Matthew 7
English Standard Version
Judging Others
7 (A)“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 (B)For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and (C)with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but (D)do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
6 (E)“Do not give (F)dogs what is holy, and do not throw your (G)pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.
Ask, and It Will Be Given
7 (H)“Ask, (I)and it will be given to you; (J)seek, and you will find; (K)knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for (L)bread, will give him (M)a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, (N)who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will (O)your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
The Golden Rule
12 “So (P)whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is (Q)the Law and the Prophets.
13 (R)“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy[a] that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and (S)the way is hard that leads to life, and (T)those who find it are few.
A Tree and Its Fruit
15 (U)“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are (V)ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them (W)by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, (X)every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 (Y)Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them (Z)by their fruits.
I Never Knew You
21 (AA)“Not everyone who (AB)says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will (AC)enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who (AD)does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 (AE)On that day (AF)many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not (AG)prophesy in your name, and cast out demons (AH)in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 (AI)And then will I declare to them, ‘I (AJ)never knew you; (AK)depart from me, (AL)you workers of lawlessness.’
Build Your House on the Rock
24 (AM)“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like (AN)a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like (AO)a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
The Authority of Jesus
28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, (AP)the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 (AQ)for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
Footnotes
- Matthew 7:13 Some manuscripts For the way is wide and easy
Matthew 7
Contemporary English Version
Judging Others
(Luke 6.37,38,41,42)
7 Don't condemn others, and God won't condemn you. 2 (A) God will be as hard on you as you are on others! He will treat you exactly as you treat them.
3 You can see the speck in your friend's eye, but you don't notice the log in your own eye. 4 How can you say, “My friend, let me take the speck out of your eye,” when you don't see the log in your own eye? 5 You're nothing but show-offs! First, take the log out of your own eye; then you can see how to take the speck out of your friend's eye.
6 Don't give to dogs what belongs to God. They will only turn and attack you. Don't throw pearls down in front of pigs. They will trample all over them.
Ask, Search, Knock
(Luke 11.9-13)
7 (B) Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you. 8 Everyone who asks will receive. Everyone who searches will find. And the door will be opened for everyone who knocks.
9 Would any of you give your hungry child a stone, if the child asked for some bread? 10 Would you give your child a snake if the child asked for a fish? 11 As bad as you are, you still know how to give good gifts to your children. But your heavenly Father is even more ready to give good things to people who ask.
12 (C) Treat others as you want them to treat you. This is what the Law and the Prophets[a] are all about.
The Narrow Gate
(Luke 13.24)
13 (D) Go in through the narrow gate. The gate to destruction is wide, and the road that leads there is easy to follow. A lot of people go through that gate. 14 But the gate to life is very narrow. The road that leads there is so hard to follow that only a few people find it.
A Tree and Its Fruit
(Luke 6.43-45)
15 Watch out for false prophets! They dress up like sheep, but inside they are wolves who have come to attack you. 16 (E) You can tell what they are by what they do. No one picks grapes or figs from thornbushes. 17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. 19 (F) Every tree producing bad fruit will be chopped down and burned. 20 (G) You can tell who the false prophets are by their deeds.
A Warning
(Luke 13.26,27)
21 Not everyone who calls me their Lord will get into the kingdom of heaven. Only the ones who obey my Father in heaven will get in. 22 On the day of judgment many will call me their Lord. They will say, “We preached in your name, and in your name we forced out demons and worked many miracles.” 23 (H) But I will tell them, “I will have nothing to do with you! Get out of my sight, you evil people!”
Two Builders
(Luke 6.47-49)
24 Anyone who hears and obeys these teachings of mine is like a wise person who built a house on solid rock. 25 Rain poured down, rivers flooded, and winds beat against that house. But it was built on solid rock, and so it did not fall.
26 Anyone who hears my teachings and doesn't obey them is like a foolish person who built a house on sand. 27 Rain poured down, rivers flooded, and the winds blew and beat against that house. Finally, it fell with a crash.
28 (I) When Jesus finished speaking, the crowds were surprised at his teaching. 29 He taught them like someone with authority, and not like their teachers of the Law of Moses.
Footnotes
- 7.12 the Law and the Prophets: See the note at 5.17.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
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