Matthew 5; Matthew 6; Matthew 7

Matthew 5

1 Now [when he] saw the crowds, he went up the mountain and [after he] sat down, his disciples approached him.

2 And opening his mouth he began to teach them, saying,

3 "Blessed [are] the poor in spirit, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed [are] the ones who mourn, because they will be comforted.

5 Blessed [are] the meek, because they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed [are] the ones who hunger and thirst [for] righteousness, because they will be satisfied.

7 Blessed [are] the merciful, because they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed [are] the pure in heart, because they will see God.

9 Blessed [are] the peacemakers, because they will be called sons of God.

10 Blessed [are] those who are persecuted because of righteousness, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute [you] and say all kinds of evil things against you, lying on account of me.

12 Rejoice and be glad, because your reward [is] great in heaven, for in the [same] way they persecuted the prophets before you.

13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes tasteless, by what will it be made salty? It is good for nothing any longer except to be thrown outside [and] trampled under foot by people.

14 You are the light of the world. A city located on top of a hill cannot be hidden,

15 nor do they light a lamp and place it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it shines on all those in the house.

16 In the [same] way let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

17 "Do not think that I have come to destroy the law or the prophets. I have not come to destroy [them] but to fulfill [them].

18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one tiny letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all takes place.

19 Therefore whoever abolishes one of the least of these commandments and teaches people to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever keeps [them] and teaches [them], this person will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20 For I say to you that unless your righteousness greatly surpasses [that] of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter into the kingdom of heaven.

21 "You have heard that it was said to the {people of old}, 'Do not commit murder,' and 'whoever commits murder will be subject to judgment.'

22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry at his brother will be subject to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, 'Stupid fool!' will be subject to the council, and whoever says, 'Obstinate fool!' will be subject to fiery hell.

23 Therefore if you present your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,

24 leave your gift there before the altar and first go be reconciled to your brother, and then come [and] present your gift.

25 {Settle the case quickly with your accuser} while you are with him on the way, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.

26 Truly I say to you, you will never come out of there until you have paid back the last penny!

27 "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.'

28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

29 And if your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw [it] from you! For it is better for you that one of your members be destroyed than your whole body be thrown into hell.

30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw [it] from you! For it is better for you that one of your limbs be destroyed than your whole body go into hell.

31 "And it was said, 'Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.'

32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for a matter of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

33 "Again you have heard that it was said to the {people of old}, 'Do not swear falsely, but fulfill your oaths to the Lord.'

34 But I say to you, do not swear at all, either by heaven, because it is the throne of God,

35 or by the earth, because it is the footstool of his feet, or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great king.

36 And do not swear by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black.

37 But let your statement be 'Yes, yes; no, no,' and anything beyond these is from the evil one.

38 "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'

39 But I say to you, do not resist the evildoer, but whoever strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him also.

40 And the one who wants to go to court with you and take your tunic, {let him have} your outer garment also.

41 And whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two.

42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

43 "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor' and 'Hate your enemy.'

44 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

45 in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven, because he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust.

46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not the tax collectors also do the same?

47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing that is remarkable? Do not the Gentiles also do the same?

48 Therefore you be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 6

1 "And take care not to practice your righteousness before people to be seen by them; {otherwise} you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

2 Therefore whenever you practice charitable giving, do not sound a trumpet in front of you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, in order that they may be praised by people. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward in full!

3 But you, [when you] practice charitable giving, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

4 in order that your charitable giving may be in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

5 And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to stand [and] pray in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, in order that they may be seen by people. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward in full!

6 But whenever you pray, enter into your inner room and shut your door [and] pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

7 "But [when you] pray, do not babble repetitiously like the pagans, for they think that because of their many words they will be heard.

8 Therefore do not be like them, for your Father knows {what you need} before you ask him.

9 Therefore you pray in this way: "Our Father who is in heaven, may your name be treated as holy.

10 May your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as [it is] in heaven.

11 Give us today our daily bread,

12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

14 For if you forgive people their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

15 But if you do not forgive people, neither will your Father forgive your sins.

16 "Whenever you fast, do not be sullen like the hypocrites, for they make their faces unrecognizable in order that they may be seen fasting by people. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward in full!

17 But [when] you are fasting, {put olive oil on your head} and wash your face

18 so that you will not be seen by people as fasting, but to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and consuming [insect] destroy and where thieves break in and steal,

20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor consuming [insect] destroy and where thieves do not break in or steal.

21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore if your eye is sincere, your whole body will be full of light.

23 But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be dark. Therefore if the light in you is darkness, how great [is] the darkness!

24 "No one is able to serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You are not able to serve God and money.

25 "For this [reason] I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, what you will eat, and not for your body, what you will wear. Is your life not more than food and your body [more than] clothing?

26 Consider the birds of the sky, that they do not sow or reap or gather [produce] into barns, and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth more than they [are]?

27 And who among you, [by] being anxious, is able to add one hour to his life span?

28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe the lilies of the field, how they grow: they do not toil or spin,

29 but I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory was dressed like one of these.

30 But if God dresses the grass of the field in this way, [although it] is [here] today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not [do so] much more [for] you, you of little faith?

31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?,'

32 for the pagans seek after all these [things]. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these [things].

33 But seek first his kingdom and righteousness, and all these [things] will be added to you.

34 Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow, because tomorrow will be anxious for itself. {Each day has enough trouble of its own.}

Matthew 7

1 "Do not judge, so that you will not be judged.

2 For by what judgment you judge, you will be judged, and by what measure you measure out, it will be measured out to you.

3 And why do you see the speck [that is] in your brother's eye, but do not notice the beam of wood in your [own] eye?

4 Or how will you say to your brother, 'Allow [me] to remove the speck from your eye,' and behold, the beam of wood [is] in your [own] eye?

5 Hypocrite! First remove the beam of wood from your [own] eye and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye!

6 "Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls in front of pigs, lest they trample them with their feet, and turn around [and] tear you to pieces.

7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you.

8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

9 Or what man is [there] among you, [if] his son will ask him [for] bread, will give him a stone?

10 Or also [if] he will ask for a fish, will give him a snake?

11 Therefore if you, [although you] are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him?

12 Therefore [in] all [things], whatever you want that people should do to you, thus also you do to them. For this is the law and the prophets.

13 "Enter through the narrow gate, because broad [is] the gate and spacious [is] the road that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it,

14 because narrow [is] the gate and constricted [is] the road that leads to life, and there are few who find it!

15 "Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inside are ravenous wolves.

16 You will recognize them by their fruits: they do not gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles, [do they]?

17 In the [same] way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit.

18 A good tree is not able to produce bad fruit, nor a bad tree to produce good fruit.

19 Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

20 As a result, you will recognize them by their fruits.

21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many miracles in your name?'

23 And then {I will say to them plainly}, 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!'

24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

25 And the rain came down and the rivers came and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it did not collapse, because its foundation was laid on the rock.

26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.

27 And the rain came down and the rivers came and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it collapsed, and its fall was great."

28 And it happened when Jesus finished these words the crowds were amazed at his teaching,

29 because he was teaching them like one who had authority, and not like their scribes.