The Beatitudes^(A)

5 And seeing the multitudes, ^(B)He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. ² Then He opened His mouth and ^(C)taught them, saying:

^11 (N)Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of ^(O)evil against you falsely for My sake. ^12 (P)Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for ^(Q)so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Believers Are Salt and Light^(R)

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth; ^(S)but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

^14 (T)“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do they ^(U)light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, ^(V)that they may see your good works and ^(W)glorify your Father in heaven.

Christ Fulfills the Law

^17 (X)“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. ¹⁸ For assuredly, I say to you, ^(Y)till heaven and earth pass away, one ^[b]jot or one ^[c]tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. ^19 (Z)Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds ^(AA)the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Murder Begins in the Heart^(AB)

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to those ^[d]of old, ^(AC)‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ ²² But I say to you that ^(AD)whoever is angry with his brother ^[e]without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ^(AE)‘Raca!’^[f] shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ^[g]‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of ^[h]hell fire. ²³ Therefore ^(AF)if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, ^24 (AG)leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ^25 (AH)Agree with your adversary quickly, ^(AI)while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. ²⁶ Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.

Adultery in the Heart

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said ^[i]to those of old, ^(AJ)‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I say to you that whoever ^(AK)looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ^29 (AL)If your right eye causes you to ^[j]sin, ^(AM)pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to ^[k]sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

Marriage Is Sacred and Binding^(AN)

³¹ “Furthermore it has been said, ^(AO)‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³² But I say to you that ^(AP)whoever divorces his wife for any reason except ^[l]sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

Jesus Forbids Oaths

³³ “Again you have heard that ^(AQ)it was said to those of ^[m]old, ^(AR)‘You shall not swear falsely, but ^(AS)shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ ³⁴ But I say to you, ^(AT)do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is ^(AU)God’s throne; ³⁵ nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of ^(AV)the great King. ³⁶ Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. ^37 (AW)But let ^[n]your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

Go the Second Mile^(AX)

³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ^(AY)‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ^39 (AZ)But I tell you not to resist an evil person. ^(BA)But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. ⁴⁰ If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. ⁴¹ And whoever ^(BB)compels you to go one mile, go with him two. ⁴² Give to him who asks you, and ^(BC)from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

Love Your Enemies^(BD)

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ^(BE)‘You shall love your neighbor ^(BF)and hate your enemy.’ ^44 [o]But I say to you, ^(BG)love your enemies, bless those who curse you, ^(BH)do good to those who hate you, and pray ^(BI)for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for ^(BJ)He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ^46 (BK)For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet your ^[p]brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the ^[q]tax collectors do so? ^48 (BL)Therefore you shall be perfect, just ^(BM)as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Submit to Government

13 Let every soul be ^(A)subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. ² Therefore whoever resists ^(B)the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will ^[a]bring judgment on themselves. ³ For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? ^(C)Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. ⁴ For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. ⁵ Therefore ^(D)you must be subject, not only because of wrath ^(E)but also for conscience’ sake. ⁶ For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. ^7 (F)Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

Love Your Neighbor^(G)

⁸ Owe no one anything except to love one another, for ^(H)he who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹ For the commandments, ^(I)“You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” ^[b]“You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, ^(J)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore ^(K)love is the fulfillment of the law.

Put on Christ

¹¹ And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time ^(L)to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. ¹² The night is far spent, the day is at hand. ^(M)Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and ^(N)let us put on the armor of light. ^13 (O)Let us walk ^[c]properly, as in the day, ^(P)not in revelry and drunkenness, ^(Q)not in lewdness and lust, ^(R)not in strife and envy. ¹⁴ But ^(S)put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and ^(T)make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.