⁵ So the five kings of ^(A)the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered together and went up, they with all their armies, and camped by Gibeon and fought against it.

⁶ Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal, saying, “Do not ^[a]abandon your servants; come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites that live in the hill country have assembled against us.” ⁷ So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and ^(B)all the people of war with him, and all the valiant warriors. ⁸ And the Lord said to Joshua, “^(C)Do not fear them, for I have handed them over to you; not ^[b]one of them will stand against you.” ⁹ So Joshua came upon them suddenly ^[c]by marching all night from Gilgal. ^10 (D)And the Lord brought them into confusion before Israel, and He struck them down in a great defeat at Gibeon, and pursued them by the way of the ascent to Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹ And as they fled from Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth-horon, ^(E)the Lord hurled large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died; there were more who died ^[d]from the hailstones than those whom the sons of Israel killed with the sword.

¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they ^(A)would have life, and ^[a]have it abundantly.

The Two Foundations

²⁴ “Therefore, ^(A)everyone who hears these words of Mine, and ^[a]acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell and the ^[b]floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not ^[c]act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ And the rain fell and the ^[d]floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and its collapse was great.”

^28 [e](B)When Jesus had finished these words, ^(C)the crowds were amazed at His teaching; ²⁹ for He was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

Prayer and the Golden Rule

⁷ “^[a](A)Ask, and ^(B)it will be given to you; ^[b]seek, and you will find; ^[c]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 what person is there among you ^[d]who, when his son asks for a loaf of bread, ^[e]will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or ^[f]if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? ¹¹ So if you, despite being ^[g]evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, ^(C)how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

¹² “In everything, ^(D)therefore, ^[h]treat people the same way you want ^[i]them to treat you, for ^(E)this is the Law and the Prophets.

The Narrow and Wide Gates

¹³ “^(F)Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. ¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

A Tree and Its Fruit

¹⁵ “Beware of the ^(G)false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ^(H)ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will ^[j](I)know them by their fruits. ^[k]Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? ¹⁷ So ^(J)every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. ^19 (K)Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ So then, you will ^[l]know them ^(L)by their fruits.

²¹ “^(M)Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. ^22 (N)Many will say to Me on ^(O)that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many ^[m]miracles?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; ^(P)leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’