^25 (A)But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles domineer over them, and ^[a]those in high position exercise authority over them. ²⁶ It ^[b]is not this way among you, ^(B)but whoever wants to become ^[c]prominent among you shall be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever desires to be first among you shall be your slave; ²⁸ just as ^(C)the Son of Man ^(D)did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His ^[d]life as a ransom for many.”

⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for ^[a]God does not see as man sees, since man looks at ^[b]the outward appearance, ^(A)but the Lord looks at the heart.” ⁸ Then Jesse called ^(B)Abinadab and had him pass before Samuel. But he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one, either.” ⁹ Next Jesse had ^[c](C)Shammah pass by. And he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one, either.” ¹⁰ So Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” ¹¹ Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the boys?” And he said, “^(D)The youngest is still left, but behold, he is tending the sheep.” So Samuel said to Jesse, “Send word and bring him; for we will not take our places at the table until he comes here.”

David Anointed

¹² So he sent word and brought him in. Now he was ^[d]reddish, with ^(E)beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the Lord said, “^(F)Arise, anoint him; for this is he.” ¹³ So Samuel took the horn of oil and ^(G)anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and ^(H)the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel set out and went to Ramah.

^14 (I)Now the Spirit of the Lord left Saul, and ^(J)an evil spirit from the Lord terrified him. ¹⁵ Saul’s servants then said to him, “Behold now, an evil spirit from God is terrifying you. ¹⁶ May our lord now command your servants who are before you. Have them search for a man who is a skillful musician on the harp; and it shall come about whenever the evil spirit from God is upon you, that ^(K)he shall play the harp with his hand, and you will become well.” ¹⁷ So Saul said to his servants, “Now select for me a man who can play well, and bring him to me.” ¹⁸ Then one of the young men responded and said, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, ^(L)a valiant mighty man, a warrior, skillful in speech, and a handsome man; and ^(M)the Lord is with him.” ¹⁹ So Saul sent messengers to Jesse ^[e]to say, “Send me your son David, who is with the flock.” ²⁰ And Jesse ^(N)took a donkey loaded with bread and a jug of wine, and he took a young goat, and sent them to Saul by his son David. ²¹ Then David came to Saul and ^[f](O)attended him; and Saul greatly loved him, and he became his armor bearer. ²² So Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, “Let David now ^[g]be my attendant for he has found favor in my sight.” ²³ So it came about whenever ^(P)the evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand; and Saul would feel relieved and become well, and the evil spirit would leave him.

The Sermon on the Mount; The Beatitudes

5 ^(A)Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on ^(B)the ^[a]mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. ² And ^(C)He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,

³ “^[b](D)Blessed are the poor in spirit, for ^(E)theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ “Blessed are ^(F)those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

⁵ “Blessed are ^(G)the ^[c]gentle, for they will inherit the earth.

⁶ “Blessed are ^(H)those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

⁷ “Blessed are ^(I)the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

⁸ “Blessed are ^(J)the pure in heart, for ^(K)they will see God.

⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for ^(L)they will be called sons of God.

¹⁰ “Blessed are those who have been ^(M)persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for ^(N)theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people ^(O)insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for ^(P)in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Disciples and the World

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth; but ^(Q)if the salt has become tasteless, how ^[d]can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by people.

¹⁴ “You are ^(R)the light of the world. A city set on a ^[e]hill cannot be hidden; ^15 (S)nor do people light a lamp and put it under a ^[f]basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may ^(T)see your good works, and ^(U)glorify your Father who is in heaven.

¹⁷ “Do not presume that I came to abolish the ^(V)Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. ¹⁸ For truly I say to you, ^(W)until heaven and earth pass away, not ^[g]the smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law, until all is accomplished! ¹⁹ Therefore, whoever nullifies one of the least of these commandments, and teaches ^[h]others to do the same, shall be called least ^(X)in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever ^[i]keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

²⁰ “For I say to you that unless your ^(Y)righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Personal Relationships

²¹ “^(Z)You have heard that ^[j]the ancients were told, ‘^(AA)You shall not murder,’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be answerable to ^(AB)the court.’ ²² But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be answerable to ^(AC)the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘^[k]You good-for-nothing,’ shall be answerable to ^[l](AD)the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the ^[m](AE)fiery hell. ²³ Therefore, if you are ^(AF)presenting your ^[n]offering at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your ^[o]offering there before the altar and go; first be ^(AG)reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your ^[p]offering. ^25 (AH)[q]Come to good terms with your accuser quickly, while you are with him on the way to court, so that your accuser will not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you will not be thrown into prison. ²⁶ Truly I say to you, ^(AI)you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last ^[r]quadrans.

²⁷ “^(AJ)You have heard that it was said, ‘^(AK)You shall not commit adultery’; ²⁸ but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman ^(AL)with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ Now ^(AM)if your right eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, ^[s]than for your whole body to be thrown into ^[t](AN)hell. ³⁰ And ^(AO)if your right hand is causing you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you; for it is better for you ^[u]to lose one of the parts of your body, ^[v]than for your whole body to go into ^[w](AP)hell.

³¹ “Now it was said, ‘^(AQ)Whoever sends his wife away is to give her a certificate of divorce’; ^32 (AR)but I say to you that everyone who ^[x]divorces his wife, except for the reason of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a ^[y]divorced woman commits adultery.

³³ “Again, ^(AS)you have heard that ^[z]the ancients were told, ‘^[aa](AT)You shall not ^[ab]make false vows, but shall fulfill your ^[ac]vows to the Lord.’ ³⁴ But I say to you, ^(AU)take no oath at all, neither by heaven, for it is ^(AV)the throne of God, ³⁵ nor by the earth, for it is the ^(AW)footstool of His feet, nor ^[ad]by Jerusalem, for it is ^(AX)the city of the great King. ³⁶ Nor shall you take an oath by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. ³⁷ But make sure your statement is, ‘^[ae]Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is ^[af]of ^(AY)evil origin.

³⁸ “^(AZ)You have heard that it was said, ‘^(BA)Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ ³⁹ But I say to you, do not show opposition against an evil person; but ^(BB)whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other toward him also. ⁴⁰ And if anyone wants to sue you and take your ^[ag]tunic, let him have your ^[ah]cloak also. ⁴¹ Whoever ^[ai]forces you to go one mile, go with him two. ^42 (BC)Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

⁴³ “^(BD)You have heard that it was said, ‘^(BE)You shall love your neighbor ^(BF)and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, ^(BG)love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may prove yourselves to be ^(BH)sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ For ^(BI)if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors, do they not do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Even the Gentiles, do they not do the same? ⁴⁸ Therefore ^(BJ)you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.