³³ “Again, you have heard that our fathers were told, ‘Do not break your oath,’ and ‘Keep your vows to Adonai.’^{[a] 34} But I tell you not to swear at all — not ‘by heaven,’ because it is God’s throne; ³⁵ not ‘by the earth,’ because it is his footstool;^[b] and not ‘by Yerushalayim,’ because it is the city of the Great King.^{[c] 36} And don’t swear by your head, because you can’t make a single hair white or black. ³⁷ Just let your ‘Yes’ be a simple ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ a simple ‘No’; anything more than this has its origin in evil.

⁴³ “You have heard that our fathers were told, ‘Love your neighbor^[a] — and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! ⁴⁵ Then you will become children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun shine on good and bad people alike, and he sends rain to the righteous and the unrighteous alike. ⁴⁶ What reward do you get if you love only those who love you? Why, even tax-collectors do that! ⁴⁷ And if you are friendly only to your friends, are you doing anything out of the ordinary? Even the Goyim do that! ⁴⁸ Therefore, be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

15 Then some P’rushim and Torah-teachers from Yerushalayim came to Yeshua and asked him, ² “Why is it that your talmidim break the Tradition of the Elders? They don’t do n’tilat-yadayim before they eat!” ³ He answered, “Indeed, why do you break the command of God by your tradition? ⁴ For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’^[a] and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’^{[b] 5} But you say, ‘If anyone says to his father or mother, “I have promised to give to God what I might have used to help you,” ⁶ then he is rid of his duty to honor his father or mother.’ Thus by your tradition you make null and void the word of God! ⁷ You hypocrites! Yesha‘yahu was right when he prophesied about you,

¹⁰ Then he called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand this! ¹¹ What makes a person unclean is not what goes into his mouth; rather, what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him unclean!”

¹⁶ A man approached Yeshua and said, “Rabbi, what good thing should I do in order to have eternal life?” He said to him, ¹⁷ “Why are you asking me about good? There is One who is good! But if you want to obtain eternal life, observe the mitzvot.” ¹⁸ The man asked him, “Which ones?” and Yeshua said, “Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t give false testimony ^{[a] 19} honor father and mother ^[b] and love your neighbor as yourself.”^{[c] 20} The young man said to him, “I have kept all these; where do I still fall short?” ²¹ Yeshua said to him, “If you are serious about reaching the goal, go and sell your possessions, give to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come, follow me!” ²² But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he was wealthy.

²³ Then Yeshua said to his talmidim, “Yes. I tell you that it will be very hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. ²⁴ Furthermore, I tell you that it is easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.” ²⁵ When the talmidim heard this they were utterly amazed. “Then who,” they asked, “can be saved?” ²⁶ Yeshua looked at them and said, “Humanly, this is impossible; but with God everything is possible.” ²⁷ Kefa replied, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. So what will we have?” ²⁸ Yeshua said to them, “Yes. I tell you that in the regenerated world, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Isra’el. ²⁹ Everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times more, and he will obtain eternal life. ³⁰ But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

³³ When the crowds heard how he taught, they were astounded; ³⁴ but when the P’rushim learned that he had silenced the Tz’dukim, they got together, ³⁵ and one of them who was a Torah expert asked a sh’eilah to trap him: ³⁶ “Rabbi, which of the mitzvot in the Torah is the most important?” ³⁷ He told him, “‘You are to love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.’^{[a] 38} This is the greatest and most important mitzvah. ³⁹ And a second is similar to it, ‘You are to love your neighbor as yourself.’^{[b] 40} All of the Torah and the Prophets are dependent on these two mitzvot.”