Matthew 5
5
1And when he sawe the multitude, he went vp into a mountaine: and when he was set, his disciples came to him. 2And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying, 3Blessed are the poore in spirit, for theirs is the kingdome of heauen. 4Blessed are they that mourne: for they shall be comforted. 5Blessed are the meeke: for they shall inherite the earth. 6Blessed are they which hunger and thirst for righteousnes: for they shalbe filled. 7Blessed are the mercifull: for they shall obteine mercie. 8Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 9Blessed are the peace makers: for they shall be called the children of God. 10Blessed are they which suffer persecution for righteousnes sake: for theirs is the kingdome of heauen. 11Blessed shall ye be when men reuile you, and persecute you, and say all maner of euill against you for my sake, falsely. 12Reioyce and be glad, for great is your reward in heauen: for so persecuted they the Prophets which were before you. 13Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt haue lost his sauour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be troden vnder foote of men. 14Ye are the light of the world. A citie that is set on an hill, cannot be hid. 15Neither doe men light a candel, and put it vnder a bushel, but on a candlesticke, and it giueth light vnto all that are in the house. 16Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good workes, and glorifie your Father which is in heauen. 17Think not that I am come to destroy the Lawe, or the Prophets. I am not come to destroy them, but to fulfill them. 18For truely I say vnto you, Till heauen, and earth perish, one iote or one title of the Law shall not scape, till all things be fulfilled. 19Whosoeuer therefore shall breake one of these least commandements, and teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdome of heauen: but whosoeuer shall obserue and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdome of heauen. 20For I say vnto you, except your righteousnes exceede the righteousnes of the Scribes and Pharises, ye shall not enter into the kingdome of heauen. 21Ye haue heard that it was sayd vnto them of the olde time, Thou shalt not kill: for whosoeuer killeth shalbe culpable of iudgement. 22But I say vnto you, whosoeuer is angry with his brother vnaduisedly, shalbe culpable of iudgment. And whosoeuer sayth vnto his brother, Raca, shalbe worthy to be punished by the Councill. And whosoeuer shall say, Foole, shalbe worthy to be punished with hell fire. 23If then thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there remembrest that thy brother hath ought against thee, 24Leaue there thine offring before the altar, and goe thy way: first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 25Agree with thine aduersarie quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him, lest thine aduersarie deliuer thee to the Iudge, and the Iudge deliuer thee to ye sergeant, and thou be cast into prison. 26Verely I say vnto thee, thou shalt not come out thence, till thou hast payed the vtmost farthing. 27Ye haue heard that it was sayd to them of olde time, Thou shalt not commit adulterie. 28But I say vnto you, that whosoeuer looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adulterie with her already in his heart. 29Wherefore if thy right eye cause thee to offend, plucke it out, and cast it from thee: for better it is for thee, that one of thy members perish, then that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30Also if thy right hand make thee to offend, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for better it is for thee that one of thy members perish, then that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 31It hath bene sayd also, Whosoeuer shall put away his wife, let him giue her a bill of diuorcement. 32But I say vnto you, whosoeuer shall put away his wife (except it be for fornication) causeth her to commit adulterie: and whosoeuer shall marrie her that is diuorced, committeth adulterie. 33Againe, ye haue heard that it was sayd to them of old time, Thou shalt not forsweare thy selfe, but shalt performe thine othes to the Lord. 34But I say vnto you, Sweare not at all, neither by heauen, for it is the throne of God: 35Nor yet by the earth: for it is his footestoole: neither by Hierusalem: for it is the citie of the great King. 36Neither shalt thou sweare by thine head, because thou canst not make one heare white or blacke. 37But let your communication be Yea, yea: Nay, nay. For whatsoeuer is more then these, commeth of euill. 38Ye haue heard that it hath bene sayd, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. 39But I say vnto you, Resist not euill: but whosoeuer shall smite thee on thy right cheeke, turne to him the other also. 40And if any man wil sue thee at the law, and take away thy coate, let him haue thy cloke also. 41And whosoeuer will compell thee to goe a mile, goe with him twaine. 42Giue to him that asketh, and from him that would borowe of thee, turne not away. 43Ye haue heard that it hath bin said, Thou shalt loue thy neighbour, and hate your enemie. 44But I say vnto you, Loue your enemies: blesse them that curse you: doe good to them that hate you, and pray for them which hurt you, and persecute you, 45That ye may be the children of your father that is in heauen: for he maketh his sunne to arise on the euill, and the good, and sendeth raine on the iust, and vniust. 46For if ye loue them, which loue you, what rewarde shall you haue? Doe not the Publicanes euen the same? 47And if ye be friendly to your brethren onely, what singular thing doe ye? doe not euen the Publicanes likewise? 48Ye shall therefore be perfit, as your Father which is in heauen, is perfite.
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Matthew 5: GNV
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Matthew 5
5
The sermon on the mount
1When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on the side of a mountain and sat down.#5.1 sat down: Teachers in the ancient world, including Jewish teachers, usually sat down when they taught.
Blessings
(Luke 6.20-23)
Jesus' disciples gathered around him, 2and he taught them:
3God blesses those people
who depend only on him.
They belong to the kingdom
of heaven!#5.3 They belong to the kingdom of heaven: Or “The kingdom of heaven belongs to them.”
4God blesses those people#Is 61.2.
who grieve.
They will find comfort!
5God blesses those people#Ps 37.11.
who are humble.
The earth will belong
to them!
6God blesses those people#Is 55.1,2.
who want to obey him#5.6 who want to obey him: Or “who want to do right” or “who want everyone to be treated right”.
more than to eat or drink.
They will be given
what they want!
7God blesses those people
who are merciful.
They will be treated
with mercy!
8God blesses those people#Ps 24.3,4.
whose hearts are pure.
They will see him!
9God blesses those people
who make peace.
They will be called
his children!
10God blesses those people#1 P 3.14.
who are treated badly
for doing right.
They belong to the kingdom
of heaven.#5.10 They belong to the kingdom of heaven: See the note at 5.3.
11God will bless you when people insult you, ill-treat you, and tell all kinds of evil lies about you because of me.#1 P 4.14. 12Be happy and excited! You will have a great reward in heaven. People did these same things to the prophets who lived long ago.#2 Ch 36.16; Ac 7.52.
Salt and light
(Mark 9.50; Luke 14.34,35)
Jesus continued:
13You are like salt for everyone on earth. But if salt no longer tastes like salt, how can it make food salty? All it is good for is to be thrown out and walked on.#Mk 9.50; Lk 14.34,35.
14You are like light for the whole world. A city built on top of a hill cannot be hidden,#Jn 8.12; 9.5. 15and no one would light a lamp and put it under a clay pot. A lamp is placed on a lampstand, where it can give light to everyone in the house.#Mk 4.21; Lk 8.16; 11.33. 16Make your light shine, so that others will see the good that you do and will praise your Father in heaven.#1 P 2.12.
The Law of Moses
Jesus continued:
17Don't suppose that I came to do away with the Law and the Prophets.#5.17 the Law and the Prophets: The Jewish Scriptures, that is, the Old Testament. I did not come to do away with them, but to give them their full meaning. 18Heaven and earth may disappear. But I promise you that not even a full stop or comma will ever disappear from the Law. Everything written in it must happen.#Lk 16.17.
19If you reject even the least important command in the Law and teach others to do the same, you will be the least important person in the kingdom of heaven. But if you obey and teach others its commands, you will have an important place in the kingdom. 20You must obey God's commands better than the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law obey them. If you don't, I promise you that you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.
Anger
Jesus continued:
21You know that our ancestors were told, “Do not murder” and “A murderer must be brought to trial.”#Ex 20.13; Dt 5.17. 22But I promise you that if you are angry with someone,#5.22 someone: In verses 22-24 the Greek text has “brother”, which may refer to people in general or to other followers. you will have to stand trial. If you call someone a fool, you will be taken to court. And if you say that someone is worthless, you will be in danger of the fires of hell.
23So if you are about to place your gift on the altar and remember that someone is angry with you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. Make peace with that person, then come back and offer your gift to God.
25Before you are dragged into court, make friends with the person who has accused you of doing wrong. If you don't, you will be handed over to the judge and then to the officer who will put you in jail. 26I promise you that you will not get out until you have paid the last penny you owe.
Marriage
Jesus continued:
27You know the commandment which says, “Be faithful in marriage.”#Ex 20.14; Dt 5.18. 28But I tell you that if you look at another woman and want her, you are already unfaithful in your thoughts. 29If your right eye causes you to sin, poke it out and throw it away. It is better to lose one part of your body, than for your whole body to end up in hell.#Mt 18.9; Mk 9.47. 30If your right hand causes you to sin, chop it off and throw it away! It is better to lose one part of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.#Mt 18.8; Mk 9.43.
Divorce
(Matthew 19.9; Mark 10.11,12; Luke 16.18)
Jesus continued:
31You have been taught that a man who divorces his wife must write out divorce papers for her.#5.31 write out divorce papers for her: Jewish men could divorce their wives, but the women could not divorce their husbands. The purpose of writing these papers was to make it harder for a man to divorce his wife. Before this law was made, all a man had to do was to send his wife away and say that she was no longer his wife.#Dt 24.1-4; Mt 19.7; Mk 10.4. 32But I tell you not to divorce your wife unless she has committed some terrible sexual sin.#5.32 some terrible sexual sin: This probably refers to the laws about the wrong kinds of marriages that are forbidden in Leviticus or to some serious sexual sin. If you divorce her, you will cause her to be unfaithful, just as any man who marries her is guilty of taking another man's wife.#Mt 19.9; Mk 10.11,12; Lk 16.18; 1 Co 7.10,11.
Promises
Jesus continued:
33You know that our ancestors were told, “Don't use the Lord's name to make a promise unless you are going to keep it.”#Lv 19.12; Nu 30.2; Dt 23.21. 34But I tell you not to swear by anything when you make a promise! Heaven is God's throne, so don't swear by heaven.#Jas 5.12; Is 66.1; Mt 23.22. 35The earth is God's footstool, so don't swear by the earth. Jerusalem is the city of the great king, so don't swear by it.#Is 66.1; Ps 48.2. 36Don't swear by your own head. You cannot make one hair white or black. 37When you make a promise, say only “Yes” or “No”. Anything else comes from the devil.
Revenge
(Luke 6.29,30)
Jesus continued:
38You know that you have been taught, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”#Ex 21.24; Lv 24.20; Dt 19.21. 39But I tell you not to try to get even with a person who has done something to you. When someone slaps your right cheek,#5.39 right cheek: A slap on the right cheek was a bad insult. turn and let that person slap your other cheek. 40If someone sues you for your shirt, give up your coat as well. 41If a soldier forces you to carry his pack one kilometre, carry it two kilometres.#5.41 two kilometres: A Roman soldier had the right to force a person to carry his pack as far as approximately one and a half kilometres. 42When people ask you for something, give it to them. When they want to borrow money, lend it to them.
Love
(Luke 6.27,28,32-36)
Jesus continued:
43You have heard people say, “Love your neighbours and hate your enemies.” 44But I tell you to love your enemies and pray for anyone who ill-treats you. 45Then you will be acting like your Father in heaven. He makes the sun rise on both good and bad people. And he sends rain for the ones who do right and for the ones who do wrong. 46If you love only those people who love you, will God reward you for that? Even tax collectors#5.46 tax collectors: These were usually Jewish people who paid the Romans for the right to collect taxes. They were hated by other Jews who thought of them as traitors to their country and to their religion. love their friends. 47If you greet only your friends, what's so great about that? Don't even unbelievers do that? 48But you must always act like your Father in heaven.#Lv 19.2; Dt 18.13.
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