5 1 WHEN HE SAW the crowds he went up the hill. There he took his seat, and when his disciples had gathered round him 5 2 he began to address them. And this is the teaching he gave: - The Beatitudes Mt.5.3-11 (Galilee)- Lk.6.20-23 | NEB Contents | notes
5 4 How blest are the sorrowful; they shall find consolation.
5 5 How blest are those of a gentle spirit; they shall have the earth for their possession.
5 6 How blest are those who hunger and thirst to see right prevail; Or: to do what is right. they shall be satisfied.
5 7 How blest are those who show mercy; mercy shall be shown to them.
5 8 How blest are those whose hearts are pure; they shall see God.
5 9 How blest are the peacemakers; God shall call them his sons.
5 10 How blest are those who have suffered persecution for the cause of right; the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
5 11 'How blest you are, when you suffer insults and persecution and every kind of calumny for my sake. 5 12 Accept it with gladness and exultation, for you have a rich reward in heaven; in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you. - Salt and Light Mt.5.13-16 (Galilee)- Mk.9.50, Lk.14.34-35 | NEB Contents | notes
5 13 'You are salt to the world. And if salt becomes tasteless, how is its saltness to be restored? It is now good for nothing but to be thrown away and trodden underfoot.
5 14 'You are light for all the world. A town that stands on a hill cannot be hidden. 5 15 When a lamp is lit, it is not put under the meal-tub, but on the lamp-stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 5 16 And you, like the lamp, must shed light among your fellows, so that, when they see the good you do, they may give praise to your Father in heaven. - Teaching about the Law Mt.5.17-20 (Galilee)
5 17 'DO NOT SUPPOSE that I have come to abolish the Law and the prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to complete. 5 18 I tell you this: so long as heaven and earth endure, not a letter, not a stroke, will disappear from the Law until all that must happen has happened. Or: before all that it stands for is achieved. 5 19 If any man therefore sets aside even the least of the Law's demands, and teaches others to do the same, he will have the lowest place in the kingdom of Heaven, whereas anyone who keeps the Law and teaches others so will stand high in the kingdom of Heaven. 5 20 I tell you, unless you show yourselves far better men than the Pharisees and the doctors of the law, you can never enter the kingdom of Heaven. - Teaching about Anger Mt.5.21-26 (Galilee)
5 21 'You have learned that our forefathers were told, "Do not commit murder; anyone who commits murder must be brought to judgement." 5 22 But what I tell you is this: Anyone who nurses anger against his brother Some witnesses insert: without good cause. must be brought to judgement. If he abuses his brother he must answer for it to the court; if he sneers at him he will have to answer for it in the fires of hell.
5 23 'If, when you are bringing your gift to the altar, you suddenly remember that your brother has a grievance against you, 5 24 leave your gift where it is before the altar. First go and make your peace with your brother, and only then come back and offer your gift.
5 25 'If someone sues you, come to terms with him promptly while you are both on your way to court; otherwise he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the constable, and you will be put in jail. 5 26 I tell you, once you are there you will not be let out till you have paid the last farthing. - Teaching about Adultery Mt.5.27-30 (Galilee)
5 27 'You have learned that they were told, "Do not commit adultery." 5 28 But what I tell you is this: If a man looks on a woman with a lustful eye he has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
5 29 'If your right eye leads you astray, tear it out and fling it away; it is better for you to lose one part of your body than for the whole of it to be thrown into hell. 5 30 And if your right hand is your undoing, cut it off and fling it away; it is better for you to lose one part of your body than for the whole of it to go to hell. - Teaching about Divorce Mt.5.31-32 (Galilee)- Mt.19.9, Mk.10.11-11.12, Lk.16.18 | NEB Contents | notes
5 31 'They were told, "A man who divorces his wife must give her a note of dismissal." 5 32 But what I tell you is this: If a man divorces his wife for any cause other than unchastity he involves her in adultery; and anyone who marries a woman so divorced commits adultery. - Teaching about Oaths Mt.5.33-37- Lv.19.12, Nu.30.2, Dt.23.21 | NEB Contents | notes
5 33 'Again, you have learned that they were told, "Do not break your oath", and, "Oaths sworn to the Lord must be kept." 5 34 [ Is.66.1. ] But what I tell you is this: You are not to swear at all—not by heaven, for it is God's throne, 5 35 nor by earth, for it is his footstool, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King, 5 36 nor by your own head, because you cannot turn one hair of it white or black. 5 37 Plain "Yes" or "No" is all you need to say; anything beyond that comes from the devil. - Teaching about Retaliation Mt.5.38-42 (Galilee)- Lk.6.29-30 | NEB Contents | notes
5 38 'You have learned that they were told, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." 5 39 But what I tell you is this: Do not set yourself against the man who wrongs you. If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn and offer him your left. 5 40 If a man wants to sue you for your shirt, let him have your coat as well. 5 41 If a man in authority makes you go one mile, go with him two. 5 42 Give when you are asked to give; and do not turn your back on a man who wants to borrow. - Love for Enemies Mt.5.43-48 (Galilee)- Lk.6.27-28, Lk.6.32-36 | NEB Contents | notes
5 43 'You have learned that they were told, "Love your neighbour, hate your enemy." 5 44 But what I tell you is this: Love your enemies Some witnesses insert: bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you. and pray for your persecutors; Some witnesses insert: and those who treat you spitefully. 5 45 only so can you be children of your heavenly Father, who makes his sun rise on good and bad alike, and sends the rain on the honest and the dishonest. 5 46 If you love only those who love you, what reward can you expect? Surely the tax-gatherers do as much as that. 5 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what is there extraordinary about that? Even the heathen do as much. 5 48 You must therefore be all goodness, just as your heavenly Father is all good. - Teaching about Almsgiving Mt.6.1-4 (Galilee)
6 1 'BE CAREFUL not to make a show of your religion before men; if you do, no reward awaits you in your Father's house in heaven.
6 2 'Thus, when you do some act of charity, do not announce it with a flourish of trumpets, as the hypocrites do in synagogue and in the streets to win admiration from men. I tell you this: they have their reward already. 6 3 No; when you do some act of charity, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing; 6 4 your good deed must be secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. Some winesses add: openly. - Teaching about Prayer Mt.6.5-15 (Galilee)- Lk.11.2-4 | NEB Contents | notes
6 5 'Again, when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; they love to say their prayers standing up in synagogue and at the street-corners, for everyone to see them. I tell you this: they have their reward already. 6 6 But when you pray, go into a room by yourself, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is there in the secret place; and your Father who sees what is secret will reward you. Some witnesses add: openly.
6 7 'In your prayers do not go babbling on like the heathen, who imagine that the more they say the more likely they are to be heard. 6 8 Do not imitate them. Your Father knows what your needs are before you ask him.
6 9 'This is how you should pray:
6 14 For if you forgive others the wrongs they have done, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; 6 15 but if you do not forgive others, then the wrongs you have done will not be forgiven by your Father. - Teaching about Fasting Mt.6.16-18 (Galilee)
6 16 'So too when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites: they make their faces unsightly so that other people may see that they are fasting. I tell you this: they have their reward already. 6 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 6 18 so that men may not see that you are fasting, but only your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees what is secret will give you your reward. - Treasure in Heaven Mt.6.19-21 (Galilee)- Lk.12.33-34 | NEB Contents | notes
6 19 'DO NOT STORE UP for yourselves treasure on earth, where it grows rusty and moth-eaten, and thieves break in to steal it. 6 20 Store up treasure in heaven, where there is no moth and no rust to spoil it, no thieves to break in and steal. 6 21 For where your wealth is, there will your heart be also. - The Light of the Body Mt.6.22-23 (Galilee)- Lk.11.34-36 | NEB Contents | notes
6 22 'The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eyes are sound, you will have light for your whole body; 6 23 if the eyes are bad, your whole body will be in darkness. If then the only light you have is darkness, the darkness is doubly dark. - God and Mammon Mt.6.24 (Galilee)- Lk.16.13 | NEB Contents | notes
6 24 'No servant can be slave to two masters; for either he will hate the first and love the second, or he will be devoted to the first and think nothing of the second. You cannot serve God and Money. - Care and Anxiety Mt.6.25-34 (Galilee)- Lk.12.22-34 | NEB Contents | notes
6 25 'Therefore I bid you put away anxious thoughts about food and drink to keep you alive, and clothes to cover your body. Surely life is more than food, the body more than clothes. 6 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow and reap and store in barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. You are worth more than the birds! 6 27 Is there a man of you who by anxious thought can add a foot to his height? Or: a day to his life. 6 28 And why be anxious about clothes? Consider how the lilies grow in the fields; they do not work, they do not spin; One witness reads: Consider the lilies: they neither card nor spin, nor labour. 6 29 and yet, I tell you, even Solomon in all his splendour was not attired like one of these. 6 30 But if that is how God clothes the grass in the fields, which is there today, and tomorrow is thrown on the stove, will he not all the more clothe you? 6 31 No, do not ask anxiously, "What are we to eat? What are we to drink? What shall we wear?" 6 32 All these are things for the heathen to run after, not for you, because your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 6 33 Set your mind on God's kingdom and his justice before everything else, and all the rest will come to you as well. 6 34 So do not be anxious about tomorrow; tomorrow will look after itself. Each day has troubles enough of its own. - Judging Others Mt.7.1-6 (Galilee)- Lk.6.37-38, Lk.6.41-42 | NEB Contents | notes
7 1 'PASS NO JUDGEMENT, and you will not be judged. 7 2 For as you judge others, so you will yourselves be judged, and whatever measure you deal out to others will be dealt back to you. 7 3 Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye, with never a thought for the great plank in your own? 7 4 Or how can you say to your brother, "Let me take the speck out of your eye", when all the time there is that plank in your own? 7 5 You hypocrite! First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's.
7 6 'Do not give dogs what is holy; do not feed your pearls to pigs: they will only trample on them, and turn and tear you to pieces. - Ask, Seek, Knock Mt.7.7-12 (Galilee)- Lk.11.9-13 | NEB Contents | notes
7 7 'Ask, and you will receive, seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened. 7 8 For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 7 9 'Is there a man among you who will offer his son a stone when he asks for bread, 7 10 or a snake when he asks for fish? 7 11 If you, then, bad as you are, know how to give your children what is good for them, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him! 7 12 'Always treat others as you would like them to treat you: that is the Law and the prophets. - The Narrow Gate Mt.7.13-14 (Galilee)- Lk.13.24 | NEB Contents | notes
7 13 'Enter by the narrow gate. The gate is wide that leads to perdition, there is plenty of room on the road, Some witnesses read: The road that leads to perdition is wide with plenty of room. and many go that way; 7 14 but the gate that leads to life is small and the road is narrow, Some witnesses read: but the road that leads to life is small and narrow. and those who find it are few. - A Tree Known by Its Fruit Mt.7.15-20 (Galilee)- Lk.6.43-44 | NEB Contents | notes
7 15 'Beware of false prophets, men who come to you dressed up as sheep while underneath they are savage as wolves. 7 16 You will recognize them by the fruits they bear. Can grapes be picked from briars, or figs from thistles? 7 17 In the same way, a good tree always yields good fruit, and a poor tree bad fruit. 7 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, or a poor tree good fruit. 7 19 And when a tree does not yield good fruit it is cut down and burnt. 7 20 That is why I say you will recognize them by their fruits. - I Never Knew You Mt.7.21-23 (Galilee)- Lk.13.25-27 | NEB Contents | notes
7 21 'Not everyone who calls me "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but only those who do the will of my heavenly Father. 7 22 When that day comes, many will say to me, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out devils in your name, and in your name perform many miracles?" 7 23 Then I will tell them to their face, "I never knew you: out of my sight, you and your wicked ways!" - The Two Foundations Mt.7.24-29 (Galilee)- Lk.6.47-49 | NEB Contents | notes
7 24 'What then of the man who hears these words of mine and acts upon them? He is like a man who had the sense to build his house on rock. 7 25 The rain came down, the floods rose, the wind blew, and beat upon that house; but it did not fall, because its foundations were on rock 7 26 But what of the man who hears these words of mine and does not act upon them? He is like a man who was foolish enough to build his house on sand. 7 27 The rain came down, the floods rose, the wind blew, and beat upon that house; down it fell with a great crash.'
7 28 When Jesus had finished this discourse the people were astounded at his teaching; 7 29 unlike their own teachers he taught with a note of authority.