Chapter 6

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

1 aNow it happened that He was passing through some grainfields on a Sabbath; and His disciples bwere picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating the grain.

2 But some of the Pharisees said, “Why do you do what ais not lawful on the Sabbath?”

3 And Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read awhat David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him,

4 how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the 1consecrated bread which ais not lawful for any to eat except the priests alone, and gave it to his companions?”

5 And He was saying to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

6 abOn another Sabbath He entered cthe synagogue and was teaching; and there was a man there 1whose right hand was withered.

7 The scribes and the Pharisees awere watching Him closely to see if He healed on the Sabbath, so that they might find reason to accuse Him.

8 But He aknew 1what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and 2come forward!” And he got up and 3came forward.

9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?”

10 After alooking around at them all, He said to him, “Stretch out your hand!” And he did so; and his hand was restored.

11 But they themselves were filled with 1rage, and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.

Choosing the Twelve

12 It was 1at this time that He went off to athe mountain to bpray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.

13 And when day came, aHe called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as bapostles:

14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and 1James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew;

15 and aMatthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot;

16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

17 Jesus acame down with them and stood on a level place; and there was ba large crowd of His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of cTyre and Sidon,

18 who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured.

19 And all the 1people were trying to atouch Him, for bpower was coming from Him and healing them all.

The Beatitudes

20 And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “aBlessed are 1you who are poor, for byours is the kingdom of God.

21 “Blessed are 1you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

22 “aBlessed are you when men hate you, and bostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.

23 “Be glad in that day and aleap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For bin the same way their fathers used to 1treat the prophets.

24 “But woe to ayou who are rich, for byou are receiving your comfort in full.

25 “Woe to you who 1are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

26 “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to 1treat the afalse prophets in the same way.

27 “But I say to you who hear, alove your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

28 bless those who curse you, apray for those who 1mistreat you.

29 “aWhoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your 1coat, do not withhold your 2shirt from him either.

30 “Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.

31 “1aTreat others the same way you want 2them to treat you.

32 “aIf you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

33 “If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

34 “aIf you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.

35 “But alove your enemies, and do good, and lend, 1expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be bsons of cthe Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

36 “1Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

37 “aDo not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; 1bpardon, and you will be pardoned.

38 “Give, and it will be given to you. They will 1pour ainto your lap a bgood measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

39 And He also spoke a parable to them: “aA blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?

40 “aA 1pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will 2be like his teacher.

41 “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

42 “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

43 “aFor there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, 1on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit.

44 “aFor each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.

45 “aThe good man out of the good 1treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; bfor his mouth speaks from 2that which fills his heart.

Builders and Foundations

46 “aWhy do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?

47 “aEveryone who comes to Me and hears My words and 1acts on them, I will show you whom he is like:

48 he is like a man building a house, who 1dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the 2torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.

49 “But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the 1torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”