Matthew 5
5
The Sermon on the Mount
Matt. 5-7
1 Now, seeing the crowds, He went up the mountain, and when He sat down, His disciples came to Him.
The Beatitudes
Lk. 6:20-23
2 And when He opened His mouth, He began to teach them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. *
4 Blessed are the ones who mourn, for they will be consoled.
5 Blessed are the humble, for they will inherit the earth. *
6 Blessed are the ones who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted on account of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are you when they defame you and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely on account of Me. 12 Be glad and rejoice greatly, for your reward is great in heaven, * for so they persecuted the prophets before you.
Salt of the Earth and Light of the World
Mk. 9:50; Lk. 14:34-35
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes bland, by what will it be made salty? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown outside and trampled underfoot by men. *
14 You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be concealed. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all those in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, * so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. *
Concerning the Law
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single iota or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the Law until everything happens.
19 Therefore, whoever abrogates one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; * but whoever does them and teaches them, this one will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. *
Concerning Anger
21 “You have heard that it was said to those of antiquity,’ * ‘You shall not commit murder,’ * and ‘whoever commits murder will be accountable to the judgment.’ * 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be accountable to the judgment; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You empty one’ will be accountable to the Sanhedrin and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be accountable to the hell of fire. 23 Therefore, if you are presenting your gift at the altar and there recall that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and first go and be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your gift. 25 Come to terms quickly with your opponent while you are with him on the way, lest your opponent hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 Truly, I say to you, you will never come out from there until you have paid up the last penny.
Concerning Adultery
27 “You have heard that it was asserted, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ * 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman so as to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 And if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it from you. For it is better for you that one of the parts of your body be destroyed than your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it from you. For it is better for you that one of the parts of your body be destroyed than your whole body go into hell.
Concerning Divorce
Μatt. 19:9; Mk. 10:11-12; Lk. 16:18
31 “And it was asserted, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a written instrument of divorce.’ * 32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on account of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries one that has been divorced * commits adultery.
Concerning Taking of Oaths
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to those of antiquity, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ * 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all, neither by heaven, because it is the throne of God, 35 nor by the earth, because it is the footstool of His feet, nor by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your statement be ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no,’ and anything more than these is from the evil one.
Concerning Retaliation
Lk. 6:29-30
38 “You have heard that it was asserted, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ * 39 But I say to you, do not resist the evil person; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And the one who wants to sue you and take your tunic, * let him have your cloak * also. 41 And whoever conscripts you to go one mile, go with him two. * 42 Give to the one who makes a request of you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
Love of Enemies
Lk 6:27-28, 32-36
43 “You have heard that it was asserted, ‘You shall love your neighbour * and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies * and pray for those who persecute you, ** 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven,* because He makes His sun rise on the evil and the good, and He sends rain on the just and the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same. 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what extraordinary action are you performing? Do not even the Gentiles * do the same? 48 Therefore, you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Notes
3 Greek of the heavens. So also vv. 19 (twice),20
4-5 Two ancient Greek manuscripts reverse the order of the verses
12 Greek in the heavens. So also v. 16
13 Or people, as generically understood. So also vv. 16,19
16 Or people, as the term is understood in a generic sense
16 Greek in the heavens
19 Some ancient manuscripts end the verse at this place
20 One of the ancient Greek manuscripts that abruptly ends v. 19 also completely omits v. 20
21 Or to the ancients. So also v. 33
21 Quoted from Ex. 20:13; Deut. 5:17
21 See Deut. 16:18
27 Quoted from Ex. 20:14; Deut. 5:18
30 One ancient Greek manuscript omits v. 30
31 Quoted from Deut. 24:1
32 Or a divorced woman
33 See Lev. 19:12
37 The word or is contextually supplied for the purpose of clarification
38 Quoted from Ex. 21:24; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21
40 Or shirt
40 Or coat
41 The ancient Roman background of the Greek word translated conscripts provides the context for Jesus' words. This is given as: And if a Roman soldier impresses you into service to carry his military equipment for one mile, go with him two
43 Quoted from Lev. 19:18
44 Some ancient manuscripts insert at this point the expression bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, likely as a way of conforming the text to a parallel construction in Lk. 6:27-28
44 Some ancient manuscripts read and pray for those who insult you and persecute you
44 The reading in the King James Version (KJV) is a fusion of both variant readings provided above
47 Some ancient manuscripts read tax collectors, likely as a way of forming a parallel structure with the latter part of v. 46
45 Greek in heavens
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Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
