Matthew 7
Living Bible
7 “Don’t criticize, and then you won’t be criticized. 2 For others will treat you as you treat them. 3 And why worry about a speck in the eye of a brother when you have a board in your own? 4 Should you say, ‘Friend, let me help you get that speck out of your eye,’ when you can’t even see because of the board in your own? 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the board. Then you can see to help your brother.
6 “Don’t give holy things to depraved men. Don’t give pearls to swine! They will trample the pearls and turn and attack you.
7 “Ask, and you will be given what you ask for. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Anyone who seeks, finds. If only you will knock, the door will open. 9 If a child asks his father for a loaf of bread, will he be given a stone instead? 10 If he asks for fish, will he be given a poisonous snake? Of course not! 11 And if you hard-hearted, sinful men know how to give good gifts to your children, won’t your Father in heaven even more certainly give good gifts to those who ask him for them?
12 “Do for others what you want them to do for you. This is the teaching of the laws of Moses in a nutshell.[a]
13 “Heaven can be entered only through the narrow gate! The highway to hell[b] is broad, and its gate is wide enough for all the multitudes who choose its easy way. 14 But the Gateway to Life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it.
15 “Beware of false teachers who come disguised as harmless sheep, but are wolves and will tear you apart. 16 You can detect them by the way they act, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit. You need never confuse grapevines with thorn bushes or figs with thistles. 17 Different kinds of fruit trees can quickly be identified by examining their fruit. 18 A variety that produces delicious fruit never produces an inedible kind. And a tree producing an inedible kind can’t produce what is good. 19 So the trees having the inedible fruit are chopped down and thrown on the fire. 20 Yes, the way to identify a tree or a person[c] is by the kind of fruit produced.
21 “Not all who sound religious are really godly people. They may refer to me as ‘Lord,’ but still won’t get to heaven. For the decisive question is whether they obey my Father in heaven. 22 At the Judgment[d] many will tell me, ‘Lord, Lord, we told others about you and used your name to cast out demons and to do many other great miracles.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘You have never been mine.[e] Go away, for your deeds are evil.’
24 “All who listen to my instructions and follow them are wise, like a man who builds his house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents, and the floods rise and the storm winds beat against his house, it won’t collapse, for it is built on rock.
26 “But those who hear my instructions and ignore them are foolish, like a man who builds his house on sand. 27 For when the rains and floods come, and storm winds beat against his house, it will fall with a mighty crash.” 28 The crowds were amazed at Jesus’ sermons, 29 for he taught as one who had great authority, and not as their Jewish leaders.[f]
Footnotes
- Matthew 7:12 This is the teaching of the laws of Moses in a nutshell, literally, “This is the law and the prophets.”
- Matthew 7:13 The highway to hell, literally, “The way that leads to destruction.”
- Matthew 7:20 or a person, implied.
- Matthew 7:22 At the Judgment, literally, “In that day.”
- Matthew 7:23 You have never been mine, literally, “I never knew you.”
- Matthew 7:29 not as their Jewish leaders, literally, “not as the scribes.” These leaders only quoted others, and did not presume to present any fresh revelation.
Matthew 7
Expanded Bible
Be Careful About Judging Others(A)
7 “Don’t judge others, ·or you will [so that you will not] be judged. 2 You will be judged in the same way that you judge others, and ·the amount you give to others will be given to you [or the standard you use for others will be the standard used for you; L with the measure you measure, it will be measured to you].
3 “Why do you notice the ·little piece of dust [speck; tiny splinter] in your ·friend’s [L brother’s (or sister’s)] eye, but you don’t ·notice [consider] the ·big piece of wood [log; plank; beam] in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your ·friend [L brother], ‘Let me take that ·little piece of dust [speck; splinter] out of your eye’? ·Look at yourself [T Behold]! You still have that ·big piece of wood [log; plank; beam] in your own eye. 5 You hypocrite! First, take the ·wood [log; plank; beam] out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly to take the ·dust [speck; splinter] out of your ·friend’s [L brother’s] eye.
6 “Don’t give holy things to dogs, and don’t throw your pearls ·before [to] ·pigs [T swine]. ·Pigs will only trample on them, and dogs will turn to attack you [L They will trample them and turn to attack you; C pigs were ritually unclean and dogs were considered scavengers].
Ask God for What You Need(B)
7 “·Ask [Keep asking], and ·God will give [L it will be given; C the passive verb implies God as subject] to you. ·Search [Seek; Keep seeking], and you will find. ·Knock [Keep knocking], and the door will open for you. 8 ·Yes, [L For; Because] everyone who asks will receive. Everyone who ·searches [seeks] will find. And everyone who knocks will have the door opened.
9 “If your children ask for bread, which of you would give them a stone? 10 Or [L which of you] if your ·children ask [or son asks] for a fish, would you give them a snake? 11 ·Even though you are bad, you [If you, being evil,] know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more your heavenly Father will give good things to those who ask him!
The Most Important Rule(C)
12 “[So always; So in everything] ·Do to others what [Treat others as] you want them to ·do to [treat] you. This ·is [sums up; is the essence of] the ·meaning of the law of Moses and the teaching of the prophets [L Law and the Prophets; C referring to the OT].
The Way to Heaven Is Hard(D)
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. [L Because] The gate is wide and the road is ·wide [broad; spacious; or easy] that leads to ·hell [L destruction; ruin], and many people enter through that gate. 14 But the gate is small and the road is ·narrow [or difficult; hard] that leads to true life. ·Only a few people [And there are few who] find that road.
People Know You by Your Actions(E)
15 “·Be careful of [Beware of; Watch out for] false prophets. They come to you ·looking gentle like sheep [disguised like sheep; L in sheep’s clothing], but ·they are really dangerous like wolves [L underneath/inwardly they are ravenous/vicious/ferocious wolves]. 16 You will know these people by ·what they do [L their fruit]. ·Grapes don’t come [L Can you pick grapes…?] from thornbushes, ·and figs don’t come from [L and figs from…?] ·thorny weeds [thistles]. 17 In the same way, every ·good [healthy; sound] tree produces good fruit, but a ·bad [rotten; diseased] tree produces bad fruit. 18 A ·good [healthy; sound] tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a ·bad [rotten; diseased] tree cannot produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 In the same way, you will know ·these false prophets [L them] by ·what they do [L their fruit].
21 “Not all those who say [L to me] ·‘You are our Lord’ [L ‘Lord! Lord!’] will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do ·what my Father in heaven wants [the will of my Father in heaven]. 22 On ·the last day [judgment day; L that day] many people will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, ·we spoke for you [L Did we not prophesy in your name…?], and ·through you we forced out demons [L cast out demons in your name…?] and did many ·miracles [L mighty works in your name…?].’ 23 Then I will ·tell them clearly [declare to them; publicly announce to them], ‘I never knew you. ·Get away [Depart] from me, you who ·do evil [break God’s law; practice lawlessness; Ps. 6:8].’
Two Kinds of People(F)
24 “Everyone who hears my words and ·obeys [acts on; practices] them is like a ·wise [sensible] man who built his house on rock. 25 It rained hard, the ·floods came [rivers rose], and the winds blew and ·hit [beat; slammed against] that house. But it did not ·fall [collapse], because it was built on rock. 26 Everyone who hears my words and does not ·obey [act on; practice] them is like a ·foolish [stupid] man who built his house on sand. 27 It rained hard, the ·floods came [rivers rose], and the winds blew and ·hit [beat; slammed against] that house, and it ·fell [collapsed] with a big crash.”
28 When Jesus finished ·saying these things [L these words; C the end of the first of five major discourses in Matthew, all of which conclude with a similar phrase; see also 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1], the ·people [crowds] were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he did not teach like their ·teachers of the law [scribes]. He taught like a person who had authority.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.