Matthew 4–12

The Temptation of Jesus

4^sThen Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness ^tto be tempted by the devil. ²And after fasting ^uforty days and forty nights, he ^vwas hungry. ³And ^wthe tempter came and said to him, “If you are ^xthe Son of God, command ^ythese stones to become loaves of bread.” ⁴But he answered, ^z“It is written,

^a“ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

^5bThen the devil took him to ^cthe holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple ⁶and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

^d“ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’

and

“ ‘On their hands they will bear you up,

lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”

⁷Jesus said to him, “Again ^eit is written, ^f‘You shall not ^gput the Lord your God to the test.’ ” ^8hAgain, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” ¹⁰Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, ⁱSatan! For ^jit is written,

^k“ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God

and ^lhim only shall you serve.’ ”

¹¹Then the devil left him, and behold, ^mangels came and were ministering to him.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

¹²Now when he heard that ⁿJohn had been arrested, ^ohe withdrew into Galilee. ¹³And leaving ^pNazareth he went and lived in ^qCapernaum by ^rthe sea, in the territory of ^sZebulun and Naphtali, ^14tso that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

^15u“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,

the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—

^16vthe people dwelling in darkness

have seen a great light,

and for those dwelling in the region and ^wshadow of death,

on them a light has dawned.”

^17xFrom that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ^z“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”¹

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

^18aWhile walking by ^bthe Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁹And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you ^cfishers of men.”^{2 20}Immediately they left their nets and followed him. ²¹And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. ²²Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds

^23dAnd he went throughout all Galilee, ^eteaching in their synagogues and ^fproclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and ^ghealing every disease and every affliction among the people. ²⁴So his fame spread throughout all ^hSyria, and ^gthey brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and ⁱpains, ^jthose oppressed by demons, ^kthose having seizures, and ^lparalytics, and he healed them. ^25mAnd great crowds followed him from Galilee and the ⁿDecapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

The Sermon on the Mount

5Seeing the crowds, ^ohe went up on the mountain, and when he ^psat down, his disciples came to him.

The Beatitudes

²And ^qhe opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

^3r“Blessed are ^sthe poor in spirit, for ^utheirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴“Blessed are ^vthose who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

⁵“Blessed are the ^wmeek, for they ^wshall inherit the earth.

⁶“Blessed are those who hunger and ^xthirst ^yfor righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

⁷“Blessed are ^zthe merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

⁸“Blessed are ^athe pure in heart, for ^bthey shall see God.

⁹“Blessed are ^cthe peacemakers, for ^dthey shall be called ^esons¹ of God.

^10f“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for ^utheirs is the kingdom of heaven.

^11g“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely ^hon my account. ¹²ⁱRejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for ^jso they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Salt and Light

¹³“You are the salt of the earth, ^kbut if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

^14l“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ^15mNor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before others, so ⁿthat² they may see your good works and ^ogive glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Christ Came to Fulfill the Law

^17p“Do not think that I have come to abolish ^qthe Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but ^rto fulfill them. ¹⁸For truly, I say to you, ^suntil heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. ^19tTherefore whoever relaxes ^uone of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least ^vin the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great ^vin the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds ^wthat of the scribes and Pharisees, you ^xwill never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Anger

^21y“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ^z‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable ^ato judgment.’ ²²But I say to you that ^beveryone who is angry with his brother³ will be liable ^ato judgment; whoever insults⁴ his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to ^cthe hell⁵ of fire. ^23dSo if ^eyou are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ^25fCome to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. ²⁶Truly, I say to you, ^gyou will never get out until you have paid the last penny.⁶

Lust

^27h“You have heard that it was said, ⁱ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸But I say to you that ^jeveryone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ^29kIf your right eye ^lcauses you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into ^mhell. ^30kAnd if your right hand ^lcauses you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into ^mhell.

Divorce

^31h“It was also said, ⁿ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ^32oBut I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and ^pwhoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Oaths

³³“Again ^hyou have heard that it was said to those of old, ^q‘You shall not swear falsely, but ^rshall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ ³⁴But I say to you, ^sDo not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for ^tit is the throne of God, ³⁵or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is ^uthe city of the great King. ³⁶And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; ^vanything more than this comes from evil.⁷

Retaliation

^38h“You have heard that it was said, ^y‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹But I say to you, ^zDo not resist the one who is evil. But ^aif anyone ^bslaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. ⁴⁰And ^zif anyone would sue you and take your tunic,⁸ let him have your cloak as well. ⁴¹And if anyone ^cforces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. ^42dGive to the one who begs from you, and ^edo not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Love Your Enemies

^43f“You have heard that it was said, ^g‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴But I say to you, ⁱLove your enemies and ^jpray for those who persecute you, ^45kso that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and ^lsends rain on the just and on the unjust. ^46mFor if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers,⁹ what more are you doing than others? Do not even ⁿthe Gentiles do the same? ^48oYou therefore must be ^pperfect, ^qas your heavenly Father is perfect.

Giving to the Needy

6“Beware of ^rpracticing your righteousness before other people in order ^sto be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

^2t“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may ^ube praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have ^vreceived their reward. ³But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your giving may be in secret. ^wAnd your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

The Lord’s Prayer

⁵“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love ^xto stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. ^yTruly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ⁶But when you pray, ^zgo into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. ^aAnd your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

⁷“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as ^bthe Gentiles do, for ^cthey think that they will be heard ^dfor their many words. ⁸Do not be like them, ^efor your Father knows what you need before you ask him. ^9fPray then like this:

^g“Our Father in heaven,

^hhallowed be ⁱyour name.¹

^10jYour kingdom come,

^kyour will be done,²

^lon earth as it is in heaven.

^11mGive us ⁿthis day our daily…