Matthew 4 - 5
The Temptation of Jesus
4aThen Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness bto be tempted by the devil. 2And after He had afasted forty days and forty nights, He 1then became hungry. 3And athe tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the bSon of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘aMan shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”
5Then the devil *took Him into athe holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6and *said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘aHe will command His angels concerning You’; and‘On their hands they will bear You up,Lest You strike Your foot against a stone.’”
8aAgain, the devil *took Him to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9and he said to Him, “aAll these things I will give You, if You fall down and 1worship me.” 10Then Jesus *said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘aYou shall worship the 1Lord your God, and 2serve Him only.’” 11Then the devil *left Him; and behold, aangels came and began to minister to Him.
Jesus Begins His Ministry
12Now when Jesus heard that aJohn had been taken into custody, bHe departed into Galilee; 13and leaving Nazareth, He came and alived in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14in order that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled, saying,
15“aThe land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,1By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the 2Gentiles—16aThe people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light,And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death,Upon them a Light dawned.”The First Disciples
18aNow as Jesus was walking by bthe Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, cSimon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19And He *said to them, “1Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20And immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 21And going on from there He saw two other brothers, 1,aJames the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. 22And immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
Ministry in Galilee
23And Jesus was going athroughout all Galilee, bteaching in their synagogues and cpreaching the 1gospel of the kingdom, and dhealing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.
24And the news about Him spread athroughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, bdemoniacs, 1,cepileptics, dparalytics; and He healed them. 25And large crowds afollowed Him from Galilee and bthe Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from cbeyond the Jordan.
The Sermon on the Mount; The Beatitudes
5aNow when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on bthe 1mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2aAnd He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,
3“1,aBlessed are the 2poor in spirit, for btheirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4Blessed are athose who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5Blessed are athe 1lowly, for they shall inherit the earth. 6Blessed are athose who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7Blessed are athe merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8Blessed are athe pure in heart, for bthey shall see God. 9Blessed are the peacemakers, for athey shall be called sons of God. 10Blessed are those who have been apersecuted for the sake of righteousness, for btheirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11“Blessed are you when people ainsult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12“Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for ain the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Salt and Light
13“You are the salt of the earth; but aif the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out to be trampled under foot by men.
14“You are athe light of the world. A city set on a 1hill cannot be hidden; 15anor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a 1basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may asee your good works, and bglorify your Father who is in heaven.
17“Do not think that I came to abolish the aLaw or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18“For truly I say to you, auntil heaven and earth pass away, not 1the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19“Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches 1others to do the same, shall be called least ain the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20“For I say to you that unless your arighteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Personal Relationships
21“aYou have heard that 1the ancients were told, ‘bYou shall not murder’ and ‘Whoever murders shall be guilty before cthe court.’ 22“But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before athe court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘1Raca,’ shall be guilty before the 2,bSanhedrin; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the 3,cfiery hell. 23“Therefore if you are apresenting your 1offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your 1offering there before the altar and go; first be areconciled to your brother, and then come and present your 2offering. 25“aMake friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26“Truly I say to you, ayou will not come out of there until you have paid up the last 1quadrans.
27“aYou have heard that it was said, ‘bYou shall not commit adultery’; 28but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman ato lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29“aBut if your right eye makes you 1stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you 2to lose one of the parts of your body, 3than for your whole body to be thrown into 4,bhell. 30“aAnd if your right hand makes you 1stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you 2to lose one of the parts of your body, 3than for your whole body to go into 4,bhell.
31“Now it was said, ‘aWhoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’; 32abut I say to you that everyone who 1divorces his wife, except for the reason of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a 2divorced woman commits adultery.
33“Again, ayou have heard that 1the ancients were told, ‘2,bYou shall not 3make false vows, but shall fulfill your 4vows to the 5Lord.’ 34“But I say to you, amake no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is bthe throne of God, 35or by the earth, for it is the afootstool of His feet, or 1by Jerusalem, for it is bthe city of the great King. 36“Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37“But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is 1of athe evil one.
38“aYou have heard that it was said, ‘bAn eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39“But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but awhoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40“And if anyone wants to sue you and take your 1tunic, let him have your 2garment also. 41“And whoever 1forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42“aGive to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.
43“aYou have heard that it was said, ‘bYou shall love your neighbor cand hate your enemy.’ 44“But I say to you, alove your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45so that you may 1be asons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46“For aif 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 more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48“Therefore 1,ayou are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.