MATTHEW, 5
Sermon on the Mount

5:1     And seeing great masses of people he went up into the mountain ; and when he was seated his disciples came to him. 2 And with these words he gave them teaching, saying,
3     Happy are the poor in spirit : for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
4     Happy are those who are sad : for they will be comforted.
5     Happy are the gentle : for the earth will be their heritage.
6     Happy are those whose heart's desire is for righteousness : for they will have their desire.
7     Happy are those who have mercy : for they will be given mercy.
8     Happy are the clean in heart : for they will see God.
9     Happy are the peacemakers : for they will be named sons of God.
10    Happy are those who are attacked on account of righteousness : for the kingdom of heaven will be theirs.
11    Happy are you when men give you a bad name, and are cruel to you, and say all evil things against you falsely, because of me. 12 Be glad and full of joy ; for great is your reward in heaven : for so were the prophets attacked who were before you.

5:13     You are the salt of the earth ; but if its taste goes from the salt, how will you make it salt again ? it is then good for nothing but to be put out and crushed under foot by men.

5:14     You are the light of the world. A town put on a hill may be seen by all. 15 And a burning light is not put under a vessel, but on its table ; so that its rays may be shining on all who are in the house. 16 Even so let your light be shining before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

5:17     Let there be no thought that I have come to put an end to the law or the prophets. I have not come for destruction, but to make complete. 18 Truly I say to you, Till heaven and earth come to an end, not the smallest letter or part of a letter will in any way be taken from the law, till all things are done. 19 Whoever then goes against the smallest of these laws, teaching men to do the same, will be named least in the kingdom of heaven ; but he who keeps the laws, teaching others to keep them, will be named great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you, If your righteousness is not greater than the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never go into the kingdom of heaven.

5:21     You have knowledge that it was said in old times, You may not put to death; and, Whoever puts to death will be in danger of being judged : 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be in danger of being judged; and he who says to his brother, Raca, will be in danger from the Sanhedrin ; and whoever says, You foolish one, will be in danger of the hell of fire. 23 If then you are making an offering at the altar and there it comes to your mind that your brother has something against you, 24 While your offering is still before the altar, first go and make peace with your brother, then come and make your offering. 25 Come to an agreement quickly with him who has a cause against you at law, while you are with him on the way, for fear that he may give you up to the judge and the judge may give you to the police and you may be put into prison. 26 Truly I say to you, You will not come out from there till you have made payment of the very last farthing.

5:27     You have knowledge that it was said, You may not have connection with another man's wife : 28 But I say to you that everyone whose eyes are turned on a woman with desire has had connection with her in his heart. 29 And if your right eye is a cause of trouble to you, take it out and put it away from you; because it is better to undergo the loss of one part, than for all your body to go into hell. 30 And if your right hand is a cause of trouble to you, let it be cut off and put it away from you ; because it is better to undergo the loss of one part, than for all your body to go into hell.

5:31     Again, it was said, Whoever puts away his wife has to give her a statement in writing for this purpose : 32 But I say to you that everyone who puts away his wife for any other cause but the loss of her virtue, makes her false to her husband ; and whoever takes her as his wife after she is put away, is no true husband to her.

5:33     Again, you have knowledge that it was said in old times, Do not take false oaths, but give effect to your oaths to the Lord : 34 But I say to you, Take no oaths at all : not by the heaven, because it is the seat of God; 35 Or by the earth, because it is the resting-place for his foot ; or by Jerusalem, because it is the town of the great King. 36 You may not take an oath by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black. 37 But let your words be simply, Yes or No : and whatever is more than these is of the Evil One.

5:38     You have knowledge that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39 But I say to you, Do not make use of force against an evil man ; but to him who gives you a blow on the right side of your face let the left be turned. 40 And if any man goes to law with you and takes away your coat, do not keep back your robe from him. 41 And whoever makes you go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who comes with a request, and keep not your property from him who would for a time make use of it.

5:43     You have knowledge that it was said, Have love for your neighbour, and hate for him who is against you : 44 But I say to you, Have love for those who are against you, and make prayer for those who are cruel to you; 45 So that you may be the sons of your Father in heaven ; for his sun gives light to the evil and to the good, and he sends rain on the upright man and on the sinner. 46 For if you have love for those who have love for you, what credit is it to you ? do not the tax-farmers do the same ? 47 And if you say, Good day, to your brothers only, what do you do more than others ? do not even the Gentiles the same ? 48 Be then complete in righteousness, even as your Father in heaven is complete.

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MATTHEW, 6
Sermon (continued)

6:1     Take care not to do your good works before men, to be seen by them; or you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

2     When then you give money to the poor, do not make a noise about it, as the false-hearted men do in the Synagogues and in the streets, so that they may have glory from men. Truly, I say to you, They have their reward. 3 But when you give money, let not your left hand see what your right hand does : 4 So that your giving may be in secret ; and your Father, who sees in secret, will give you your reward.

6:5     And when you make your prayers, be not like the false-hearted men, who take pleasure in getting up and saying their prayers in the Synagogues and at the street turnings so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, They have their reward. 6 But when you make your prayer, go into your private room, and, shutting the door, say a prayer to your Father in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will give you your reward.

6:7     And in your prayer do not make use of the same words again and again, as the Gentiles do : for they have the idea that God will give attention to them because of the number of their words. 8 So be not like them; because your Father has knowledge of your needs even before you make your requests to him. 9 Let this then be your prayer :
        Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. 10 Let your kingdom come. Let your pleasure be done, as in heaven, so on earth. 11 Give us this day bread for our needs. 12 And make us free of our debts, as we have made those free who are in debt to us. 13 And let us not be put to the test, but keep us safe from the Evil One. 14 For if you let men have forgiveness for their sins, you will have forgiveness from your Father in heaven. 15 But if you do not let men have forgiveness for their sins, you will not have forgiveness from your Father for your sins.

6:16     And when you go without food, be not sad-faced as the false-hearted are. For they go about with changed looks, so that men may see that they are going without food. Truly I say to you, They have their reward. 17 But when you go without food, put oil on your head and make your face clean ; 18 So that no one may see that you are going without food, but your Father in secret ; and your Father, who sees in secret, will give you your reward.

6:19     Make no store of wealth for yourselves on earth, where it may be turned to dust by worms and weather, and where thieves may come in by force and take it away. 20 But make a store for yourselves in heaven, where it will not be turned to dust and where thieves do not come in to take it away : 21 For where your wealth is, there will your heart be.

22     The light of the body is the eye ; if then your eye is true, all your body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is evil, all your body will be dark. If then the light which is in you is dark, how dark it will be!

6:24     No man is able to be a servant to two masters : for he will have hate for the one and love for the other, or he will keep to one and have no respect for the other. You may not be servants of God and of wealth.

6:25     So I say to you, Take no thought for your life, about food or drink, or about clothing for your body. Is not life more than food, and the body more than its clothing ? 26 See the birds of heaven; they do not put seeds in the earth, they do not get in grain, or put it in store-houses ; and your Father in heaven gives them food. Are you not of much more value than they ? 27 And which of you by taking thought is able to make himself a cubit taller ? 28 And why are you troubled about clothing ? See the flowers of the field, how they come up; they do no work, they make no thread : 29 But I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30 But if God gives such clothing to the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is put into the oven, will he not much more give you clothing, O you of little faith ? 31 Then do not be full of care, saying, What are we to have for food or drink ? or, With what may we be clothed ? 32 Because the Gentiles go in search of all these things : for your Father in heaven has knowledge that you have need of all these things : 33 But let your first care be for his kingdom and his righteousness ; and all these other things will be given to you in addition.

6:34     Then have no care for tomorrow : tomorrow will take care of itself. Take the trouble of the day as it comes.

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MATTHEW, 7
Sermon (continued)

7:1     Be not judges of others, and you will not be judged. 2 For as you have been judging, so you will be judged, and with your measure will it be measured to you. 3 And why do you take note of the grain of dust in your brother's eye, but take no note of the bit of wood which is in your eye ? 4 Or how will you say to your brother, Let me take out the grain of dust from your eye, when you yourself have a bit of wood in your eye ? 5 You false one, first take out the bit of wood from your eye, then will you see clearly to take out the grain of dust from your brother's eye.

7:6     Do not give that which is holy to the dogs, or put your jewels before pigs, for fear that they will be crushed under foot by the pigs whose attack will then be made against you.

7:7     Make a request, and it will be answered ; what you are searching for you will get; give the sign, and the door will be open to you: 8 Because to everyone who makes a request, it will be given ; and he who is searching will get his desire, and to him who gives the sign, the door will be open. 9 Or which of you, if his son makes a request for bread, will give him a stone ? 10 Or if he makes a request for a fish, will give him a snake ? 11 If you, then, being evil, are able to give good things to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who make requests to him ? 12 All those things, then, which you would have men do to you, even so do you to them : because this is the law and the prophets.

7:13     Go in by the narrow door ; for wide is the door and open is the way which goes to destruction, and great numbers go in by it. 14 For narrow is the door and hard the road to life, and only a small number make discovery of it.

7:15     Be on the watch for false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inside they are cruel wolves. 16 By their fruits you will get knowledge of them. Do men get grapes from thorns or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree gives good fruit ; but the bad tree gives evil fruit. 18 It is not possible for a good tree to give bad fruit, and a bad tree will not give good fruit. 19 Every tree which does not give good fruit is cut down and put in the fire. 20 So by their fruits you will get knowledge of them.

7:21     Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will go into the kingdom of heaven ; but he who does the pleasure of my Father in heaven. 22 A great number will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, were we not prophets in your name, and did we not by your name send out evil spirits, and by your name do works of power ? 23 And then will I say to them, I never had knowledge of you : go from me, you workers of evil.

7:24     Everyone, then, to whom my words come and who does them, will be like a wise man who made his house on a rock ; 25 And the rain came down and there was a rush of waters and the winds were driving against that house, but it was not moved; because it was based on the rock. 26 And everyone to whom my words come and who does them not, will be like a foolish man who made his house on sand ; 27 And the rain came down and there was a rush of waters and the winds were driving against that house; and it came down and great was its fall.

7:28     And it came about, when Jesus had come to the end of these words, that the people were surprised at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

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MATTHEW, 8
After the Sermon

8:1     And when he had come down from the mountain, great numbers of people came after him. 2 And a leper came and gave him worship, saying, Lord, if it is your pleasure, you have power to make me clean. 3 And he put his hand on him, saying, It is my pleasure ; be clean. And straight away he was made clean. 4 And Jesus said to him, See that you say nothing about this to anyone ; but go and let the priest see you and make the offering which was ordered by Moses, for a witness to them.

8:5     And when Jesus was come into Capernaum, a certain captain came to him with a request, 6 Saying, Lord, my servant is ill in bed at the house, with no power in his body, and in great pain. 7 And he said to him, I will come and make him well. 8 And the captain in answer said, Lord, I am not good enough for you to come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be made well. 9 Because I myself am a man under authority, having under me fighting men ; and I say to this one, Go, and he goes ; and to another, Come, and he comes ; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it. 10 And when these words came to the ears of Jesus he was surprised, and said to those who came after him, Truly I say to you, I have not seen such great faith, no, not in Israel. 11 And I say to you that numbers will come from the east and the west, and will take their seats with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven : 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be put out into the dark, and there will be weeping and cries of pain. 13 And Jesus said to the captain, Go in peace ; as your faith is, so let it be done to you. And the servant was made well in that hour.

8:14     And when Jesus had come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother in bed, very ill. 15 And he put his hand on hers and the disease went from her, and she got up and took care of his needs. 16 And in the evening, they took to him a number of people who had evil spirits ; and he sent the spirits out of them with a word, and made well all who were ill; 17 So that the word of Isaiah the prophet might come true : He himself took our pains and our diseases.

8:18     Now when Jesus saw a great mass of people about him, he gave an order to go to the other side. 19 And there came a scribe and said to him, Master, I will come after you wherever you go. 20 And Jesus said to him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of heaven have a resting-place; but the Son of man has nowhere to put his head. 21 And another of the disciples said to him, Lord, let me first go and give the last honours to my father. 22 But Jesus said to him, Come after me ; and let the dead take care of their dead.

8:23     And when he had got into a boat, his disciples went after him. 24 And there came up a great storm in the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves : but he was sleeping. 25 And they came to him, and, awaking him, said, Help, Lord ; destruction is near. 26 And he said to them, Why are you full of fear, O you of little faith ? Then he got up and gave orders to the winds and the sea ; and there was a great calm. 27 And the men were full of wonder, saying, What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea do his orders ?

8:28     And when he had come to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, there came out to him from the place of the dead, two who had evil spirits, so violent that no man was able to go that way. 29 And they gave a loud cry, saying, What have we to do with you, you Son of God ? Have you come here to give us punishment before the time ? 30 Now there was, some distance away, a great herd of pigs taking their food. 31 And the evil spirits made strong prayers to him, saying, If you send us out, let us go into the herd of pigs. 32 And he said to them, Go. And they came out, and went into the pigs ; and the herd went rushing down a sharp slope into the sea and came to their end in the water. 33 And their keepers went in flight to the town and gave an account of everything, and of the men who had the evil spirits. 34 And all the town came out to Jesus; and seeing him they made request that he would go away from their part of the country.
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