Giving to the Needy

6 “Beware of ^(A)practicing your righteousness before other people in order ^(B)to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

^2 (C)“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may ^(D)be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have ^(E)received their reward. ³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. ^(F)And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

The Lord's Prayer

⁵ “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love ^(G)to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. ^(H)Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ⁶ But when you pray, ^(I)go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. ^(J)And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

⁷ “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as ^(K)the Gentiles do, for ^(L)they think that they will be heard ^(M)for their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, ^(N)for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. ^9 (O)Pray then like this:

^14 (AA)For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, ^15 (AB)but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Fasting

¹⁶ “And ^(AC)when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. ^(AD)Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ¹⁷ But when you fast, ^(AE)anoint your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. ^(AF)And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Lay Up Treasures in Heaven

^19 (AG)“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where ^(AH)moth and rust^[e] destroy and where thieves ^(AI)break in and steal, ^20 (AJ)but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

^22 (AK)“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, ^23 (AL)but if ^(AM)your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

^24 (AN)“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and ^(AO)money.^[f]

Do Not Be Anxious

^25 (AP)“Therefore I tell you, ^(AQ)do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ^26 (AR)Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. ^(AS)Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his ^(AT)span of life?^{[g] 28} And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹ yet I tell you, ^(AU)even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, ^(AV)O you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For ^(AW)the Gentiles seek after all these things, and ^(AX)your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³ But ^(AY)seek first ^(AZ)the kingdom of God and his righteousness, ^(BA)and all these things will be added to you.

^34 (BB)“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

The Lord's Prayer

11 Now Jesus^[a] was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, ^(A)as John taught his disciples.” ² And he said to them, ^(B)“When you pray, say:

⁵ And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, ⁶ for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; ⁷ and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? ⁸ I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything ^(K)because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence^[c] he will rise and give him whatever he needs. ⁹ And I tell you, ^(L)ask, and ^(M)it will be given to you; ^(N)seek, and you will find; ^(O)knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ¹¹ What father among you, if his son asks for^[d] a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; ¹² or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, ^(P)who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father ^(Q)give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Jesus and Beelzebul

^14 (R)Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. ¹⁵ But some of them said, “He casts out demons ^(S)by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” ¹⁶ while others, ^(T)to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. ^17 (U)But he, ^(V)knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. ¹⁸ And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, ^(W)by whom do ^(X)your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁰ But if it is by ^(Y)the finger of God that I cast out demons, then ^(Z)the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²¹ When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; ^22 (AA)but when one stronger than he attacks him and ^(AB)overcomes him, he takes away his ^(AC)armor in which he trusted and ^(AD)divides his spoil. ^23 (AE)Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

^24 (AF)“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through ^(AG)waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ²⁵ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. ²⁶ Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And ^(AH)the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

True Blessedness

²⁷ As he said these things, ^(AI)a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, ^(AJ)“Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” ²⁸ But he said, ^(AK)“Blessed rather are those ^(AL)who hear the word of God and ^(AM)keep it!”

The Sign of Jonah

^29 (AN)When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, ^(AO)“This generation is an evil generation. ^(AP)It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. ³⁰ For as ^(AQ)Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. ^31 (AR)The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and ^(AS)condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, ^(AT)something greater than Solomon is here. ^32 (AU)The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and ^(AV)condemn it, for ^(AW)they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, ^(AX)something greater than Jonah is here.

The Light in You

^33 (AY)“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. ³⁴ Your eye is ^(AZ)the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is ^(BA)bad, your body is full of darkness. ^35 (BB)Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. ³⁶ If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, ^(BC)as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”

Woes to the Pharisees and Lawyers

³⁷ While Jesus^[e] was speaking, ^(BD)a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. ³⁸ The Pharisee was astonished to see ^(BE)that he did not first wash before dinner. ³⁹ And the Lord said to him, ^(BF)“Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of ^(BG)greed and wickedness. ^40 (BH)You fools! ^(BI)Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ But ^(BJ)give as alms those things that are within, and behold, ^(BK)everything is clean for you.

^42 (BL)“But woe to you Pharisees! For ^(BM)you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect ^(BN)justice and ^(BO)the love of God. ^(BP)These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. ⁴³ Woe to you Pharisees! For ^(BQ)you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴ Woe to you! ^(BR)For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”

⁴⁵ One of ^(BS)the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” ⁴⁶ And he said, “Woe to you ^(BT)lawyers also! For ^(BU)you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. ^47 (BV)Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. ^48 (BW)So you are witnesses and you ^(BX)consent to the deeds of ^(BY)your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹ Therefore also ^(BZ)the Wisdom of God said, ^(CA)‘I will send them ^(CB)prophets and apostles, ^(CC)some of whom they will ^(CD)kill and persecute,’ ⁵⁰ so that ^(CE)the blood of all the prophets, shed ^(CF)from the foundation of the world, may be ^(CG)charged against this generation, ⁵¹ from the blood of ^(CH)Abel to the blood of ^(CI)Zechariah, who perished between ^(CJ)the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be ^(CK)required of this generation. ⁵² Woe to you ^(CL)lawyers! ^(CM)For you have taken away the key of ^(CN)knowledge. You ^(CO)did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

⁵³ As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, ^54 (CP)lying in wait for him, ^(CQ)to catch him in something he might say.