Mat 3, Mat 5 | ESV | STEP | In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea ,

1 ^aIn those days ^bJohn the Baptist came preaching in ^cthe wilderness of Judea, 2 ^d“Repent, for ^ethe kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

^f“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
^g‘Prepare ^{▼▼Or crying: Prepare in the wilderness} the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.’”
4 Now John wore ⁱa garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was ^jlocusts and ^kwild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, ^lconfessing their sins.

7 But when he saw many of ^mthe Pharisees and ⁿSadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, ^o“You brood of ^pvipers! Who warned you to flee from ^qthe wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit ^rin keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ^s‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from ^tthese stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. ^uEvery tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 ^v“I baptize you with water ^wfor repentance, but ^xhe who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you ^ywith the Holy Spirit and ^zfire. 12 His ^aawinnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and ^abgather his wheat into the barn, ^acbut the chaff he will burn with ^adunquenchable fire.”

The Baptism of Jesus

13 ^aeThen Jesus came ^affrom Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 ^agJohn would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, ^ahthe heavens were opened to him, ^{▼▼Some manuscripts omit to him} and he ^ajsaw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, ^aka voice from heaven said, ^al“This is my beloved Son, ^{▼▼Or my Son, my (or the) Beloved} with whom I am well pleased.”

Matthew 5

The Sermon on the Mount

1 Seeing the crowds, ^anhe went up on the mountain, and when he ^aosat down, his disciples came to him.

The Beatitudes

2 And ^aphe opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

3 ^aq“Blessed are ^arthe poor in spirit, for ^astheirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are ^atthose who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the ^aumeek, for they ^avshall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and ^awthirst ^axfor righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are ^aythe merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are ^azthe pure in heart, for ^bathey shall see God.

9 “Blessed are ^bbthe peacemakers, for ^bcthey shall be called ^bdsons ^{▼▼Greek huioi; see Preface} of God.

10 ^bf“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for ^bgtheirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 ^bh“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely ^bion my account. 12 ^bjRejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for ^bkso they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Salt and Light

13 “You are the salt of the earth, ^blbut 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 ^bm“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 ^bnNor 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 ^bothat ^{▼▼Or house. 16Let your light so shine before others that} they may see your good works and ^bqgive glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Christ Came to Fulfill the Law

17 ^br“Do not think that I have come to abolish ^bsthe Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but ^btto fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, ^buuntil heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 ^bvTherefore whoever relaxes ^bwone of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least ^bxin the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great ^byin the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds ^bzthat of the scribes and Pharisees, you ^cawill never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Anger

21 ^cb“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ^cc‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable ^cdto judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that ^ceeveryone who is angry with his brother ^{▼▼Some manuscripts insert without cause} will be liable ^cgto judgment; whoever insults ^{▼▼Greek says Raca to (a term of abuse)} his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to ^cithe hell ^{▼▼Greek Gehenna; also verses 29, 30} of fire. 23 ^ckSo if ^clyou 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 ^cmCome 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, ^cnyou will never get out until you have paid the last penny. ^{▼▼Greek kodrantes, Roman copper coin (Latin quadrans) worth about 1/64 of a denarius (which was a day’s wage for a laborer)}

Lust

27 ^cp“You have heard that it was said, ^cq‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that ^creveryone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 ^csIf your right eye ^ctcauses 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 ^cuhell. 30 ^cvAnd if your right hand ^cwcauses 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 ^cxhell.

Divorce

31 ^cy“It was also said, ^cz‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 ^daBut I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and ^dbwhoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Oaths

33 “Again ^dcyou have heard that it was said to those of old, ^dd‘You shall not swear falsely, but ^deshall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34 But I say to you, ^dfDo not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for ^dgit is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is ^dhthe city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; ^dianything more than this comes from evil. ^{▼▼Or the evil one}

Retaliation

38 ^dk“You have heard that it was said, ^dl‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, ^dmDo not resist the one who is evil. But ^dnif anyone ^doslaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And ^dpif anyone would sue you and take your tunic, ^{▼▼Greek chiton, a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin} let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone ^drforces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 ^dsGive to the one who begs from you, and ^dtdo not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Love Your Enemies

43 ^du“You have heard that it was said, ^dv‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, ^dwLove your enemies and ^dxpray for those who persecute you, 45 ^dyso that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and ^dzsends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 ^eaFor 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, ^{▼▼Or brothers and sisters. The plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) refers to siblings in a family. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, adelphoi may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters} what more are you doing than others? Do not even ^ecthe Gentiles do the same? 48 ^edYou therefore must be ^eeperfect, ^efas your heavenly Father is perfect.