Matthew 7
New King James Version
Do Not Judge(A)
7 “Judge[a] (B)not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what [b]judgment you judge, you will be judged; (C)and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 (D)And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
6 (E)“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking(F)
7 (G)“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For (H)everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 (I)Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, (J)being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! 12 Therefore, (K)whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for (L)this is the Law and the Prophets.
The Narrow Way(M)
13 (N)“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 [c]Because narrow is the gate and [d]difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
You Will Know Them by Their Fruits(O)
15 (P)“Beware of false prophets, (Q)who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 (R)You will know them by their fruits. (S)Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, (T)every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 (U)Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
I Never Knew You(V)
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, (W)‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who (X)does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we (Y)not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And (Z)then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; (AA)depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Build on the Rock(AB)
24 “Therefore (AC)whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that (AD)the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 (AE)for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Footnotes
- Matthew 7:1 Condemn
- Matthew 7:2 Condemnation
- Matthew 7:14 NU, M How narrow . . . !
- Matthew 7:14 confined
Matthew 7
New American Standard Bible
Judging Others
7 “(A)Do not [a]judge, so that you will not be judged. 2 For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and [b](B)by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you (C)look at the [c]speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 (D)Or how [d]can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the [e]speck out of your eye,’ and look, 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 [f]speck out of your brother’s eye!
6 “(E)Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
Prayer and the Golden Rule
7 “[g](F)Ask, and (G)it will be given to you; [h]seek, and you will find; [i]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 [j]who, when his son asks for a loaf of bread, [k]will give him a stone? 10 Or [l]if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? 11 So if you, despite being [m]evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, (H)how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
12 “In everything, (I)therefore, [n]treat people the same way you want [o]them to treat you, for (J)this is the Law and the Prophets.
The Narrow and Wide Gates
13 “(K)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 (L)false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are (M)ravenous wolves. 16 You will [p](N)know them by their fruits. [q]Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So (O)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 (P)Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will [r]know them (Q)by their fruits.
21 “(R)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 (S)Many will say to Me on (T)that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many [s]miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; (U)leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
The Two Foundations
24 “Therefore, (V)everyone who hears these words of Mine, and [t]acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell and the [u]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 [v]act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell and the [w]floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and its collapse was great.”
28 [x](W)When Jesus had finished these words, (X)the crowds were amazed at His teaching; 29 for He was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
Footnotes
- Matthew 7:1 I.e., make a habit of judging or have a judgmental attitude
- Matthew 7:2 Lit by which measure you measure
- Matthew 7:3 Or splinter
- Matthew 7:4 Lit will
- Matthew 7:4 Or splinter
- Matthew 7:5 Or splinter
- Matthew 7:7 Or Keep asking
- Matthew 7:7 Or keep seeking
- Matthew 7:7 Or keep knocking
- Matthew 7:9 Lit whom his son will ask
- Matthew 7:9 Lit he will not give him a stone, will he?
- Matthew 7:10 Lit also will ask
- Matthew 7:11 I.e., as sinful mankind
- Matthew 7:12 Lit you, too, do so for them
- Matthew 7:12 Lit people
- Matthew 7:16 Or recognize
- Matthew 7:16 Lit They do not gather
- Matthew 7:20 Or recognize
- Matthew 7:22 Or works of power
- Matthew 7:24 Lit does them
- Matthew 7:25 Lit rivers
- Matthew 7:26 Lit do them
- Matthew 7:27 Lit rivers
- Matthew 7:28 Lit And it happened when
Matthew 7
Tree of Life Version
Measuring Your Measure
7 “Stop judging, so that you may not be judged. 2 For with the judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the beam in your own eye? 4 Or how will you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and look, the beam is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite, first take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
6 “Do not give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs; otherwise they will trample them under their feet, then turn and rip you to shreds.
7 “Ask, and it shall be given to you. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it shall be opened.
9 “For what man among you, when his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or when he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! 12 So in all things, do to others what you would want them to do to you—for this is the Torah and the Prophets.
13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. 14 How narrow is the gate and difficult the way that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
Judging the Fruit
15 “Watch out for false prophets,[a] who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruit. Grapes aren’t gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles, are they? 17 Even so, every good tree produces good fruit, but the rotten tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will recognize them by their fruit.
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, and drive out demons in Your name, and perform many miracles in Your name?’ 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Get away from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’”[b]
Building on a Firm Foundation
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like 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 against that house; and yet it did not fall, for its foundation had been built on the rock. 26 Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them will be like 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 its fall.”
28 Now when Yeshua had finished these words, the crowds were astounded at His teaching, 29 for He was teaching them as one having authority and not as their Torah scholars.
Footnotes
- Matthew 7:15 cf. Deut. 18:20-22; Isa. 28:7-13; Jer. 5:30-31; 6:13-15; 14:13-15; Ezek. 13; Mic. 3:5-8.
- Matthew 7:23 cf. Ps. 6:9(8).
Matthew 7
Amplified Bible
Judging Others
7 “[a]Do not judge and criticize and condemn [others unfairly with an attitude of self-righteous superiority as though assuming the office of a judge], so that you will not be judged [unfairly]. 2 For just as you [hypocritically] judge others [when you are sinful and unrepentant], so will you be judged; and in accordance with your standard of measure [used to pass out judgment], judgment will be measured to you. 3 Why do you look at the [insignificant] speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice and acknowledge the [egregious] log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me get the speck out of your eye,’ when there is a log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite (play-actor, pretender), first get the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
6 “Do not give that which is holy to [b]dogs, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, for they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
Prayer and the Golden Rule
7 “[c]Ask and keep on asking and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking and you will find; knock and keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you.(A) 8 For everyone who keeps on asking receives, and he who keeps on seeking finds, and to him who keeps on knocking, it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will [instead] give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will [instead] give him a snake? 11 If you then, evil (sinful by nature) as you are, know how to give good and advantageous gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven [perfect as He is] give what is good and advantageous to those who keep on asking Him.
12 “So then, in everything treat others the same way you want them to treat you, for this is [the essence of] the Law and the [writings of the] Prophets.
The Narrow and Wide Gates
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad and easy to travel is the path that leads the way to destruction and eternal loss, and there are many who enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow and difficult to travel is the path that leads the way to [everlasting] life, and there are few who find it.(B)
A Tree and Its Fruit
15 “Beware of the false prophets, [teachers] who come to you dressed as sheep [appearing gentle and innocent], but inwardly are ravenous wolves.(C) 16 By their fruit you will recognize them [that is, by their contrived doctrine and self-focus]. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?(D) 17 Even so, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the unhealthy tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore, by their fruit you will recognize them [as false prophets].
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me on that day [when I judge them], ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and driven out demons in Your name, and done many miracles in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them publicly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me [you are banished from My presence], you who act wickedly [disregarding My commands].’(E)
The Two Foundations
24 “So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, will be like a wise man [a far-sighted, practical, and sensible man] who built his house on the rock.(F) 25 And the rain fell, and the floods and torrents came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; yet 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 a foolish (stupid) man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods and torrents came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great and complete was its fall.”
28 When Jesus had finished [speaking] these words [on the mountain], the crowds were astonished and overwhelmed at His teaching; 29 for He was teaching them as one who had authority [to teach entirely of His own volition], and not as their scribes [who relied on others to confirm their authority].
Footnotes
- Matthew 7:1 This is not a prohibition of judgment, nor is it a command to stop using godly wisdom, common sense, and moral courage together with God’s written word to discern right from wrong, to distinguish between morality and immorality, and to judge doctrinal truth. There are many judgments that are not only legitimate, but are commanded (cf John 7:24; 1 Cor 5:5, 12; Gal 1:8, 9; 1 John 4:1-3; 2 John 10); however, you cannot judge another if you are committing the same type of sin.
- Matthew 7:6 In this verse “dogs” and “pigs” represent those who despise sacred things.
- Matthew 7:7 Here the use of Greek present imperatives (asking, seeking, knocking; vv 7, 8) emphasizes persistent, constant prayer.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.