Luke 6

²⁵When you enter your neighbor’s grainfield, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but you must not put a sickle to your neighbor’s grain.

²³One Sabbath Jesus was passing through the grainfields, and His disciples began to pick the heads of grain as they walked along.

²⁴So the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

¹At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.

²When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”

⁷On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly; you are not to do any regular work.

¹⁵For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you are to remove the leaven from your houses. Whoever eats anything leavened from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel.

¹⁰“Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘When you enter the land that I am giving you and you reap its harvest, you are to bring to the priest a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest.

¹¹And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord so that it may be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath.

²When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”

¹⁶Now because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews began to persecute Him.

²For six days work may be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of complete rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on that day must be put to death.

¹⁴Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened his eyes was a Sabbath.

¹⁵So the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. The man answered, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.”

⁹Immediately the man was made well, and he picked up his mat and began to walk. Now this happened on the Sabbath day,

¹⁰so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “This is the Sabbath! It is unlawful for you to carry your mat.”

³³Then they said to Him, “John’s disciples and those of the Pharisees frequently fast and pray, but Yours keep on eating and drinking.”

³Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.”

⁴“There is no common bread on hand,” the priest replied, “but there is some consecrated bread—provided that the young men have kept themselves from women.”

²⁵Jesus replied, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need?

²⁶During the high priesthood of Abiathar, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which was lawful only for the priests. And he gave some to his companions as well.”

³Jesus replied, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?

⁴He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for them to eat, but only for the priests.

¹⁶“Do You hear what these children are saying?” they asked. “Yes,” Jesus answered. “Have you never read: ‘From the mouths of children and infants You have ordained praise’?”

²⁶But concerning the dead rising, have you not read about the burning bush in the Book of Moses, how God told him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?

¹⁰Have you never read this Scripture: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

⁵You are also to take fine flour and bake twelve loaves, using two-tenths of an ephah for each loaf,

⁶and set them in two rows—six per row—on the table of pure gold before the Lord.

²⁷Then Jesus declared, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

¹⁰On the Lord’s day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,

⁷Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him!”

⁵The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.

⁶Blessed is the one who does not fall away on account of Me.”

¹Once again Jesus entered the synagogue, and a man with a withered hand was there.

²In order to accuse Jesus, they were watching to see if He would heal on the Sabbath.

⁹Moving on from there, Jesus entered their synagogue,

¹⁰and a man with a withered hand was there. In order to accuse Jesus, they asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

²³Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

³On these walkways lay a great number of the sick, the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed.

³¹Then He went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath He began to teach the people.

¹⁶Because of this, some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a sinful man perform such signs?” And there was division among them.

²⁰So they watched Him closely and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They were hoping to catch Him in His words in order to hand Him over to the rule and authority of the governor.

¹²Those who seek my life lay snares; those who wish me harm speak destruction, plotting deceit all day long.

³²Though the wicked lie in wait for the righteous, and seek to slay them,

³³the Lord will not leave them in their power or let them be condemned under judgment.

²In order to accuse Jesus, they were watching to see if He would heal on the Sabbath.

²⁶“What did He do to you?” they asked. “How did He open your eyes?”

²⁷He replied, “I already told you, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?”

⁵³As Jesus went on from there, the scribes and Pharisees began to oppose Him bitterly and to ply Him with questions about many things,

⁵⁴waiting to catch Him in something He might say.

⁴He will not grow weak or discouraged before He has established justice on the earth. In His law the islands will put their hope.”

⁴But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, “Why do you harbor evil in your hearts?

²³Then I will strike her children dead, and all the churches will know that I am the One who searches minds and hearts, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.

²⁸without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a clear sign of their destruction but of your salvation, and it is from God.

¹Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves with the same resolve, because anyone who has suffered in his body is done with sin.

²²Knowing what they were thinking, Jesus replied, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?

⁴And He asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” But they were silent.

¹²How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

¹³Then Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored to full use, just like the other.

³So Jesus asked the experts in the law and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”

¹⁹Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps it. Why are you trying to kill Me?”

²⁰“You have a demon,” the crowd replied. “Who is trying to kill You?”

⁵⁶And He and His disciples went on to another village.

⁵Jesus looked around at them with anger and sorrow at their hardness of heart. Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored.

⁶Furthermore, the Lord said to Moses, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, his hand was leprous, white as snow.

⁷“Put your hand back inside your cloak,” said the Lord. So Moses put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his skin.

⁶Then the king responded to the man of God, “Intercede with the Lord your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him as it was before.

²⁰He sent forth His word and healed them; He rescued them from the Pit.

⁸Then Jesus told him, “Get up, pick up your mat, and walk.”

¹Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?

²The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together, against the Lord and against His Anointed One:

³³When the Council members heard this, they were enraged, and they resolved to put the apostles to death.

³This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun: There is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive, and afterward they join the dead.

⁴⁵When the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they knew that Jesus was speaking about them.

⁴⁷Then the chief priests and Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we to do? This man is performing many signs.

¹⁹But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than God.

⁷During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence.

⁴⁶After bidding them farewell, He went up on the mountain to pray.

³⁵Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and went out to a solitary place to pray.

³⁴Then He said to them, “My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch.”

³⁵Going a little farther, He fell to the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour would pass from Him.

²³After He had dismissed them, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone,

²⁴but the boat was already far from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

⁶But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

¹³Then Jesus went up on the mountain and called for those He wanted, and they came to Him.

¹⁴He appointed twelve of them, whom He designated as apostles, to accompany Him, to be sent out to preach,

¹⁴The wall of the city had twelve foundations bearing the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

⁷Then Jesus called the Twelve to Him and began to send them out two by two, giving them authority over unclean spirits.

³⁶When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

¹¹And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,

²⁰built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone.

¹³When they arrived, they went to the upper room where they were staying: Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.

²¹Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus called them,

⁴⁰Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John’s testimony and followed Jesus.

⁴¹He first found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated as Christ).

¹Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:

¹⁵When they had finished eating, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love Me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he answered, “You know I love You.” Jesus replied, “Feed My lambs.”

¹⁶Jesus asked a second time, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?” “Yes, Lord,” he answered, “You know I love You.” Jesus told him, “Shepherd My sheep.”

¹⁸As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.

⁹As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth. “Follow Me,” He told him, and Matthew got up and followed Him.

¹³When they arrived, they went to the upper room where they were staying: Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.

¹⁸Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot,

³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;

⁴Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus.

⁹And recognizing the grace that I had been given, James, Cephas, and John—those reputed to be pillars—gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.

¹James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes of the Dispersion: Greetings.

⁷⁰Jesus answered them, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!”

⁷¹He was speaking about Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. For although Judas was one of the Twelve, he was later to betray Jesus.

¹Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who are called, loved by God the Father, and kept in Jesus Christ:

³When Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was filled with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders.

⁴“I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,” he said. “What is that to us?” they replied. “You bear the responsibility.”

²²Judas (not Iscariot) asked Him, “Lord, why are You going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?”

¹⁴Then one of the Twelve, the one called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests

¹⁵and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver.

³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;

²¹“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

¹⁷Fools, in their rebellious ways, and through their iniquities, suffered affliction.

¹⁸They loathed all food and drew near to the gates of death.

¹⁴When He stepped ashore and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them and healed their sick.

⁷So Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea, accompanied by a large crowd from Galilee, Judea,

⁸Jerusalem, Idumea, the region beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon. The large crowd came to Him when they heard what great things He was doing.

¹⁵Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. Large crowds followed Him, and He healed them all,

³He who forgives all your iniquities and heals all your diseases,

²²And a Canaanite woman from that region came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is miserably possessed by a demon.”

¹⁵“Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water.

¹⁶Crowds also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and all of them were healed.

³⁶and begged Him just to let them touch the fringe of His cloak. And all who touched Him were healed.

¹⁰For He had healed so many that all who had diseases were pressing forward to touch Him.

¹⁵As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.

¹⁶Crowds also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and all of them were healed.

⁵⁶And wherever He went—villages and towns and countrysides—they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged Him just to let them touch the fringe of His cloak. And all who touched Him were healed.

³⁰At once Jesus was aware that power had gone out from Him. Turning to the crowd, He asked, “Who touched My garments?”

⁴⁵“Who touched Me?” Jesus asked. But they all denied it. “Master,” said Peter, “the people are crowding and pressing against You.”

⁴⁶But Jesus declared, “Someone touched Me, for I know that power has gone out from Me.”

⁵Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?

²⁰Looking up at His disciples, Jesus said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

²¹Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

⁹For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.

³²Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.

³⁴Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

²and He began to teach them, saying:

³“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

³⁵Jesus answered, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst.

¹²Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.

⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

¹The Spirit of the Lord God is on Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,

²to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn,

¹⁶‘Never again will they hunger, and never will they thirst; nor will the sun beat down upon them, nor any scorching heat.’

⁴Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

¹⁰Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

²²You will be hated by everyone because of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.

¹²Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you.

¹³But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory.

¹⁴But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be shaken.”

¹⁴For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own countrymen the very things they suffered from the Jews,

¹⁵who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets and drove us out as well. They are displeasing to God and hostile to all men,

⁵You who tremble at His word, hear the word of the Lord: “Your brothers who hate you and exclude you because of My name have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified that we may see your joy!’ But they will be put to shame.”

⁴¹The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.

⁷The one who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son.

⁵Like them, he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His angels.

¹²The one who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will never again leave it. Upon him I will write the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from My God), and My new name.

²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds,

¹²Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.

⁶They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches.

⁷No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God.

²So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.

¹⁷Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.

¹⁶Do not be afraid when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases.

¹⁷For when he dies, he will carry nothing away; his abundance will not follow him down.

¹Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you.

²Your riches have rotted and moths have eaten your clothes.

⁶But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?

¹³Therefore this is what the Lord God says: “My servants will eat, but you will go hungry; My servants will drink, but you will go thirsty; My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame.

⁹Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom.

¹³Even in laughter the heart may ache, and joy may end in sorrow.

¹⁴The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all of this and were scoffing at Jesus.

¹⁵So He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is prized among men is detestable before God.

¹⁷You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.

¹⁰I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation. I will cause everyone to wear sackcloth and every head to be shaved. I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son, and its outcome like a bitter day.

¹⁹If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.

⁴You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God.

¹⁵Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

⁵They are of the world. That is why they speak from the world’s perspective, and the world listens to them.

⁶We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. That is how we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception.

¹¹If a man of wind were to come and say falsely, “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,” he would be just the preacher for this people!

¹⁰They say to the seers, “Stop seeing visions!” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us the truth! Speak to us pleasant words; prophesy illusions.

¹⁵Make sure that no one repays evil for evil. Always pursue what is good for one another and for all people.

³⁵But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

²¹If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.

²²For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.

¹⁷Do not gloat when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,

¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody.

¹⁸If it is possible on your part, live at peace with everyone.

⁴³You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’

⁴⁴But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

⁹Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

¹⁴Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse.

¹²We work hard with our own hands. When we are vilified, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it;

³⁴Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up His garments by casting lots.

¹⁰Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, this should not be!

²⁷But to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

³⁴You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, knowing that you yourselves had a better and permanent possession.

³⁹But I tell you not to resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also;

⁴⁰if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well;

²⁰In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or exalts himself or strikes you in the face.

⁶I offered My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard. I did not hide My face from scorn and spittle.

⁷The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means that you are thoroughly defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?

⁶⁷Then they spit in His face and struck Him. Others slapped Him

⁷If there is a poor man among your brothers within any of the gates in the land that the Lord your God is giving you, then you are not to harden your heart or shut your hand from your poor brother.

⁸Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him whatever he needs.

³⁵In everything, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus Himself: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

⁷Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

⁸Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will come quickly. Your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

¹For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Blessed is the one who cares for the poor; the Lord will deliver him in the day of trouble.

¹²And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

⁹For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.

¹²In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets.

¹⁴The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

³⁹And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

⁸If you really fulfill the royal law stated in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.

⁹But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

⁴⁶If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even tax collectors do the same?

⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even Gentiles do the same?

¹⁹For if anyone endures the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God, this is to be commended.

²⁰How is it to your credit if you are beaten for doing wrong and you endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.

⁴²Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

¹²Then Jesus said to the man who had invited Him, “When you host a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or brothers or relatives or rich neighbors. Otherwise, they may invite you in return, and you will be repaid.

¹³But when you host a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind,

³⁵But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

⁸Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him whatever he needs.

⁹Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought in your heart: “The seventh year, the year of release, is near,” so that you look upon your poor brother begrudgingly and give him nothing. He will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.

⁴⁴But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

⁴⁵that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

³⁵By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”

¹⁷Kindness to the poor is a loan to the Lord, and He will repay the lender.

⁸But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

⁹Therefore, since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him!

⁹The Lord is good to all; His compassion rests on all He has made.

³⁵Now if your countryman becomes destitute and cannot support himself among you, then you are to help him as you would a foreigner or stranger, so that he can continue to live among you.

³⁶Do not take any interest or profit from him, but fear your God, that your countryman may live among you.

¹Be imitators of God, therefore, as beloved children,

²and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant sacrificial offering to God.

⁴⁸Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

¹⁵But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do,

¹⁶for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

³¹Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.

³²Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.

⁹Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Look, the Judge is standing at the door!

¹“Do not judge, or you will be judged.

²For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

²⁵And when you stand to pray, if you hold anything against another, forgive it, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your trespasses as well.”

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs.

¹You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

²And we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.

⁶Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

⁷Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.

¹⁰Give generously to him, and do not let your heart be grieved when you do so. And because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything to which you put your hand.

²⁴He went on to say, “Pay attention to what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and even more will be added to you.

⁹Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your crops;

¹⁰then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.

²For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

⁹A generous man will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.

¹⁴Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

¹³while evil men and imposters go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

¹⁶For those who guide this people mislead them, and those they mislead are swallowed up.

¹⁶Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’

¹⁷You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred?

³If anyone teaches another doctrine and disagrees with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with godly teaching,

⁴he is conceited and understands nothing. Instead, he has an unhealthy interest in controversies and disputes about words, out of which come envy, strife, abusive talk, evil suspicions,

¹⁵Therefore this is what the Lord says about the prophets who prophesy in My name: I did not send them, yet they say, ‘No sword or famine will touch this land.’ By sword and famine these very prophets will meet their end!

¹⁶And the people to whom they prophesy will be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem because of famine and sword. There will be no one to bury them or their wives, their sons or their daughters. I will pour out their own evil upon them.

¹⁶Truly, truly, I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.

²⁴A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.

²⁵It is enough for a disciple to be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!

²⁰Remember the word that I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well.

¹⁵Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You traverse land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.

⁷When they continued to question Him, He straightened up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone at her.”

²⁴and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

¹You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

²¹you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?

²²You who forbid adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?

³Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye but fail to notice the beam in your own eye?

⁴How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while there is still a beam in your own eye?

⁵David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan: “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die!

⁶Because he has done this thing and has shown no pity, he must pay for the lamb four times over.”

²¹you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?

²²You who forbid adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?

¹⁰You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous, and blameless our conduct was among you who believed.

¹¹For you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children—

⁹Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities.

¹⁰Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

¹⁷You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.

¹⁸I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, white garments so that you may be clothed and your shameful nakedness not exposed, and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.

²¹So if anyone cleanses himself of what is unfit, he will be a vessel for honor: sanctified, useful to the Master, and prepared for every good work.

¹³Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.

¹⁴

³³Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is known by its fruit.

¹⁶By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

¹⁷Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

²¹I had planted you like a choice vine from the very best seed. How could you turn yourself before Me into a rotten, wild vine?

¹⁰The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹²The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

¹³Planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God.

⁴What more could have been done for My vineyard than I have done for it? Why, when I expected sweet grapes, did it bring forth sour fruit?

¹²My brothers, can a fig tree grow olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

³³Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is known by its fruit.

¹⁹The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;

²⁰idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions,

¹¹For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to everyone.

¹²It instructs us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

¹²These men are hidden reefs in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after being uprooted.

²³Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.

³⁴You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.

³⁵The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure.

²⁹Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.

³⁸Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’”

³⁰The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.

³¹The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not falter.

¹²By the sins of their mouths and the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride, in the curses and lies they utter.

⁷Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.

²¹Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

²²Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’

⁶“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me?” says the Lord of Hosts to you priests who despise My name. “But you ask, ‘How have we despised Your name?’

²⁵After the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, you will stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ But he will reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’

²⁶Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’

⁴⁴And they too will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’

¹³You call Me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, because I am.

¹⁴So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.

²²Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves.

²³For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror,

²⁴Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

²⁵The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because its foundation was on the rock.

²⁸But He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

¹⁵If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

¹⁷Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin.

⁷To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life.

⁸But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger.

¹⁰By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one must be careful how he builds.

¹¹For no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

²He alone is my rock and my salvation. He is my fortress; I will never be shaken.

²⁵The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because its foundation was on the rock.

²⁶But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.

¹⁶So this is what the Lord God says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.

²⁴Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy—

²⁰built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone.

³¹So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain.

²²Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves.

²³For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror,

²⁰The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.

²¹But since he has no root, he remains for only a season. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.

⁵For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge;

⁶and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;

³By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments.

⁴If anyone says, “I know Him,” but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

³So practice and observe everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.