Luke 6:12–38

The Selection of the Twelve Apostles

¹²Now it happened that in these days he went away to the mountain to pray, and was spending the whole night in prayer to God. ¹³And when day came, he summoned his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he also named apostles: ¹⁴Simon (whom he also named Peter) and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, ¹⁵and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, ¹⁶and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

The Sermon on the Plain: The Beatitudes

¹⁷And he came down with them and^* stood on a level place, and a large crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all of Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast district of Tyre and Sidon, ¹⁸who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases, and those who were troubled by unclean spirits were cured. ¹⁹And the whole crowd was seeking to touch him, because power was going out from him and healing them all.

²⁰And he lifted up his eyes to his disciples and^* said,

“Blessed are the poor,

because yours is the kingdom of God.

²¹Blessed are those who are hungry now,

because you will be satisfied.

Blessed are those who weep now,

Because you will laugh.

²²Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. ²³Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For their fathers used to do the same things to the prophets.

The Sermon on the Plain: Woes

²⁴“But woe to you who are rich,

because you have received your comfort.

²⁵Woe to you who are satisfied now,

because you will be hungry.

Woe, you who laugh now,

because you will mourn and weep.

²⁶Woe whenever all people speak well of you,

for their fathers used to do the same things to the false prophets.

The Sermon on the Plain: Love for Enemies

²⁷“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹To the one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from the one who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic also. ³⁰Give to everyone who asks you, and from the one who takes away your things, do not ask for them back.^{* 31}And just as you want people to do^b to you, do the same^c to them.

³²“And if you love those who love you, what kind of credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them! ³³And if^d you do good to those who do good to you, what kind of credit is that to you? Even the sinners do the same! ³⁴And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive back, what kind of credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, so that they may get back an equal amount! ³⁵But love your enemies, and do good, and lend expecting back nothing, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful!^e

The Sermon on the Plain: On Judging Others

³⁷“And do not judge, and you will never be judged. And do not condemn, and you will never be condemned. Pardon, and you will be pardoned. ³⁸Give, and it will be given to you, a good measure—pressed down, shaken, overflowing—they will pour out into your lap. For with the measure by which you measure out, it will be measured out to you in return.”