Matthew 5

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

²⁹Moving on from there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on a mountain and sat down.

²A large crowd followed Him because they saw the signs He was performing on the sick.

³Then Jesus went up on the mountain and sat down with His disciples.

¹Once again Jesus began to teach beside the sea, and such a large crowd gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people crowded along the shore.

²⁰Then Jesus went home, and once again a crowd gathered, so that He and His disciples could not even eat.

²⁵Large crowds followed Him, having come from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.

³⁵Then Philip began with this very Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

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.

³⁴Then Peter began to speak: “I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism,

³⁵So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”

¹⁴But just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio told the Jews, “If this matter involved a wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to hear your complaint.

¹⁹Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will boldly make known the mystery of the gospel,

²Has not My hand made all these things? And so they came into being,” declares the Lord. “This is the one I will esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at My word.

²³A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor.

¹⁸The Lord is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit.

¹⁹It is better to be lowly in spirit among the humble than to divide the spoil with the proud.

¹⁴I tell you, this man, rather than the Pharisee, went home justified. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

¹⁴and if My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

⁴‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”

⁹yet now I rejoice, not because you were made sorrowful, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you felt the sorrow that God had intended, and so were not harmed in any way by us.

¹⁰Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

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

³to console the mourners in Zion—to give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

²⁰Truly, truly, I tell you, you will weep and wail while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.

²¹A woman has pain in childbirth because her time has come; but when she brings forth her child, she forgets her anguish because of her joy that a child has been born into the world.

⁵Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy.

⁶He who goes out weeping, bearing a trail of seed, will surely return with shouts of joy, carrying sheaves of grain.

¹⁸I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him and his mourners,

¹¹But the meek will inherit the land and delight in abundant prosperity.

¹⁹The humble will increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

¹³Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

⁴For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the afflicted with salvation.

²³gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

¹²Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

⁹For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

¹⁴But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”

²⁷Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.”

⁴⁸I am the bread of life.

⁴⁹Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died.

¹⁹He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them.

¹“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost!

²Why spend money on that which is not bread, and your labor on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of foods.

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

¹⁴For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

¹⁵But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours.

²⁶To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

³³Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had on you?’

³⁴In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should repay all that he owed.

²⁵To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

¹³For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

⁴He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear deceitfully.

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

²²let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

¹⁴Pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.

²⁵I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.

²⁶I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

¹¹He who loves a pure heart and gracious lips will have the king for a friend.

¹⁴Pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.

¹⁶For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice.

¹⁷But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.

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

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

⁶Too long have I dwelt among those who hate peace.

¹⁴For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

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.

¹³Who can harm you if you are zealous for what is good?

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

¹⁷For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.

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

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

³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

²²Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man.

¹⁴If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

¹⁷And you will be hated by everyone because of My name.

¹³You will be hated by everyone because of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.

⁹Then they will deliver you over to be persecuted and killed, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.

²²Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man.

²³When they heaped abuse on Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats, but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.

²³Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For their fathers treated the prophets in the same way.

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

²⁴because you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

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

²⁴Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the church.

³Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;

⁶Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

³⁴Salt is good, but if the salt loses its savor, with what will it be seasoned?

³⁵It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile, and it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

⁴⁹For everyone will be salted with fire.

⁵⁰Salt is good, but if the salt loses its saltiness, with what will you season it? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

¹³And you shall season each of your grain offerings with salt. You must not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offering; you are to add salt to each of your offerings.

⁴It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,

⁵who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age—

²⁰If indeed they have escaped the corruption of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, only to be entangled and overcome by it again, their final condition is worse than it was at first.

²¹It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to have known it and then to turn away from the holy commandment passed on to them.

¹⁵so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world

¹²Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”

⁸For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,

⁹for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.

⁵For you are all sons of the light and sons of the day; we do not belong to the night or to the darkness.

¹⁸The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.

³⁶While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of light.” After Jesus had spoken these things, He went away and was hidden from them.

³³No one lights a lamp and puts it in a cellar or under a basket. Instead, he sets it on a stand, so those who enter can see the light.

²¹Jesus also said to them, “Does anyone bring in a lamp to put it under a basket or under a bed? Doesn’t he set it on a stand?

¹⁶No one lights a lamp and covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he sets it on a stand, so those who enter can see the light.

²“Speak to Aaron and tell him: ‘When you set up the seven lamps, they are to light the area in front of the lampstand.’”

³⁷Make seven lamps and set them up on the lampstand so that they illuminate the area in front of it.

¹²Conduct yourselves with such honor among the Gentiles that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.

⁷In everything, show yourself to be an example by doing good works. In your teaching show integrity, dignity,

⁸This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, proving yourselves to be My disciples.

⁵And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.

⁶If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

¹⁵so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world

¹⁶as you hold forth the word of life, in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

⁸For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,

⁴For Christ is the end of the law, to bring righteousness to everyone who believes.

¹⁷But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for a single stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.

⁴But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

⁵to redeem those under the law, that we might receive our adoption as sons.

³¹Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Certainly not! Instead, we uphold the law.

⁴so that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

²¹The Lord was pleased, for the sake of His righteousness, to magnify His law and make it glorious.

¹⁷But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for a single stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.

⁸The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

²⁵but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.

⁸⁹Your word, O Lord, is everlasting; it is firmly fixed in the heavens.

⁹⁰Your faithfulness continues through all generations; You established the earth, and it endures.

³⁴Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened.

³⁵Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

⁶Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth below; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and its people will die like gnats. But My salvation will last forever, and My righteousness will never fail.

³²See that you do everything I command you; do not add to it or subtract from it.

¹⁰Whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

¹¹For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

²⁰and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

⁸Be indebted to no one, except to one another in love. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

⁹The commandments “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and any other commandments, are summed up in this one decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

¹¹Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

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,

²For I testify about them that they are zealous for God, but not on the basis of knowledge.

³Because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

⁹and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith.

³⁰What then will we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;

³¹but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.

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.

²“The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.

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

²³Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

²⁴You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

¹⁷You shall not murder.

¹³You shall not murder.

³⁰If anyone kills a person, the murderer is to be put to death on the testimony of the witnesses. But no one is to be put to death based on the testimony of a lone witness.

³¹You are not to accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who deserves to die; he must surely be put to death.

¹²Whoever strikes and kills a man must surely be put to death.

¹³If, however, he did not lie in wait, but God allowed it to happen, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee.

¹⁶If, however, anyone strikes a person with an iron object and kills him, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death.

¹⁷Or if anyone has in his hand a stone of deadly size, and he strikes and kills another, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death.

⁷and they shall declare, “Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it.

⁸Accept this atonement, O Lord, for Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, and do not hold the shedding of innocent blood against them.” And the bloodshed will be atoned for.

¹⁴We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death.

¹⁵Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that eternal life does not reside in a murderer.

²⁰If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

²¹And we have this commandment from Him: Whoever loves God must love his brother as well.

⁹If anyone claims to be in the light but hates his brother, he is still in the darkness.

²⁶“Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger,

²⁷and do not give the devil a foothold.

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.

⁶The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

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.”

²“If someone sins and acts unfaithfully against the Lord by deceiving his neighbor in regard to a deposit or security entrusted to him or stolen, or if he extorts his neighbor

³or finds lost property and lies about it and swears falsely, or if he commits any such sin that a man might commit—

²⁴leave your gift there before the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

¹⁹You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes it sacred?

⁴Then Jesus instructed him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift prescribed by Moses, as a testimony to them.”

⁸But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will repay it fourfold.”

¹⁶Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.

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.

¹⁵If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.

¹⁶But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’

⁸So now, take seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. Then My servant Job will pray for you, for I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken accurately about Me, as My servant Job has.”

⁷Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as a delicate vessel, and with honor as fellow heirs of the gracious gift of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

⁸Finally, all of you, be like-minded and sympathetic, love as brothers, be tenderhearted and humble.

⁹Argue your case with your neighbor without betraying another’s confidence,

⁵⁸Make every effort to reconcile with your adversary while you are on your way to the magistrate. Otherwise, he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and the officer may throw you into prison.

⁵⁹I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the very last penny.”

⁸do not bring hastily to court. Otherwise, what will you do in the end when your neighbor puts you to shame?

³¹Or what king on his way to war with another king will not first sit down and consider whether he can engage with ten thousand men the one coming against him with twenty thousand?

³²And if he is unable, he will send a delegation while the other king is still far off, to ask for terms of peace.

¹³But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

⁶Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.

⁷Let the wicked man forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.

⁷Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear His voice,

³⁴In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should repay all that he owed.

⁵⁹I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the very last penny.”

¹³For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

⁹They will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His might,

²⁶And besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that even those who wish cannot cross from here to you, nor can anyone cross from there to us.’

⁴⁶And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

¹⁸You shall not commit adultery.

³²He who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself.

¹⁴You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁰If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must surely be put to death.

²²If a man is found lying with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.

²³If there is a virgin pledged in marriage to a man, and another man encounters her in the city and sleeps with her,

²¹You have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not murder’ and ‘Anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’

¹⁴But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed.

¹⁵Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

¹⁶For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.

²⁵Do not lust in your heart for her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes.

¹⁷You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

²One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman.

¹“I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze with desire at a virgin?

⁴³If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two hands and go into hell, into the unquenchable fire.

⁴⁴

¹³For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

⁵Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.

⁶We know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.

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.

²Consequently, he does not live out his remaining time on earth for human passions, but for the will of God.

²⁷No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

⁴³If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two hands and go into hell, into the unquenchable fire.

²⁹If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

⁸and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word—and to this they were appointed.

²⁰Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to let his eating be a stumbling block.

²¹It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything to cause your brother to stumble.

⁶But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

⁷Woe to the world for the causes of sin. These stumbling blocks must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!

²It would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and to be thrown into the sea than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.

¹“If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him to marry another, can he ever return to her? Would not such a land be completely defiled? But you have played the harlot with many lovers—and you would return to Me?” declares the Lord.

¹If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds some indecency in her, he may write her a certificate of divorce, hand it to her, and send her away from his house.

²If, after leaving his house, she goes and becomes another man’s wife,

⁷“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses order a man to give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”

²Some Pharisees came to test Him. “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” they inquired.

³“What did Moses command you?” He replied.

³Then some Pharisees came and tested Him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”

³So then, if she is joined to another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man.

¹⁸Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

¹⁰To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband.

¹¹But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.

⁴The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife.

⁸Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of your hardness of heart. But it was not this way from the beginning.

⁹Now I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

⁵But Jesus told them, “Moses wrote this commandment for you because of your hardness of heart.

⁶However, from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’

²¹If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to keep it, because He will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin.

¹²You must not swear falsely by My name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.

⁴When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow.

⁵It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.

²³Be careful to follow through on what comes from your lips, because you have freely vowed to the Lord your God with your own mouth.

¹¹Make and fulfill your vows to the Lord your God; let all the neighboring lands bring tribute to Him who is to be feared.

²If a man makes a vow to the Lord or swears an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word; he must do everything he has promised.

³And if a woman in her father’s house during her youth makes a vow to the Lord or obligates herself by a pledge,

¹²Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by heaven or earth or by any other oath. Simply let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, so that you will not fall under judgment.

¹This is what the Lord says: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me? Or where will My place of repose be?

²¹If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to keep it, because He will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin.

²²But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty of sin.

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?

²It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who makes a vow, so it is for the one who refuses to take a vow.

¹⁵For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and humble in spirit, to restore the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the contrite.

²Beautiful in loftiness, the joy of all the earth, like the peaks of Zaphon is Mount Zion, the city of the great King.

¹⁴“But cursed is the deceiver who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but sacrifices a defective animal to the Lord. For I am a great King,” says the Lord of Hosts, “and My name is to be feared among the nations.

¹⁰And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,

⁶But now I have chosen Jerusalem for My Name to be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’

⁵Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His footstool; He is holy!

²I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

²⁵Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

²⁷Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

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?

¹²Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by heaven or earth or by any other oath. Simply let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, so that you will not fall under judgment.

⁶Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

⁹Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices,

¹⁷When I planned this, did I do it carelessly? Or do I make my plans by human standards, so as to say “Yes, yes” and also “No, no”?

¹⁸But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.”

⁴⁴You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies.

²⁵Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another.

¹⁹If anyone injures his neighbor, whatever he has done must be done to him:

²⁰fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. Just as he injured the other person, the same must be inflicted on him.

²¹You must show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.

²²If men who are fighting strike a pregnant woman and her child is born prematurely, but there is no further injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband demands and as the court allows.

²³But if a serious injury results, then you must require a life for a life—

¹⁹you must do to him as he intended to do to his brother. So you must purge the evil from among you.

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

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.

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.

²²Do not say, “I will avenge this evil!” Wait on the Lord, and He will save you.

²⁹If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone takes your cloak, do not withhold your tunic as well.

³⁰Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what is yours, do not demand it back.

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.

²¹For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps:

²⁹If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone takes your cloak, do not withhold your tunic as well.

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?

²⁶As the soldiers led Him away, they seized Simon of Cyrene on his way in from the country, and they put the cross on him to carry behind Jesus.

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

¹⁶And do not neglect to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

³⁰Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what is yours, do not demand it back.

³¹Do to others as you would have them do to you.

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.

¹⁸Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share,

⁵It is well with the man who is generous and lends freely, whose affairs are guided by justice.

⁶Surely he will never be shaken; the righteous man will be remembered forever.

²¹The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous are gracious and giving.

¹⁸Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

²¹Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord, and detest those who rise against You?

²²I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them as my enemies.

¹³For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love.

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

¹⁹honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.’”

⁸Be indebted to no one, except to one another in love. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

⁹The commandments “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and any other commandments, are summed up in this one decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

⁶You are not to seek peace or prosperity from them as long as you live.

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

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.

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

²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

²⁰On the contrary, “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.”

²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

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.

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

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

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.

¹⁷Yet He has not left Himself without testimony to His goodness: He gives you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.”

³Can His troops be numbered? On whom does His light not rise?

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

⁹Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

³²If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.

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

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.

²¹For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps:

¹⁹The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at this glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is vindicated by her actions.”

¹⁰Later, as Jesus was dining at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him and His disciples.

¹¹When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹⁷If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, regard him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

¹³But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’

³²If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.

²⁰For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

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.

⁴Carry no purse or bag or sandals. Do not greet anyone along the road.

⁵Whatever house you enter, begin by saying, ‘Peace to this house.’

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.”

⁴Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

²“Speak to the whole congregation of Israel and tell them: Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

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.

³⁶Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

¹³You must be blameless before the Lord your God.