Matthew 7
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 7
Judging Others. 1 [a](A)“Stop judging,[b] that you may not be judged.(B) 2 For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.(C) 3 Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? 5 You hypocrite,[c] remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.
Pearls Before Swine. 6 “Do not give what is holy to dogs,[d] or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.(D)
The Answer to Prayers. 7 (E)“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.(F) 8 For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.(G) 9 Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread,[e] 10 or a snake when he asks for a fish? 11 If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.(H)
The Golden Rule. 12 [f]“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.(I) This is the law and the prophets.
The Narrow Gate. 13 [g]“Enter through the narrow gate;[h] for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many.(J) 14 How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.
False Prophets.[i] 15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves.(K) 16 (L)By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So by their fruits you will know them.(M)
The True Disciple. 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,[j] but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.(N) 22 Many will say to me on that day,(O) ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’(P) 23 Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you.[k] Depart from me, you evildoers.’(Q)
The Two Foundations. 24 [l]“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.(R) 25 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house.(S) But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. 26 And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. 27 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”
28 [m]When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 [n](T)for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
Footnotes
- 7:1–12 In Mt 7:1 Matthew returns to the basic traditional material of the sermon (Lk 6:37–38, 41–42). The governing thought is the correspondence between conduct toward one’s fellows and God’s conduct toward the one so acting.
- 7:1 This is not a prohibition against recognizing the faults of others, which would be hardly compatible with Mt 7:5, 6 but against passing judgment in a spirit of arrogance, forgetful of one’s own faults.
- 7:5 Hypocrite: the designation previously given to the scribes and Pharisees is here given to the Christian disciple who is concerned with the faults of another and ignores his own more serious offenses.
- 7:6 Dogs and swine were Jewish terms of contempt for Gentiles. This saying may originally have derived from a Jewish Christian community opposed to preaching the gospel (what is holy, pearls) to Gentiles. In the light of Mt 28:19 that can hardly be Matthew’s meaning. He may have taken the saying as applying to a Christian dealing with an obstinately impenitent fellow Christian (Mt 18:17).
- 7:9–10 There is a resemblance between a stone and a round loaf of bread and between a serpent and the scaleless fish called barbut.
- 7:12 See Lk 6:31. This saying, known since the eighteenth century as the “Golden Rule,” is found in both positive and negative form in pagan and Jewish sources, both earlier and later than the gospel. This is the law and the prophets is an addition probably due to the evangelist.
- 7:13–28 The final section of the discourse is composed of a series of antitheses, contrasting two kinds of life within the Christian community, that of those who obey the words of Jesus and that of those who do not. Most of the sayings are from Q and are found also in Luke.
- 7:13–14 The metaphor of the “two ways” was common in pagan philosophy and in the Old Testament. In Christian literature it is found also in the Didache (1–6) and the Epistle of Barnabas (18–20).
- 7:15–20 Christian disciples who claimed to speak in the name of God are called prophets (Mt 7:15) in Mt 10:41; Mt 23:34. They were presumably an important group within the church of Matthew. As in the case of the Old Testament prophets, there were both true and false ones, and for Matthew the difference could be recognized by the quality of their deeds, the fruits (Mt 7:16). The mention of fruits leads to the comparison with trees, some producing good fruit, others bad.
- 7:21–23 The attack on the false prophets is continued, but is broadened to include those disciples who perform works of healing and exorcism in the name of Jesus (Lord) but live evil lives. Entrance into the kingdom is only for those who do the will of the Father. On the day of judgment (on that day) the morally corrupt prophets and miracle workers will be rejected by Jesus.
- 7:23 I never knew you: cf. Mt 10:33. Depart from me, you evildoers: cf. Ps 6:9.
- 7:24–27 The conclusion of the discourse (cf. Lk 6:47–49). Here the relation is not between saying and doing as in Mt 7:15–23 but between hearing and doing, and the words of Jesus are applied to every Christian (everyone who listens).
- 7:28–29 When Jesus finished these words: this or a similar formula is used by Matthew to conclude each of the five great discourses of Jesus (cf. Mt 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1).
- 7:29 Not as their scribes: scribal instruction was a faithful handing down of the traditions of earlier teachers; Jesus’ teaching is based on his own authority. Their scribes: for the implications of their, see note on Mt 4:23.
Matthew 7
World English Bible
7 “Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged. 2 For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye? 4 Or how will you tell your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ and behold, the beam is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.
6 “Don’t give that which is holy to the dogs, neither throw your pearls before the pigs, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
7 “Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. 8 For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or who is there among you who, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, who will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, 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, whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.
13 “Enter in by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter in by it. 14 How[a] narrow is the gate and the way is restricted that leads to life! There are few who find it.
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. 16 By their fruits you will know them. Do you gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree produces good fruit, but the corrupt tree produces evil fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that doesn’t grow good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’ 23 Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’
24 “Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it didn’t fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 Everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell—and its fall was great.”
28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the multitudes were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he taught them with authority, and not like the scribes.
Footnotes
- 7:14 TR reads “Because” instead of “How”
Mateo 7
Palabra de Dios para Todos
No juzguen a los demás
(Lc 6:37-38, 41-42)
7 »No juzguen a los demás, para que Dios no los juzgue a ustedes. 2 Porque se les juzgará de la misma manera que ustedes juzguen a los demás. Con la misma medida que ustedes midan a los demás, Dios los medirá a ustedes.
3 »¿Por qué te fijas en la pajita que tiene tu hermano en el ojo, pero no te das cuenta de la viga que tienes tú en el tuyo? 4 ¿Cómo te atreves a decirle a tu hermano: “Déjame sacarte la pajita que tienes en el ojo”, mientras que en el tuyo hay una viga? 5 ¡No seas hipócrita! Primero saca la viga de tu ojo y verás mejor para poder sacar la pajita de tu hermano.
6 »No les den lo que es santo a los perros, pues se irán contra ustedes y los morderán. No les tiren tampoco perlas finas a los cerdos, pues lo único que ellos harán es pisotearlas.
Pídanle a Dios lo que necesiten
(Lc 11:9-13)
7 »No se cansen de pedir, y Dios les dará; sigan buscando, y encontrarán; llamen a la puerta una y otra vez, y se les abrirá. 8 Porque todo el que pide, recibe; el que busca, encuentra; y al que llama a la puerta, se le abrirá.
9 »¿Le daría alguno de ustedes una piedra a su hijo si le pide pan? 10 ¿O le daría una serpiente si le pide un pescado? 11 Pues si ustedes, aun siendo malos, saben cómo darles cosas buenas a sus hijos, imagínense cuánto más dispuesto estará su Padre celestial a darles lo que le pidan.
12 »Así que, traten a los demás como les gustaría que los trataran a ustedes. Ese es el verdadero significado de la ley y de la enseñanza de los profetas.
Los dos caminos
(Lc 13:24)
13 »Entren por la puerta angosta, porque ancha es la puerta y espacioso el camino que lleva a la destrucción. Mucha gente toma ese camino. 14 En cambio, la puerta que lleva a la verdadera vida es muy angosta, el camino muy duro y sólo unos pocos lo encuentran.
No se dejen engañar
(Lc 6:43-44; 13:25-27)
15 »Tengan cuidado con los falsos profetas, pues ellos están disfrazados de mansas ovejas, pero por dentro son lobos feroces. 16 Ustedes los reconocerán por la clase de fruto que den. El bien no viene de la gente mala, así como las uvas no se recogen de los espinos, ni los higos se recogen de los cardos. 17 De la misma manera, todo árbol bueno da fruto bueno, pero un árbol malo da fruto malo. 18 Un buen árbol no puede dar fruto malo ni tampoco un árbol malo puede dar fruto bueno. 19 Todo árbol que no dé fruto bueno, será cortado y echado al fuego. 20 Por eso digo que reconocerán a los falsos profetas por la clase de fruto que den.
21 »No todo el que afirma que yo soy su Señor entrará en el reino de Dios. Sólo entrará el que obedezca a mi Padre que está en el cielo. 22 Vendrá el día en que muchos me van a decir: “Tú eres nuestro Señor, nosotros profetizamos en tu nombre, y por ti echamos fuera demonios. Además hicimos muchos milagros en tu nombre”. 23 Entonces les diré claramente: “Nunca los conocí, apártense de mí, porque ustedes se dedicaron a hacer el mal”.
El prudente y el insensato
(Lc 6:47-49)
24 »Por lo tanto, quien oiga mis enseñanzas y las ponga en práctica, será como el hombre prudente que construyó su casa sobre la roca. 25 Llovió fuerte, los ríos crecieron, los vientos soplaron y golpearon contra aquella casa. Sin embargo, la casa no se cayó porque estaba construida sobre la roca. 26 Pero el que oiga mis palabras y no las ponga en práctica, será como el insensato que construyó su casa sobre arena. 27 Llovió fuerte, los ríos crecieron, los vientos soplaron y golpearon contra la casa. La casa se derrumbó y fue todo un desastre».
28 Cuando Jesús terminó de decir esto, la gente se admiraba de su enseñanza, 29 porque él les enseñaba como alguien que tiene autoridad y no como los maestros de la ley.
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