Israel’s Refusal to Enter the Land

19 “Then we set out from Horeb and ^ywent through all that great and terrifying wilderness that you saw, on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as the Lord our God commanded us. And ^zwe came to Kadesh-barnea. 20 And I said to you, ‘You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. 21 See, the Lord your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has told you. ^aDo not fear or be dismayed.’ 22 Then all of you came near me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, that they may explore the land for us and bring us word again of the way by which we must go up and the cities into which we shall come.’ 23 The thing seemed good to me, and ^bI took twelve men from you, one man from each tribe. 24 And ^cthey turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and spied it out. 25 And they took in their hands some of the fruit of the land and brought it down to us, and brought us word again and said, ‘It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving us.’

26 “Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. 27 And ^dyou murmured in your tents and said, ‘Because the Lord ^ehated us he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, ^fto give us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. 28 Where are we going up? ^gOur brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, ^h“The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen ⁱthe sons of the Anakim there.”’ 29 Then I said to you, ‘Do not be in dread or afraid of them. 30 The Lord your God who goes before you ^jwill himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31 and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God ^kcarried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.’ 32 Yet in spite of this word ^lyou did not believe the Lord your God, 33 ^mwho went before you in the way ⁿto seek you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night and in the cloud by day, to show you by what way you should go.

The Penalty for Israel’s Rebellion

34 “And the Lord heard your words and was angered, and he swore, 35 ^o‘Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers, 36 ^pexcept Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it, and to him and to his children I will give the land on which he has trodden, because he has wholly followed the Lord!’

Anger

21 ^y“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ^z‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable ^ato judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that ^beveryone who is angry with his brother¹ will be liable ^ato judgment; whoever insults² his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to ^cthe hell³ of fire. 23 ^dSo if ^eyou are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 ^fCome to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. 26 Truly, I say to you, ^gyou will never get out until you have paid the last penny.⁴

Lust

27 ^h“You have heard that it was said, ⁱ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that ^jeveryone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 ^kIf your right eye ^lcauses you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into ^mhell. 30 ^kAnd if your right hand ^lcauses you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into ^mhell.

Divorce

31 ^h“It was also said, ⁿ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 ^oBut I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and ^pwhoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Oaths

33 “Again ^hyou have heard that it was said to those of old, ^q‘You shall not swear falsely, but ^rshall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34 But I say to you, ^sDo not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for ^tit is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is ^uthe city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; ^vanything more than this comes from evil.⁵

Retaliation

38 ^h“You have heard that it was said, ^y‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, ^zDo not resist the one who is evil. But ^aif anyone ^bslaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And ^zif anyone would sue you and take your tunic,⁶ let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone ^cforces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 ^dGive to the one who begs from you, and ^edo not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Love Your Enemies

43 ^f“You have heard that it was said, ^g‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, ⁱLove your enemies and ^jpray for those who persecute you, 45 ^kso that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and ^lsends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 ^mFor if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers,⁷ what more are you doing than others? Do not even ⁿthe Gentiles do the same? 48 ^oYou therefore must be ^pperfect, ^qas your heavenly Father is perfect.