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
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.
Matthew 7
EasyEnglish Bible
We should not speak against other people
7 Jesus then said, ‘Do not say to anyone, “You are a bad person.” If you do that, God will say to you, “You are a bad person.” 2 God will think about you in the same way that you think about other people. He will use the same rules for you as you use for other people.
3 Perhaps you want to tell your friend about his little mistake. If you want to do that, first remember your own bigger mistakes. 4 You are like a person who has a big piece of wood in his eye. But then he says to his friend, “Let me take that little piece of dirt out of your eye for you.” 5 Do not be like that person. You think that you are better than your friend. But you are not. First, you must take the big piece of wood out of your own eye. After that, your eyes will see clearly. Then you can take the small piece of dirt out of your friend's eye.[a]
6 Do not give special things that are for God to dogs. The dogs will turn round and attack you. Do not throw valuable things to pigs. The pigs will only stand on them and bury them in the dirt.’[b]
Jesus teaches his disciples more about God
7 Jesus said, ‘Go on asking God for what you need. Then God will give it to you. Go on looking for what you need. Then you will find it. Go on knocking at the door, and God will open it for you. 8 Everyone who asks for something will receive it. Everyone who looks for something will find it. God will open the door for everyone who knocks on it.
9 Some of you are fathers. If your son asks you for some bread, you would not give him a stone. 10 If he asks you for a fish, you would not give him a snake. 11 You may be bad, but even you know how to give good things to your children. Your Father in heaven knows much better than you do how to give good things to his children. He will give good things to everyone who asks him.[c] 12 So do the good things for other people that you would want them to do for you. That is true in everything you do. That is what God's Law and the messages of God's prophets teach us.’
Jesus teaches people how to get true life
13 ‘Go in through the narrow gate to get true life with God. There is a wide gate that is easy to go through. The wide path is easy to travel on. Many people find that wide gate, but it is the way to hell. 14 It is difficult to go through the small gate. And it is difficult to walk on the narrow road. But when you do go that way, you will get true life. Not many people find that narrow gate.’[d]
Jesus tells a story about a tree and its fruit
15 ‘Some people say that they are prophets from God. But their words are false. They seem to be like sheep that are not dangerous. But they are really like hungry wild dogs. What they teach will hurt you.
16 You will know these people by the way that they live. The things that they do are like their fruit. Grapes do not grow on thorn bushes. Figs do not grow on weeds.[e] 17 Good fruit grows on a tree that is good. Bad fruit grows on a tree that is not good. 18 A good tree cannot make bad fruit. A bad tree cannot make good fruit. 19 A farmer will cut down any tree that does not make good fruit. He will burn it on a fire. 20 In the same way, look at the way people live. Then you will know what they are really like.
21 Some people say to me, “Master, Master!” But not all of them will come into the kingdom of heaven. Only the people who obey God, my Father in heaven, will come in. They do what he wants them to do. 22 On the day when God judges people, many of them will say, “Master, Master! We used your authority and we spoke a message from you. We used your authority and we sent bad spirits out of people. We used your authority to do many powerful things.” 23 But I will say to these people, “I never knew you. You do not obey God. You are bad. So go away from me.” ’
Jesus tells a story about two men who each built a house
24 Jesus then said, ‘Some people listen to my message and they obey it. Those people are like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25 Then a storm came with a lot of rain and wind. The rivers rose up high. Strong winds blew hard against that house. But the house did not fall down because the man had built it on rock. 26 Other people listen to my message but they do not obey it. Those people are like a fool who built his house on sand. 27 Then a storm came with a lot of rain and wind. The rivers rose up high. Strong winds blew hard against the house. That house fell down. The storm destroyed it completely.’[f]
28 Jesus finished speaking. The crowds of people were very surprised at the things that he taught them. 29 When Jesus taught them, he showed that he had authority. That was not like the way that the teachers of God's Law taught people.
Footnotes
- 7:5 Jesus tells us to make our own mistakes right. After that, we can tell our friends about their mistakes.
- 7:6 When Jesus talked about dogs and pigs here he was talking about people who do not want God. We do not give valuable things to pigs and dogs. They would not take care of them.
- 7:11 Jesus is teaching his disciples that they must pray. And they must continue to pray. God will hear them. He will give them the good things that they ask for.
- 7:14 If we want to have true life with God, there is a difficult way to travel along. It is like a narrow gate that we have to go through and a narrow path to go along.
- 7:16 The prophets are like fruit trees. The things that they do are like the fruit on the trees. If they do good things, then the fruit is good. And the people will know that they are real prophets. If they do wrong things, then that is like bad fruit. And the people will know that they are not real prophets.
- 7:27 Jesus tells us that our life is like a house. We should obey God. Then our life will be like the first house. It continued to stand when troubles came. If we do not obey God, our life will be like the second house. That house fell down. So our life will have a sad end.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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