Matthew 5–7

The Sermon on the Mount

5When He saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain, ^qand after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. ²Then ^rHe began to teach them, saying: ^s

The Beatitudes

³“The poor in spirit are blessed, ^t

for the kingdom of heaven ^uis theirs.

⁴Those who mourn are blessed, ^v

for they will be comforted.

⁵The gentle are blessed, ^w

for they will inherit the earth.

⁶Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are blessed, ^x

for they will be filled.

⁷The merciful are blessed,

for they will be shown mercy. ^y

⁸The pure in heart are blessed,

for they will see God. ^z

⁹The peacemakers are blessed,

for they will be called sons of God. ^a

¹⁰Those who are persecuted for righteousness are blessed,

for the kingdom of heaven ^bis theirs.

¹¹“You are blessed when they insult and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of Me. ¹²Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted ^cthe prophets who were before you. ^d

Believers Are Salt and Light

¹³“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled on by men. ^e

¹⁴“You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. ^f15No one lights a lamp ^gand puts it under a basket, ^hbut rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. ⁱ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine ^jbefore men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. ^k

Christ Fulfills the Law

¹⁷“Don’t assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. ^l18For ^•I assure you: Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter ^mor one stroke of a letter will pass from the law until all things are accomplished. ¹⁹Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches people to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ⁿ²⁰For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the ^•scribes and ^•Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Murder Begins in the Heart

²¹“You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, ^oDo not murder, ^pqand whoever murders will be subject to judgment. ^r22But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother ^swill be subject to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Fool!’ ^twill be subject to the ^•Sanhedrin. But whoever says, ‘You moron!’ will be subject to ^•hellfire. ^uv23So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵Reach a settlement quickly with your adversary while you’re on the way with him, or your adversary will hand you over to the judge, the judge to ^wthe officer, and you will be thrown into prison. ^x26I assure you: You will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny! ^y

Adultery in the Heart

²⁷“You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery. ^za28But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ^b29If your right eye ^•causes you to sin, ^cgouge it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ^d30And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell!

Divorce Practices Censured

³¹“It was also said, Whoever divorces ^ehis wife must give her a written notice of divorce. ^fg32But I tell you, everyone who divorces his wife, except in a case of sexual immorality, ^hcauses her to commit adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. ⁱ

Tell the Truth

³³“Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors, ^jYou must not break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord. ^kl34But I tell you, don’t take an oath at all: either by heaven, because it is God’s throne; ³⁵or by the earth, because it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. ^m36Neither should you swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. ³⁷But let your word ‘yes’ be ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ be ‘no.’ ⁿAnything more than this is from the evil one. ^o

Go the Second Mile

³⁸“You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. ^pq39But I tell you, don’t resist ^ran evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. ^s40As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, ^tlet him have your coat ^uas well. ⁴¹And if anyone forces ^vyou to go one mile, go with him two. ⁴²Give to the one who asks you, and don’t turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. ^w

Love Your Enemies

⁴³“You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor ^xyand hate your enemy. ⁴⁴But I tell you, love your enemies ^zand pray for those who ^apersecute you, ^b45so that you may be ^csons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ^d46For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your ^•brothers, what are you doing out of the ordinary? ^efDon’t even the Gentiles ^gdo the same? ⁴⁸Be perfect, ^htherefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

How to Give

6“Be careful not to practice your righteousness ⁱin front of people, to be seen by them. Otherwise, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. ²So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the ^•synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. ^•I assure you: They’ve got their reward! ^j3But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. ^kl

How to Pray

⁵“Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward! ^m6But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. ^no7When you pray, don’t babble like the idolaters, ^psince they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words. ^q8Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask Him. ^r

The Model Prayer

⁹“Therefore, you should pray like this: ^s

Our Father in heaven,

Your name be honored as holy. ^t

¹⁰Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven. ^u

¹¹Give us today our daily bread. ^v

¹²And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors. ^w

¹³And do not bring us into ^x temptation, ^y

but deliver us from the evil one. ^za

[For Yours is the kingdom and the power

and the glory forever. ^•Amen.] ^b

¹⁴“For if you forgive people their wrongdoing, ^cyour heavenly Father will forgive you as well. ^d15But if you don’t forgive people, ^eyour Father will not forgive your wrongdoing. ^f

How to Fast

¹⁶“Whenever you fast, don’t be sad-faced like the hypocrites. For they make their faces unattractive ^ghso their fasting is obvious to people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward! ¹⁷But when you fast, put oil on your head, and wash your face, ⁱ¹⁸so that you don’t show your fasting to people but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. ^j

God and Possessions

¹⁹“Don’t collect for yourselves treasures ^kon earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. ^l20But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, ^mwhere neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

²²“The eye is the lamp of the body. If 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. So if the light within you is darkness—how deep is that darkness! ⁿ

²⁴“No one can be a ^•slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot be slaves of God and of money. ^o

The Cure for Anxiety

²⁵“This is why I tell you: ^pDon’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? ^q26Look at the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? ^r27Can any of you add a single ^•cubit to his height ^sby worrying? ²⁸And why do you worry about clothes? Learn how the wildflowers of the field grow: they don’t labor or spin thread. ²⁹Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these! ³⁰If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t He do much more for you—you of little faith? ^t31So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ ³²For the idolaters ^ueagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³But seek first the kingdom of God ^vwand His righteousness, ^xand all these things will be provided for you. ^y34Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble ^zof its own.

Do Not Judge

7“Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged. ^a2For with the judgment you use, ^byou will be judged, and with the measure you use, ^cit will be measured to you. ^d3…