The Temptation of Jesus

1 ^sThen Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness ^tto be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting ^uforty days and forty nights, he ^vwas hungry. 3 And ^wthe tempter came and said to him, “If you are ^xthe Son of God, command ^ythese stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, ^z“It is written,

5 ^bThen the devil took him to ^cthe holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

and

7 Jesus said to him, “Again ^eit is written, ^f‘You shall not ^gput the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 ^hAgain, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, ⁱSatan! For ^jit is written,

11 Then the devil left him, and behold, ^mangels came and were ministering to him.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

12 Now when he heard that ⁿJohn had been arrested, ^ohe withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving ^pNazareth he went and lived in ^qCapernaum by ^rthe sea, in the territory of ^sZebulun and Naphtali, 14 ^tso that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

17 ^xFrom that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ^z“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”¹

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

18 ^aWhile walking by ^bthe Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you ^cfishers of men.”² 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds

23 ^dAnd he went throughout all Galilee, ^eteaching in their synagogues and ^fproclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and ^ghealing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all ^hSyria, and ^gthey brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and ⁱpains, ^jthose oppressed by demons, ^kthose having seizures, and ^lparalytics, and he healed them. 25 ^mAnd great crowds followed him from Galilee and the ⁿDecapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

The Sermon on the Mount

1 Seeing the crowds, ^ohe went up on the mountain, and when he ^psat down, his disciples came to him.

The Beatitudes

2 And ^qhe opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

3 ^r“Blessed are ^sthe poor in spirit, for ^utheirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are ^vthose who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the ^wmeek, for they ^wshall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and ^xthirst ^yfor righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are ^zthe merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are ^athe pure in heart, for ^bthey shall see God.

9 “Blessed are ^cthe peacemakers, for ^dthey shall be called ^esons³ of God.

10 ^f“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for ^utheirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 ^g“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely ^hon my account. 12 ⁱRejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for ^jso they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Salt and Light

13 “You are the salt of the earth, ^kbut if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

14 ^l“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 ^mNor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so ⁿthat⁴ they may see your good works and ^ogive glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Christ Came to Fulfill the Law

17 ^p“Do not think that I have come to abolish ^qthe Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but ^rto fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, ^suntil heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 ^tTherefore whoever relaxes ^uone of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least ^vin the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great ^vin the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds ^wthat of the scribes and Pharisees, you ^xwill never enter the kingdom of heaven.

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 brother⁵ will be liable ^ato judgment; whoever insults⁶ his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to ^cthe hell⁷ 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.⁸

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.⁹

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,¹⁰ 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,¹¹ 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.

Giving to the Needy

1 “Beware of ^rpracticing your righteousness before other people in order ^sto be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

2 ^t“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may ^ube praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have ^vreceived their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. ^wAnd your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

The Lord’s Prayer

5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love ^xto stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. ^yTruly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, ^zgo into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. ^aAnd your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as ^bthe Gentiles do, for ^cthey think that they will be heard ^dfor their many words. 8 Do not be like them, ^efor your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 ^fPray then like this:

14 ^rFor if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 ^sbut if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Fasting

16 “And ^twhen you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. ^uTruly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, ^vanoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. ^wAnd your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Lay Up Treasures in Heaven

19 ^x“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where ^ymoth and rust¹⁶ destroy and where thieves ^zbreak in and steal, 20 ^xbut lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 ^a“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 ^abut if ^byour eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24 ^c“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and ^dmoney.¹⁷

Do Not Be Anxious

25 ^e“Therefore I tell you, ^fdo not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 ^gLook at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. ^hAre you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his ⁱspan of life?¹⁸ 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, ^jeven Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, ^kO you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For ^lthe Gentiles seek after all these things, and ^myour heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But ⁿseek first ^othe kingdom of God and his righteousness, ^pand all these things will be added to you.

34 ^q“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Why Should I Fear in Times of Trouble?

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of ^fthe Sons of Korah.