Matthew 5:18-7:11

Legacy Standard Bible

¹⁸ For truly I say to you, ^(A)until heaven and earth pass away, not ^[a]the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. ¹⁹ Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches ^[b]others to do the same, shall be called least ^(B)in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

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

Personal Relationships

²¹ “^(D)You have heard that ^[c]the ancients were told, ‘^(E)You shall not murder’ and ‘Whoever murders shall be guilty before ^(F)the court.’ ²² But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before ^(G)the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘^[d]Raca,’ shall be guilty before the ^[e](H)Sanhedrin; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the ^[f](I)fiery hell. ²³ Therefore if you are ^(J)presenting your ^[g]offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your ^[h]offering there before the altar and go; first be ^(K)reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your ^[i]offering. ^25 (L)Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. ²⁶ Truly I say to you, ^(M)you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last ^[j]quadrans.

²⁷ “^(N)You have heard that it was said, ‘^(O)You shall not commit adultery’; ²⁸ but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman ^(P)to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ^29 (Q)But if your right eye makes you ^[k]stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you ^[l]to lose one of the parts of your body, ^[m]than for your whole body to be thrown into ^[n](R)hell. ^30 (S)And if your right hand makes you ^[o]stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you ^[p]to lose one of the parts of your body, ^[q]than for your whole body to go into ^[r](T)hell.

³¹ “Now it was said, ‘^(U)Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’; ^32 (V)but I say to you that everyone who ^[s]divorces his wife, except for the reason of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a ^[t]divorced woman commits adultery.

³³ “Again, ^(W)you have heard that ^[u]the ancients were told, ‘^[v](X)You shall not ^[w]make false vows, but shall fulfill your ^[x]vows to the ^[y]Lord.’ ³⁴ But I say to you, ^(Y)make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is ^(Z)the throne of God, ³⁵ or by the earth, for it is the ^(AA)footstool of His feet, or ^[z]by Jerusalem, for it is ^(AB)the city of the great King. ³⁶ Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷ But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is ^[aa]of ^(AC)the evil one.

³⁸ “^(AD)You have heard that it was said, ‘^(AE)An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹ But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but ^(AF)whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. ⁴⁰ And if anyone wants to sue you and take your ^[ab]tunic, let him have your ^[ac]garment also. ⁴¹ And whoever ^[ad]forces you to go one mile, go with him two. ^42 (AG)Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

⁴³ “^(AH)You have heard that it was said, ‘^(AI)You shall love your neighbor ^(AJ)and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, ^(AK)love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may ^[ae]be ^(AL)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 ^(AM)if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸ Therefore ^[af](AN)you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Giving to the Poor and Prayer

6 “Beware of doing your righteousness before men ^(AO)to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

² “Therefore, when you ^[ag]give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they ^(AP)may be glorified by men. ^(AQ)Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. ³ But when you ^[ah]give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your ^[ai]giving will be in secret; and ^(AR)your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

⁵ “And when you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to ^(AS)stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners ^[aj](AT)so that they may be seen by men. ^(AU)Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. ⁶ But you, when you pray, ^(AV)go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and ^(AW)your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

⁷ “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their ^(AX)many words. ⁸ Therefore, do not be like them; for ^(AY)your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

⁹ “^(AZ)Pray, then, in this way:

^14 (BG)For if you forgive ^[an]others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But ^(BH)if you do not forgive ^[ao]others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

Fasting

¹⁶ “^(BI)Now whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they ^[ap]neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. ^(BJ)Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. ¹⁷ But you, when you fast, ^(BK)anoint your head and wash your face ¹⁸ so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your ^(BL)Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

Treasures in Heaven

¹⁹ “^(BM)Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves ^(BN)treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; ²¹ for ^(BO)where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

²² “^(BP)The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is ^[aq]clear, your whole body will be full of light. ²³ But if ^(BQ)your eye is ^[ar]bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

²⁴ “^(BR)No one can ^[as]serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot ^[at]serve God and ^[au](BS)wealth.

Do Not Worry

²⁵ “^(BT)For this reason I say to you, ^[av]do not be ^(BU)worried about your ^[aw]life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ^26 (BV)Look at the birds of the ^[ax]air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? ²⁷ And which of you by ^(BW)worrying can ^(BX)add a single ^[ay]cubit to his ^[az]life span? ²⁸ And why are you ^(BY)worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, ²⁹ yet I say to you that not even ^(BZ)Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the ^(CA)grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? ^(CB)You of little faith! ³¹ Do not ^(CC)worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ ³² For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for ^(CD)your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But ^[ba]seek first ^[bb]His kingdom and His righteousness, and ^(CE)all these things will be ^[bc]added to you.

³⁴ “So do not ^(CF)worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. ^[bd]Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Judging Others

7 “^(CG)Do not judge, so that you will not be judged. ² For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and ^(CH)with what measure you measure, it will be measured to you. ³ And why do you ^(CI)look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ^4 (CJ)Or how ^[be]can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is 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 “^(CK)Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Ask, and It Will Be Given

⁷ “^[bf](CL)Ask, and ^(CM)it will be given to you; ^[bg]seek, and you will find; ^[bh]knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or what man is there among you ^[bi]who, when his son asks for a loaf, ^[bj]will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or ^[bk]if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? ¹¹ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, ^(CN)how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!