God Is King over All the Earth

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of ^(A)the Sons of Korah.

Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh

48 After this, Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is ill.” So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. ² And it was told to Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to you.” Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed. ³ And Jacob said to Joseph, ^(A)“God Almighty^[a] appeared to me at ^(B)Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, ⁴ and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you ^(C)for an everlasting possession.’ ⁵ And now your ^(D)two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, ^(E)are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. ⁶ And the children that you fathered after them shall be yours. They shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. ⁷ As for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow ^(F)Rachel died in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some distance^[b] to go to Ephrath, and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”

⁸ When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, “Who are these?” ⁹ Joseph said to his father, ^(G)“They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” And he said, “Bring them to me, please, that ^(H)I may bless them.” ¹⁰ Now ^(I)the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near him, ^(J)and he kissed them and embraced them. ¹¹ And Israel said to Joseph, ^(K)“I never expected to see your face; and behold, God has let me see your offspring also.” ¹² Then Joseph removed them from his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. ¹³ And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near him. ^14 (L)And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, ^(M)crossing his hands (for Manasseh was the firstborn). ¹⁵ And he blessed Joseph and said,

¹⁷ When Joseph saw that his father ^(S)laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. ¹⁸ And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” ¹⁹ But his father refused and said, ^(T)“I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, ^(U)his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude^[d] of nations.” ²⁰ So he blessed them that day, saying,

Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. ²¹ Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but ^(W)God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. ²² Moreover, I have given to ^(X)you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope^[e] that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.”

Salt and Light

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth, ^(A)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.

^14 (B)“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ^15 (C)Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, so ^(D)that^[a] they may see your good works and ^(E)give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Christ Came to Fulfill the Law

^17 (F)“Do not think that I have come to abolish ^(G)the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but ^(H)to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly, I say to you, ^(I)until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. ^19 (J)Therefore whoever relaxes ^(K)one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least ^(L)in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great ^(M)in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds ^(N)that of the scribes and Pharisees, you ^(O)will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Anger

^21 (P)“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ^(Q)‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable ^(R)to judgment.’ ²² But I say to you that ^(S)everyone who is angry with his brother^[b] will be liable ^(T)to judgment; whoever insults^[c] his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to ^(U)the hell^[d] of fire. ^23 (V)So if ^(W)you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ^25 (X)Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. ²⁶ Truly, I say to you, ^(Y)you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.^[e]

Lust

^27 (Z)“You have heard that it was said, ^(AA)‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I say to you that ^(AB)everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ^29 (AC)If your right eye ^(AD)causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into ^(AE)hell. ^30 (AF)And if your right hand ^(AG)causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into ^(AH)hell.

Divorce

^31 (AI)“It was also said, ^(AJ)‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ^32 (AK)But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and ^(AL)whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.