Matthew 4–12

The Temptation of Jesus

4Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil, ²and after he^* had fasted forty days and forty nights, then he was hungry. ³And the tempter approached and^* said to him, “If you are the Son of God, order that these stones become bread.” ⁴But he answered and^* said, “It is written, ‘Man will not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’ ”^a

⁵Then the devil took him to the holy city^b and placed him on the highest point of the temple ⁶and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down! For it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning you,’^c

and

‘On their hands they will lift you up,

lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”^d

⁷Jesus said to him, “On the other hand it is written, ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”^e

⁸Again 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, “I will give to you all these things, if you will fall down and^* worship me.” ¹⁰Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan, for it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’ ”^{f 11}Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and began ministering to him.

Public Ministry in Galilee

¹²Now when he^* heard that John had been arrested,^g he withdrew into Galilee. ¹³And leaving Nazareth, he went and^* lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, ¹⁴in order that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled, who said,

¹⁵“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,

toward the sea,^h on the other side of the Jordan,

Galilee of the Gentilesⁱ—

¹⁶the people who sit in darkness

have seen a great light,

and the ones who sit in the land and shadow of death,

a light has dawned on them.”^j

¹⁷From that time on, Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is near.”

Jesus Calls His First Disciples

¹⁸Now as he^* was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew, throwing a casting net into the sea (for they were fishermen). ¹⁹And he said to them, “Follow me^k and I will make you fishers of people.” ²⁰And immediately they left their nets and^* followed him. ²¹And going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. ²²And immediately they left the boat and their father and^* followed him.

Teaching, Preaching, and Healing throughout Galilee

²³And he went around through all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and every sickness among the people. ²⁴And a report about him went out throughout^l Syria, and they brought to him all those who were sick^m with various diseases and afflicted by torments, demon-possessedⁿ and epileptics and paralytics, and he healed them. ²⁵And large crowds followed him from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from the other side of the Jordan.

The Sermon on the Mount: The Beatitudes

5Now when he^* saw the crowds, he went up the mountain and after he^* sat down, his disciples approached him. ²And opening his mouth he began to teach them, saying,

³“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

because theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴Blessed are the ones who mourn,

because they will be comforted.

⁵Blessed are the meek,

because they will inherit the earth.

⁶Blessed are the ones who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

because they will be satisfied.

⁷Blessed are the merciful,

because they will be shown mercy.

⁸Blessed are the pure in heart,

because they will see God.

⁹Blessed are the peacemakers,

because they will be called sons of God.

¹⁰Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

because theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹Blessed are you

when they insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things against you, lying on account of me. ¹²Rejoice and be glad, because your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.

The Sermon on the Mount: Salt and Light

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. ¹⁴You are the light of the world. A city located on top of a hill cannot be hidden, ¹⁵nor do they light a lamp and place it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it shines on all those in the house. ¹⁶In 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.

The Sermon on the Mount: The Law and the Prophets Fulfilled

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. ¹⁸For 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. ¹⁹Therefore 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. ²⁰For 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.

The Sermon on the Mount: Anger Toward Others

²¹“You have heard that it was said to the people of old,^a ‘Do not commit murder,’^b and ‘whoever commits murder will be subject to judgment.’ ²²But 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!’^c will be subject to the council, and whoever says, ‘Obstinate fool!’^d will be subject to fiery hell. ²³Therefore if you present your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there before the altar and first go be reconciled to your brother, and then come and^* present your gift. ²⁵Settle the case quickly with your accuser^e 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. ²⁶Truly I say to you, you will never come out of there until you have paid back the last penny!

The Sermon on the Mount: Adultery and Lust

²⁷“You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’^{f 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. ²⁹And 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. ³⁰And 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.

The Sermon on the Mount: Divorce

³¹“And it was said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’^{g 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.

The Sermon on the Mount: Taking Oaths

³³“Again you have heard that it was said to the people of old,^h ‘Do not swear falsely,ⁱ but fulfill your oaths to the Lord.’^{j 34}But I say to you, do not swear at all, either by heaven, because it is the throne of God, ³⁵or by the earth, because it is the footstool of his feet, or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great king. ³⁶And do not swear by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black. ³⁷But let your statement be ‘Yes, yes; no, no,’ and anything beyond these is from the evil one.^k

The Sermon on the Mount: Retaliation

³⁸“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’^{l 39}But I say to you, do not resist the evildoer, but whoever strikes you on the right cheek,^m turn the other to him also. ⁴⁰And the one who wants to go to court with you and take your tunic, let him haveⁿ your outer garment also. ⁴¹And whoever forces you to go one mile,^o go with him two. ⁴²Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

The Sermon on the Mount: Love for Enemies

⁴³“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’^p and ‘Hate your enemy.’^{q 44}But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵in 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. ⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not the tax collectors also do the same? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing that is remarkable? Do not the Gentiles also do the same? ⁴⁸Therefore you be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.

The Sermon on the Mount: Charitable Giving

6“And take care not to practice your righteousness before people to be seen by them; otherwise^a you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. ²Therefore 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! ³But you, when you^* practice charitable giving, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴in order that your charitable giving may be in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

The Sermon on the Mount: How to Pray

⁵And 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…