Matthew 3:8-5:13

English Standard Version

⁸Bear fruit ^(A)in keeping with repentance. ⁹And do not presume to say to yourselves, ^(B)‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from ^(C)these stones to raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. ^(D)Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹^(E)“I baptize you with water ^(F)for repentance, but ^(G)he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you ^(H)with the Holy Spirit and ^(I)fire. ¹²His ^(J)winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and ^(K)gather his wheat into the barn, ^(L)but the chaff he will burn with ^(M)unquenchable fire.”

The Baptism of Jesus

¹³^(N)Then Jesus came ^(O)from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴^(P)John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” ¹⁵But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. ¹⁶And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, ^(Q)the heavens were opened to him,^[a] and he ^(R)saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; ¹⁷and behold, ^(S)a voice from heaven said, ^(T)“This is my beloved Son,^[b] with whom I am well pleased.”

The Temptation of Jesus

4 ^(U)Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness ^(V)to be tempted by the devil. ²And after fasting ^(W)forty days and forty nights, he ^(X)was hungry. ³And ^(Y)the tempter came and said to him, “If you are ^(Z)the Son of God, command ^(AA)these stones to become loaves of bread.” ⁴But he answered, ^(AB)“It is written,

^(AC)“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

⁵^(AD)Then the devil took him to ^(AE)the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple ⁶and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

^(AF)“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’

and

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

⁷Jesus said to him, “Again ^(AG)it is written, ^(AH)‘You shall not ^(AI)put the Lord your God to the test.’” ⁸^(AJ)Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” ¹⁰Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, ^(AK)Satan! For ^(AL)it is written,

^(AM)“‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and ^(AN)him only shall you serve.’”

¹¹Then the devil left him, and behold, ^(AO)angels came and were ministering to him.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

¹²Now when he heard that ^(AP)John had been arrested, ^(AQ)he withdrew into Galilee. ¹³And leaving ^(AR)Nazareth he went and lived in ^(AS)Capernaum by ^(AT)the sea, in the territory of ^(AU)Zebulun and Naphtali, ¹⁴^(AV)so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

¹⁵^(AW)“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
    the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
¹⁶^(AX)the people dwelling in darkness
    have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and ^(AY)shadow of death,
    on them a light has dawned.”

¹⁷^(AZ)From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ^(BA)“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”^[c]

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

¹⁸^(BB)While walking by ^(BC)the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁹And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you ^(BD)fishers of men.”^[d] ²⁰Immediately they left their nets and followed him. ²¹And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. ²²Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds

²³^(BE)And he went throughout all Galilee, ^(BF)teaching in their synagogues and ^(BG)proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and ^(BH)healing every disease and every affliction among the people. ²⁴So his fame spread throughout all ^(BI)Syria, and ^(BJ)they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and ^(BK)pains, ^(BL)those oppressed by demons, ^(BM)those having seizures, and ^(BN)paralytics, and he healed them. ²⁵^(BO)And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the ^(BP)Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

The Sermon on the Mount

5 Seeing the crowds, ^(BQ)he went up on the mountain, and when he ^(BR)sat down, his disciples came to him.

The Beatitudes

²And ^(BS)he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

³^(BT)“Blessed are ^(BU)the poor in spirit, for ^(BV)theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

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

⁵“Blessed are the ^(BX)meek, for they ^(BY)shall inherit the earth.

⁶“Blessed are those who hunger and ^(BZ)thirst ^(CA)for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

⁷“Blessed are ^(CB)the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

⁸“Blessed are ^(CC)the pure in heart, for ^(CD)they shall see God.

⁹“Blessed are ^(CE)the peacemakers, for ^(CF)they shall be called ^(CG)sons^[e] of God.

¹⁰^(CH)“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for ^(CI)theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹^(CJ)“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely ^(CK)on my account. ¹²^(CL)Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for ^(CM)so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Salt and Light

¹³“You are the salt of the earth, ^(CN)but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.