only one Father, and he is in heaven. You are not to be called 'instructors,' because you have only one instructor, the Anointed. Now whoever is greater than you will be your slave. Those who promote themselves will be demoted and those who demote themselves will be promoted.

"You scholars and Pharisees, you impostors! Damn you! You slam the door of Heaven's domain in people's faces. You yourselves don't enter, and you block the way of those trying to enter.

"You scholars and Pharisees, you impostors! Damn you! You scour land and sea to make one convert, and when you do, you make that person more of a child of Hell than you are.

"Damn you, you blind guides who claim: 'When you swear by the temple, it doesn't matter, but when you swear by the treasure in the temple, it is binding.' You blind fools, which is greater, the treasure or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You go on: 'When you swear by the altar, it doesn't matter, but when you swear by the offering that lies on the altar, it is binding.' You sightless souls, which is greater, the offering or the altar that makes the offering sacred? So when you swear by the altar, you swear by the altar and everything on it. And anyone who swears by the temple, swears by the temple and the one who makes it home, and anyone who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and the one who occupies it.

"You scholars and Pharisees, you impostors! Damn you! You pay tithes on mint and dill and cumin too, but ignore the really important matters of the Law, such as justice and mercy and trust. You should have attended to the last, without ignoring the first. You blind leaders! You strain out a gnat and gulp down a camel.

"You scholars and Pharisees, you impostors! Damn you! You wash the outside of cups and plates, but inside they are full of greed and dissipation. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and then the outside will be clean too.

"You scholars and Pharisees, you impostors! Damn you! You are like whitewashed tombs: on the outside they look beautiful, but inside they are full of dead bones and every kind of decay. So you too look like decent people on the outside, but on the inside you are doing nothing but posturing and subverting the Law.

"You scholars and Pharisees, you impostors! Damn you! You erect tombs to the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous and claim: 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we wouldn't have joined them in spilling the prophets' blood. So, you witness against yourselves: You are descendents of those who murdered the prophets, and you're the spitting image of your ancestors. You serpents! You spawn of Satan! How are you going to escape Hell's judgment? Look, that is why I send you prophets and sages and scholars. Some you're going to kill and crucify, and some you're going to beat in your synagogues and hound from city to city. As a result there will be on your heads all the innocent blood that has been shed on the earth, from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Baruch, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. I swear to you, all these things are going to rain down on this generation.

After having said his piece to the people, and having placed his curse upon the bankers, politicians and lawyers of his day, he left the temple... and you know the rest of the story....