Matthew 5
5
1But seeing the crowds, he went up into the mountain, and having sat down, his disciples came to him; 2and, having opened his mouth, he taught them, saying,
3Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. 4Blessed they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5Blessed the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6Blessed they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. 7Blessed the merciful, for they shall find mercy. 8Blessed the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9Blessed the peace-makers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10Blessed they who are persecuted on account of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. 11Blessed are ye when they may reproach and persecute you, and say every wicked thing against you, lying, for my sake. 12Rejoice and exult, for your reward is great in the heavens; for thus have they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
13 Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt have become insipid, wherewith shall it be salted? It is no longer fit for anything but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot by men. 14Ye are the light of the world: a city situated on the top of a mountain cannot be hid. 15Nor do men light a lamp and put it under the bushel, but upon the lamp-stand, and it shines for all who are in the house. 16Let your light thus shine before men, so that they may see your upright works, and glorify your Father who is in the heavens.
17Think not that I am come to make void the law or the prophets; I am not come to make void, but to fulfil. 18For verily I say unto you, Until the heaven and the earth pass away, one iota or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all come to pass. 19Whosoever then shall do away with one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of the heavens; but whosoever shall practise and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of the heavens. 20For I say unto you, that unless your righteousness surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of the heavens.
21Ye have heard that it was said to the ancients, Thou shalt not kill; but whosoever shall kill shall be subject to the judgment. 22But I say unto you, that every one that is lightly angry with his brother shall be subject to the judgment; but whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be subject to be called before the sanhedrim; but whosoever shall say, Fool, shall be subject to the penalty of the hell of fire. 23If therefore thou shouldest offer thy gift at the altar, and there shouldest remember that thy brother has something against thee, 24leave there thy gift before the altar, and first go, be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 25Make friends with thine adverse party quickly, whilst thou art in the way with him; lest some time the adverse party deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 26Verily I say to thee, Thou shalt in no wise come out thence till thou hast paid the last farthing.
27Ye have heard that it has been said, Thou shalt not commit adultery. 28But I say unto you, that every one who looks upon a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29But if thy right eye be a snare to thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members perish, and not thy whole body be cast into hell. 30And if thy right hand be a snare to thee, cut it off and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members perish, and not thy whole body be cast into hell. 31It has been said too, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a letter of divorce. 32But I say unto you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, except for cause of fornication, makes her commit adultery, and whosoever marries one that is put away commits adultery.
33Again, ye have heard that it has been said to the ancients, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt render to the Lord what thou hast sworn. 34But I say unto you, Do not swear at all; neither by the heaven, because it is the throne of God; 35nor by the earth, because it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. 36Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. 37But let your word be Yea, yea; Nay, nay; but what is more than these is from evil.
38Ye have heard that it has been said, Eye for eye and tooth for tooth. 39But I say unto you, not to resist evil; but whoever shall strike thee on thy right cheek, turn to him also the other; 40and to him that would go to law with thee and take thy body coat, leave him thy cloak also. 41And whoever will compel thee to go one mile, go with him two. 42To him that asks of thee give, and from him that desires to borrow of thee turn not away.
43Ye have heard that it has been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour and hate thine enemy. 44But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who insult you and persecute you, 45that ye may be the sons of your Father who is in the heavens; for he makes his sun rise on evil and good, and sends rain on just and unjust. 46For if ye should love those who love you, what reward have ye? Do not also the tax-gatherers the same? 47And if ye should salute your brethren only, what do ye extraordinary? Do not also the Gentiles the same? 48Be ye therefore perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.
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Matthew 5: DARBY
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Matthew 5
5
Jesus Teaches the People
(Lk. 6:20–23)
1When Jesus saw the crowds of people there, he went up on a hill and sat down. His followers came and sat next to him. 2Then Jesus began teaching the people. He said,
3“Great blessings belong to those who know they are spiritually in need.#5:3 those … in need Literally, “the poor in spirit.”
God’s kingdom belongs to them.
4Great blessings belong to those who are sad now.
God will comfort them.
5Great blessings belong to those who are humble.
They will be given the land God promised.#5:5 They will … promised This is the meaning of these words in Ps. 37:11. Here, they probably refer to a spiritual “promised land,” but they can also mean “The earth will belong to them.”
6Great blessings belong to those who want to do right more than anything else.#5:6 want … more than anything else Literally, “hunger and thirst for righteousness.”
God will fully satisfy them.
7Great blessings belong to those who show mercy to others.
Mercy will be given to them.
8Great blessings belong to those whose thoughts are pure.
They will be with God.
9Great blessings belong to those who work to bring peace.
God will call them his sons and daughters.
10Great blessings belong to those who suffer persecution for doing what is right.
God’s kingdom belongs to them.
11“People will insult you and hurt you. They will lie and say all kinds of evil things about you because you follow me. But when they do that, know that great blessings belong to you. 12Be happy about it. Be very glad because you have a great reward waiting for you in heaven. People did these same bad things to the prophets who lived before you.
You Are Like Salt and Light
(Mk. 9:50; 4:21; Lk. 14:34–35; 8:16)
13“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its taste, it cannot be made salty again. Salt is useless if it loses its salty taste. It will be thrown out where people will just walk on it.
14“You are the light that shines for the world to see. You are like a city built on a hill that cannot be hidden. 15People don’t hide a lamp under a bowl. They put it on a lampstand. Then the light shines for everyone in the house. 16In the same way, you should be a light for other people. Live so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.
Jesus and the Old Testament Writings
17“Don’t think that I have come to destroy the Law of Moses or the teaching of the prophets. I have come not to destroy their teachings but to give full meaning to them. 18I assure you that nothing will disappear from the law until heaven and earth are gone. The law will not lose even the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter until it has all been done.
19“A person should obey every command in the law, even one that does not seem important. Whoever refuses to obey any command and teaches others not to obey it will be the least important in God’s kingdom. But whoever obeys the law and teaches others to obey it will be great in God’s kingdom. 20I tell you that you must do better than the teachers of the law and the Pharisees. If you are not more pleasing to God than they are, you will never enter God’s kingdom.
Jesus Teaches About Anger
21“You have heard that it was said to our people long ago, ‘You must not murder anyone.#Quote from Ex. 20:13; Deut. 5:17. Any person who commits murder will be judged.’ 22But I tell you, don’t be angry with anyone. If you are angry with others, you will be judged. And if you insult someone, you will be judged by the high court. And if you call someone a fool, you will be in danger of the fire of hell.
23“So, what if you are offering your gift at the altar and remember that someone has something against you? 24Leave your gift there and go make peace with that person. Then come and offer your gift.
25“If anyone wants to take you to court, make friends with them quickly. Try to do that before you get to the court. If you don’t, they might hand you over to the judge. And the judge will hand you over to a guard, who will throw you into jail. 26I assure you that you will not leave there until you have paid everything you owe.
Jesus Teaches About Sexual Sin
27“You have heard that it was said, ‘You must not commit adultery.’#Quote from Ex. 20:14; Deut. 5:18. 28But I tell you that if a man looks at a woman and wants to sin sexually with her, he has already committed that sin with her in his mind. 29If your right eye makes you sin, take it out and throw it away. It is better to lose one part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into hell. 30If your right hand makes you sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
Jesus Teaches About Divorce
(Mt. 19:9; Mk. 10:11–12; Lk. 16:18)
31“It was also said, ‘Any man who divorces his wife must give her a written notice of divorce.’#Quote from Deut. 24:1. 32But I tell you that any man who divorces his wife, except for the problem of sexual sin, is causing his wife to be guilty of adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman is guilty of adultery.
Jesus Teaches About Making Promises
33“You have heard that it was said to our people long ago, ‘When you make a vow, you must not break your promise. Keep the vows that you make to the Lord.’#5:33 See Lev. 19:12; Num. 30:2; Deut. 23:21. 34But I tell you, when you make a promise, don’t try to make it stronger with a vow. Don’t make a vow using the name of heaven, because heaven is God’s throne. 35Don’t make a vow using the name of the earth, because the earth belongs to him.#5:35 the earth … him Literally, “it is the footstool of his feet.” Don’t make a vow using the name of Jerusalem, because it also belongs to him, the great King. 36And don’t even say that your own head is proof that you will keep your promise. You cannot make one hair on your head white or black. 37Say only ‘yes’ if you mean ‘yes,’ and say only ‘no’ if you mean ‘no.’ If you say more than that, it is from the Evil One.
Jesus Teaches About Fighting Back
(Lk. 6:29–30)
38“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’#Quote from Ex. 21:24; Lev. 24:20. 39But I tell you, don’t fight back against someone who wants to do harm to you. If they hit you on the right cheek, let them hit the other cheek too. 40If anyone wants to sue you in court and take your shirt, let them have your coat too. 41If a soldier forces you to walk with him one mile,#5:41 one mile Literally, “one milion,” about 1.5 km. go with him two. 42Give to anyone who asks you for something. Don’t refuse to give to anyone who wants to borrow from you.
Love Your Enemies
(Lk. 6:27–28, 32–36)
43“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor#Quote from Lev. 19:18. and hate your enemy.’ 44But I tell you, love your enemies. Pray for those who treat you badly. 45If you do this, you will be children who are truly like your Father in heaven. He lets the sun rise for all people, whether they are good or bad. He sends rain to those who do right and to those who do wrong. 46If you love only those who love you, why should you get a reward for that? Even the tax collectors do that. 47And if you are nice only to your friends, you are no better than anyone else. Even the people who don’t know God are nice to their friends. 48What I am saying is that you must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
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