Matthew 7-8

New American Standard Bible

Judging Others

7 “^(A)Do not ^[a]judge, so that you will not be judged. ² For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and ^[b](B)by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. ³ Why do you ^(C)look at the ^[c]speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ^4 (D)Or how ^[d]can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the ^[e]speck out of your eye,’ and look, the log is in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the ^[f]speck out of your brother’s eye!

⁶ “^(E)Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Prayer and the Golden Rule

⁷ “^[g](F)Ask, and ^(G)it will be given to you; ^[h]seek, and you will find; ^[i]knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or what person is there among you ^[j]who, when his son asks for a loaf of bread, ^[k]will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or ^[l]if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? ¹¹ So if you, despite being ^[m]evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, ^(H)how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

¹² “In everything, ^(I)therefore, ^[n]treat people the same way you want ^[o]them to treat you, for ^(J)this is the Law and the Prophets.

The Narrow and Wide Gates

¹³ “^(K)Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. ¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

A Tree and Its Fruit

¹⁵ “Beware of the ^(L)false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ^(M)ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will ^[p](N)know them by their fruits. ^[q]Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? ¹⁷ So ^(O)every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. ^19 (P)Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ So then, you will ^[r]know them ^(Q)by their fruits.

²¹ “^(R)Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. ^22 (S)Many will say to Me on ^(T)that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many ^[s]miracles?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; ^(U)leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

The Two Foundations

²⁴ “Therefore, ^(V)everyone who hears these words of Mine, and ^[t]acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell and the ^[u]floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not ^[v]act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ And the rain fell and the ^[w]floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and its collapse was great.”

^28 [x](W)When Jesus had finished these words, ^(X)the crowds were amazed at His teaching; ²⁹ for He was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

Jesus Cleanses a Man with Leprosy

8 When ^[y]Jesus came down from the mountain, ^[z]large crowds followed Him. ² And ^(Y)a man with ^[aa]leprosy came to Him and ^[ab](Z)bowed down before Him, and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” ^3 [ac]Jesus reached out with His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his ^(AA)leprosy was cleansed. ⁴ And Jesus *said to him, “^(AB)See that you tell no one; but ^(AC)go, ^(AD)show yourself to the priest and present the ^[ad]offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

The Centurion’s Faith

⁵ And ^(AE)when ^[ae]Jesus entered Capernaum, a ^[af]centurion came to Him, begging Him, ⁶ and saying, “^[ag]Lord, my ^[ah]servant is lying ^(AF)paralyzed at home, terribly tormented.” ⁷ Jesus *said to him, “I will come and heal him.” ⁸ But the centurion replied, “^[ai]Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just ^[aj]say the word, and my ^[ak]servant will be healed. ⁹ For I also am a man under ^(AG)authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” ¹⁰ Now when Jesus heard this, He was amazed and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith ^[al]with anyone in Israel. ¹¹ And I say to you that many ^(AH)will come from east and west, and ^[am]recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; ¹² but ^(AI)the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into ^(AJ)the outer darkness; in that place ^(AK)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ¹³ And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; ^[an]it shall be done for you ^(AL)as you have believed.” And the ^[ao]servant was healed at that very ^[ap]moment.

Peter’s Mother-in-law and Many Others Healed

^14 (AM)When Jesus came into Peter’s ^[aq]home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever. ¹⁵ And He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she got up and ^[ar]waited on Him. ¹⁶ Now when evening came, they brought to Him many ^(AN)who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and ^(AO)healed all who were ill. ¹⁷ This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled: “^(AP)He Himself took our illnesses and ^[as]carried away our diseases.”

Discipleship Tested

¹⁸ Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, ^(AQ)He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea. ^19 (AR)Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” ²⁰ And Jesus *said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but ^(AS)the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” ²¹ And another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.” ²² But Jesus *said to him, “^(AT)Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Jesus Calms the Storm

^23 (AU)When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. ²⁴ And behold, a ^[at]violent storm developed on the sea, so that the boat was being covered by the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. ²⁵ And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “^(AV)Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” ²⁶ He *said to them, “Why are you ^[au]afraid, ^(AW)you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and ^[av]it became perfectly calm. ²⁷ The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

Jesus Sends Demons into Pigs

^28 (AX)And when He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two ^(AY)demon-possessed men confronted Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. ²⁹ And they cried out, saying, “^[aw](AZ)What business do You have with us, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before ^[ax]the time?” ³⁰ Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding at a distance from them. ³¹ And the demons begged Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” ³² And He said to them, “Go!” And they came out and went into the pigs; and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and ^[ay]drowned in the waters. ³³ And the herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, ^[az]including what had happened to the ^(BA)demon-possessed men. ³⁴ And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, ^(BB)they pleaded with Him to leave their region.