The Sermon on the Mount; The Beatitudes

5 ^(A)Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on ^(B)the ^[a]mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. ² And ^(C)He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,

³ “^[b](D)Blessed are the poor in spirit, for ^(E)theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ “Blessed are ^(F)those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

⁵ “Blessed are ^(G)the ^[c]gentle, for they will inherit the earth.

⁶ “Blessed are ^(H)those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

⁷ “Blessed are ^(I)the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

⁸ “Blessed are ^(J)the pure in heart, for ^(K)they will see God.

⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for ^(L)they will be called sons of God.

¹⁰ “Blessed are those who have been ^(M)persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for ^(N)theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people ^(O)insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for ^(P)in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Disciples and the World

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth; but ^(Q)if the salt has become tasteless, how ^[d]can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by people.

¹⁴ “You are ^(R)the light of the world. A city set on a ^[e]hill cannot be hidden; ^15 (S)nor do people light a lamp and put it under a ^[f]basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may ^(T)see your good works, and ^(U)glorify your Father who is in heaven.

¹⁷ “Do not presume that I came to abolish the ^(V)Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. ¹⁸ For truly I say to you, ^(W)until heaven and earth pass away, not ^[g]the smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law, until all is accomplished! ¹⁹ Therefore, whoever nullifies one of the least of these commandments, and teaches ^[h]others to do the same, shall be called least ^(X)in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever ^[i]keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

²⁰ “For I say to you that unless your ^(Y)righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Personal Relationships

²¹ “^(Z)You have heard that ^[j]the ancients were told, ‘^(AA)You shall not murder,’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be answerable to ^(AB)the court.’ ²² But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be answerable to ^(AC)the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘^[k]You good-for-nothing,’ shall be answerable to ^[l](AD)the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the ^[m](AE)fiery hell. ²³ Therefore, if you are ^(AF)presenting your ^[n]offering at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your ^[o]offering there before the altar and go; first be ^(AG)reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your ^[p]offering. ^25 (AH)[q]Come to good terms with your accuser quickly, while you are with him on the way to court, so that your accuser will not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you will not be thrown into prison. ²⁶ Truly I say to you, ^(AI)you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last ^[r]quadrans.

²⁷ “^(AJ)You have heard that it was said, ‘^(AK)You shall not commit adultery’; ²⁸ but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman ^(AL)with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ Now ^(AM)if your right eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, ^[s]than for your whole body to be thrown into ^[t](AN)hell. ³⁰ And ^(AO)if your right hand is causing you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you; for it is better for you ^[u]to lose one of the parts of your body, ^[v]than for your whole body to go into ^[w](AP)hell.

³¹ “Now it was said, ‘^(AQ)Whoever sends his wife away is to give her a certificate of divorce’; ^32 (AR)but I say to you that everyone who ^[x]divorces his wife, except for the reason of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a ^[y]divorced woman commits adultery.

³³ “Again, ^(AS)you have heard that ^[z]the ancients were told, ‘^[aa](AT)You shall not ^[ab]make false vows, but shall fulfill your ^[ac]vows to the Lord.’ ³⁴ But I say to you, ^(AU)take no oath at all, neither by heaven, for it is ^(AV)the throne of God, ³⁵ nor by the earth, for it is the ^(AW)footstool of His feet, nor ^[ad]by Jerusalem, for it is ^(AX)the city of the great King. ³⁶ Nor shall you take an oath by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. ³⁷ But make sure your statement is, ‘^[ae]Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is ^[af]of ^(AY)evil origin.

³⁸ “^(AZ)You have heard that it was said, ‘^(BA)Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ ³⁹ But I say to you, do not show opposition against an evil person; but ^(BB)whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other toward him also. ⁴⁰ And if anyone wants to sue you and take your ^[ag]tunic, let him have your ^[ah]cloak also. ⁴¹ Whoever ^[ai]forces you to go one mile, go with him two. ^42 (BC)Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

⁴³ “^(BD)You have heard that it was said, ‘^(BE)You shall love your neighbor ^(BF)and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, ^(BG)love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may prove yourselves to be ^(BH)sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ For ^(BI)if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors, do they not do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Even the Gentiles, do they not do the same? ⁴⁸ Therefore ^(BJ)you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

6 ^(A)Now it happened that ^[a]Jesus was passing through some grainfields on a Sabbath, and His disciples ^(B)were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. ² But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what ^(C)is not lawful on the Sabbath?” ³ And Jesus, answering them, said, “Have you not even read ^(D)what 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 ^[b]consecrated bread, which ^(E)is not lawful for anyone 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 (F)On another Sabbath He entered ^(G)the synagogue and taught; and a man was there ^[c]whose right hand was withered. ⁷ Now the scribes and the Pharisees ^(H)were watching Him ^[d]closely to see if He healed on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse Him. ⁸ But He ^(I)knew ^[e]what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and ^[f]come forward!” And he got up and ^[g]came forward. ⁹ And Jesus said to them, “I ask you whether it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do harm, to save a life or to destroy it?” ¹⁰ And after ^(J)looking 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 senseless rage, and began discussing together what they might do to Jesus.

Choosing the Twelve

¹² Now it was ^[h]at this time that He went off to ^(K)the mountain to ^(L)pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer with God. ¹³ And when day came, ^(M)He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as ^(N)apostles: ¹⁴ Simon, whom He also named Peter, and his brother Andrew; and ^[i]James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew; ¹⁵ and ^(O)Matthew 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 And then Jesus ^(P)came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was ^(Q)a large crowd of His disciples, and a great multitude of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and the coastal region of ^(R)Tyre and Sidon, ¹⁸ who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled by unclean spirits were being cured. ¹⁹ And all the ^[j]people were trying to ^(S)touch Him, because ^(T)power was coming from Him and healing them all.

The Beatitudes

²⁰ And He raised His eyes toward His disciples and began saying, “^(U)Blessed are ^[k]you who are poor, for ^(V)yours is the kingdom of God. ²¹ Blessed are ^[l]you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are ^[m]you who weep now, for you will laugh. ^22 (W)Blessed are you when the people hate you, and when they ^[n](X)exclude you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man. ²³ Rejoice on that day and ^(Y)jump for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For their fathers used to ^[o]treat the prophets ^(Z)the same way. ²⁴ But woe to ^(AA)you who are rich, for ^(AB)you are receiving your comfort in full. ²⁵ Woe to you who ^[p]are well-fed now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. ²⁶ Woe to you when all the people speak well of you; for their fathers used to ^[q]treat the ^(AC)false prophets the same way.

²⁷ “But I say to you who hear, ^(AD)love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, ^(AE)pray for those who are abusive to you. ^29 (AF)Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your ^[r]cloak, do not withhold your ^[s]tunic from him either. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. ^31 [t](AG)Treat people the same way you want them to ^[u]treat you. ^32 (AH)If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ^34 (AI)And if 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 ^(AJ)love your enemies and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be ^(AK)sons of ^(AL)the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil people. ^36 [v]Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

³⁷ “^(AM)Do not ^[w]judge, and you will not be judged; and do not ^[x]condemn, and you will not be condemned; ^[y](AN)pardon, and you will be pardoned. ³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. They will ^[z]pour ^(AO)into your lap a ^(AP)good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

³⁹ Now He also spoke a parable to them: “^(AQ)A person who is blind cannot guide another who is blind, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit? ^40 (AR)A ^[aa]student is not above the teacher; but everyone, when he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher. ⁴¹ Why do you look at the ^[ab]speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴² How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the ^[ac]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 ^[ad]speck that is in your brother’s eye. ^43 (AS)For there is no good tree that bears bad fruit, nor, ^[ae]on the other hand, a bad tree that bears good fruit. ^44 (AT)For each tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. ^45 (AU)The good person out of the good ^[af]treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil person out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; ^(AV)for his mouth speaks from ^[ag]that which fills his heart.

The Parable of the Builders

⁴⁶ “Now ^(AW)why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? ^47 (AX)Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and ^[ah]acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: ⁴⁸ he is like a man building a house, who ^[ai]dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when there was a flood, the river burst against that house and yet it 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 a foundation; and the river burst against it and it immediately collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

Dedicated Service

12 Therefore ^(A)I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to ^(B)present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, ^[a]acceptable to God, which is your ^[b]spiritual service of worship. ² And do not ^(C)be conformed to ^(D)this ^[c]world, but be transformed by the ^(E)renewing of your mind, so that you may ^[d](F)prove what the will of God is, that which is good and ^[e]acceptable and perfect.

³ For through ^(G)the grace given to me I say to everyone among you ^(H)not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to ^(I)each a measure of faith. ⁴ For ^(J)just as we have many parts in one body and all ^[f]the body’s parts do not have the same function, ⁵ so we, ^(K)who are many, are ^(L)one body in Christ, and individually parts of one another. ⁶ However, since we have gifts that ^(M)differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to use them properly: if ^(N)prophecy, ^[g]in proportion to one’s faith; ⁷ if ^[h](O)service, in the act of serving; or the one who ^(P)teaches, in the act of teaching; ⁸ or the one who ^[i](Q)exhorts, in the work of ^[j]exhortation; the one who gives, with ^[k](R)generosity; ^(S)the one who ^[l]is in leadership, with diligence; the one who shows mercy, with ^(T)cheerfulness.

^9 [m](U)Love must be free of hypocrisy. ^(V)Detest what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰ Be ^(W)devoted to one another in brotherly love; ^[n]give preference to one another ^(X)in honor, ¹¹ not lagging behind in diligence, ^(Y)fervent in spirit, ^(Z)serving the Lord; ^12 (AA)rejoicing in hope, ^(AB)persevering in tribulation, ^(AC)devoted to prayer, ^13 (AD)contributing to the needs of the ^[o]saints, ^[p](AE)practicing hospitality.

^14 (AF)Bless those who persecute ^[q]you; bless and do not curse. ^15 (AG)Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. ^16 (AH)Be of the same mind toward one another; ^(AI)do not be ^[r]haughty in mind, but ^[s]associate with the lowly. ^(AJ)Do not be wise in your own estimation. ^17 (AK)Never repay evil for evil to anyone. ^[t](AL)Respect what is right in the sight of all people. ¹⁸ If possible, ^(AM)so far as it depends on you, ^(AN)be at peace with all people. ^19 (AO)Never take your own revenge, beloved, but ^[u]leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: “^(AP)Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ “^(AQ)But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

The Day of the Lord

5 Now as to the ^(A)periods and ^[a]times, brothers and sisters, you ^(B)have no need of anything to be written to you. ² For you yourselves know full well that ^(C)the day of the Lord is coming ^(D)just like a thief in the night. ³ While they are saying, “^(E)Peace and safety!” then ^(F)sudden destruction ^[b]will come upon them like ^(G)labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. ⁴ But you, brothers and sisters, are not in ^(H)darkness, so that the day would overtake you ^[c](I)like a thief; ⁵ for you are all ^(J)sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of ^(K)darkness; ⁶ so then, let’s not ^(L)sleep as ^[d](M)others do, but let’s be alert and ^[e](N)sober. ⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk, ^(O)get drunk at night. ⁸ But since ^(P)we are of the day, let’s ^(Q)be ^[f]sober, having put on the ^(R)breastplate of ^(S)faith and love, and as a ^(T)helmet, the ^(U)hope of salvation. ⁹ For God has not destined us for ^(V)wrath, but for ^(W)obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ^10 (X)who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. ¹¹ Therefore, ^[g]encourage one another and ^(Y)build one another up, just as you also are doing.

Christian Conduct

¹² But we ask you, brothers and sisters, to ^(Z)recognize those ^(AA)who diligently labor among you and ^[h](AB)are in leadership over you in the Lord, and give you ^[i]instruction, ¹³ and that you regard them very highly in love because of their work. ^(AC)Live in peace with one another. ¹⁴ We urge you, brothers and sisters, admonish ^(AD)the ^[j]unruly, encourage ^(AE)the fainthearted, help ^(AF)the weak, be ^(AG)patient with everyone. ¹⁵ See that ^(AH)no one repays another with evil for evil, but always ^(AI)seek what is good for one another and for all people. ^16 (AJ)Rejoice always, ^17 (AK)pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ in everything ^(AL)give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. ^19 (AM)Do not quench the Spirit, ²⁰ do not utterly reject ^[k](AN)prophecies, ²¹ but ^(AO)examine everything; ^(AP)hold firmly to that which is good, ²² abstain from every ^[l]form of evil.

²³ Now ^(AQ)may the God of peace ^(AR)Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your ^(AS)spirit and soul and body be kept complete, ^(AT)without blame at ^(AU)the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ^24 (AV)Faithful is He who ^(AW)calls you, and He also will do it.

²⁵ Brothers and sisters, ^(AX)pray for us^[m].

^26 (AY)Greet all the brothers and sisters with a holy kiss. ²⁷ I put you under oath by the Lord to ^(AZ)have this letter read to all the ^(BA)brothers and sisters.

^28 (BB)May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.