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SOURCE: THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW
DATE WRITTEN : 63 AD
Matthew 5
The Beatitudes
1And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
3"Blessed
are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
6Blessed
are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness'
sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and
say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12Rejoice
and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they
persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Believers Are Salt and Light
13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt
loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing
but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
14"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a
hill cannot be hidden. 15Nor do they light a lamp and put it
under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in
the house. 16Let your light so shine before men, that they
may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Christ Fulfills the Law
17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the
Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18For
assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one
tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19Whoever
therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men
so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and
teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For
I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness
of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
Murder Begins in the Heart
21 "You have heard that it was said to those of old,
"You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the
judgment.' 22But I say to you that whoever is angry with his
brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever
says to his brother, "Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But
whoever says, "You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire. 23Therefore
if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your
brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there
before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother,
and then come and offer your gift. 25Agree with your
adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your
adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the
officer, and you be thrown into prison.
26Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get
out of there till you have paid the last penny.
Adultery in the Heart
27 "You have heard that it was said to those of old,
"You shall not commit adultery.'
28But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to
lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
29If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it
from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members
perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30And
if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you;
for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than
for your whole body to be cast into hell.
Marriage Is Sacred and Binding
31 "Furthermore it has been said, "Whoever divorces
his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' 32But I
say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual
immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman
who is divorced commits adultery.
Jesus Forbids Oaths
33 "Again you have heard that it was said to those of
old, "You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the
Lord.'
34But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it
is God's throne; 35nor by the earth, for it is His footstool;
nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36Nor
shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or
black. 37But let your "Yes' be "Yes,' and your "No,' "No.'
For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.
Go the Second Mile
38 "You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an
eye and a tooth for a tooth.'
39But I tell you not to resist an evil
person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him
also. 40If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic,
let him have your cloak also. 41And whoever compels you to go
one mile, go with him two. 42Give to him who asks you, and
from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.
Love Your Enemies
43 "You have heard that it was said, "You shall love
your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
44But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who
curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who
spitefully use you and persecute you, 45that you may be sons
of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on
the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46For
if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the
tax collectors do the same? 47And if you greet your brethren
only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do
so? 48Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in
heaven is perfect.
Matthew 6
Do Good to Please God
1"Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before
men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father
in heaven. 2Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not
sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in
the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you,
they have their reward. 3But when you do a charitable deed,
do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4that
your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in
secret will Himself reward you openly.
The Model Prayer
5"And when you pray, you shall not be like the
hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the
corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say
to you, they have their reward. 6But you, when you pray, go
into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father
who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will
reward you openly. 7And when you pray, do not use vain
repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard
for their many words.
8"Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows
the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9In this
manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us this day our daily bread.
12And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
14"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Fasting to Be Seen Only by God
16 "Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the
hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that
they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have
their reward. 17But you, when you fast, anoint your head and
wash your face, 18so that you do not appear to men to be
fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father
who sees in secret will reward you openly.
Lay Up Treasures in Heaven
19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where
moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20but
lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust
destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The Lamp of the Body
22 "The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye
is good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your
eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the
light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
You Cannot Serve God and Riches
24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will
hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and
despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
Do Not Worry
25 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your
life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body,
what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than
clothing?
26Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor
gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of
more value than they?
27Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his
stature?
28"So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the
lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29and
yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like
one of these. 30Now if God so clothes the grass of the field,
which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much
more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31"Therefore do not worry, saying, "What shall we
eat?' or "What shall we drink?' or "What shall we wear?' 32For
after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows
that you need all these things. 33But seek first the kingdom
of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to
you.
34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry
about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 7
Do Not Judge
1 "Judge not, that you be not judged. 2For with
what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you
use, it will be measured back to you. 3And why do you look at
the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your
own eye?
4Or how can you say to your brother, "Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5Hypocrite! First remove the plank 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 the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking
7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will
find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8For everyone who
asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be
opened. 9Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks
for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish,
will he give him a serpent? 11If you then, being 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! 12Therefore,
whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law
and the Prophets.
The Narrow Way
13 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad
is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by
it. 14Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way
which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
You Will Know Them by Their Fruits
15 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in
sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16You
will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or
figs from thistles? 17Even so, every good tree bears good
fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot
bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down
and thrown into the fire. 20Therefore by their fruits you
will know them.
I Never Knew You
21 "Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord,' shall
enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in
heaven.
22Many will say to Me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many
wonders in Your name?' 23And then I will declare to them, "I
never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'
Build on the Rock
24 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and
does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the
rock:
25and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and
beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26"But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and
does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the
sand:
27and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and
beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."
28And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings,
that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29for He
taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
New King James Version: Thomas Nelson Publisher