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

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 ^esons¹ 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.

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 ⁿthat² they may see your good works and ^ogive glory to your Father who is in heaven.

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.

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 brother³ will be liable ^ato judgment; whoever insults⁴ his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to ^cthe hell⁵ 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.⁶

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.

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.

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.⁷

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,⁸ 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.

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,⁹ 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.

1 ^jSo put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 ^kLike newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual ^lmilk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have ^mtasted that the Lord is good.

4 As you come to him, a living stone ⁿrejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 ^oyou yourselves like living stones are being built up as ^pa spiritual house, to be ^qa holy priesthood, ^rto offer spiritual sacrifices ^sacceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture:

7 So the honor is for you who ^vbelieve, but for those who ^vdo not believe,

8 and

They stumble because they disobey the word, ^yas they were destined to do.

9 But you are ^za chosen race, ^aa royal ^bpriesthood, ^ca holy nation, ^da people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you ^eout of darkness into ^fhis marvelous light. 10 ^gOnce you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

11 Beloved, I urge you ^has sojourners and exiles ⁱto abstain from the passions of the flesh, ^jwhich wage war against your soul. 12 ^kKeep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, ^lthey may see your good deeds and glorify God on ^mthe day of visitation.

13 ⁿBe subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution,² whether it be to the emperor³ as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him ^oto punish those who do evil and ^pto praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, ^qthat by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 ^rLive as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but ^sliving as servants⁴ of God. 17 ^tHonor everyone. ^uLove the brotherhood. ^vFear God. Honor the emperor.

18 ^wServants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.⁵ 19 For this is a gracious thing, when, ^xmindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But ^yif when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21 For ^zto this you have been called, ^ybecause Christ also suffered for you, ^aleaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 ^bHe committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 ^cWhen he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, ^dbut continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 ^eHe himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we ^fmight die to sin and ^glive to righteousness. ^hBy his wounds you have been healed. 25 For ⁱyou were straying like sheep, but have now returned to ^jthe Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.