Chapter 3

The Preaching of John the Baptist

1 Now ain those days bJohn the Baptist * 1came, 2preaching in the cwilderness of Judea, saying,

2 “aRepent, for bthe kingdom of heaven 1is at hand.”

3 For this is the aone referred to 1by Isaiah the prophet when he said,

“bThe voice of one 2crying in the wilderness,

‘cMake ready the way of the Lord,

Make His paths straight!’ ”

4 Now John himself had 1aa garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was blocusts and wild honey.

5 Then Jerusalem awas going out to him, and all Judea and all bthe district around the Jordan;

6 and they were being abaptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

7 But when he saw many of the aPharisees and bSadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You cbrood of vipers, who warned you to flee from dthe wrath to come?

8 “aTherefore bear fruit bin keeping with repentance;

9 and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘aWe have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.

10 “The aaxe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore bevery tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 “As for me, aI baptize you 1with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; bHe will baptize you 1with the Holy Spirit and fire.

12 “His awinnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will bgather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the cchaff with dunquenchable fire.”

The Baptism of Jesus

13 aThen Jesus * arrived bfrom Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him.

14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”

15 But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us ato fulfill all righteousness.” Then he * permitted Him.

16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and 1ahe saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and 2lighting on Him,

17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “aThis is 1My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

Chapter 4

The Temptation of Jesus

1 aThen Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness bto be tempted by the devil.

2 And after He had afasted forty days and forty nights, He 1then became hungry.

3 And athe tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the bSon of God, command that these stones become bread.”

4 But 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.’ ”

5 Then the devil * took Him into athe holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple,

6 and * 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,

So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’ ”

7 Jesus said to him, “1On the other hand, it is written, ‘aYou shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

8 aAgain, the devil * took Him to a very high mountain and * showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory;

9 and he said to Him, “aAll these things I will give You, if You fall down and 1worship me.”

10 Then Jesus * said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘aYou shall worship the Lord your God, and 1serve Him only.’ ”

11 Then the devil * left Him; and behold, aangels came and began to minister to Him.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

12 Now when Jesus heard that aJohn had been taken into custody, bHe withdrew into Galilee;

13 and leaving Nazareth, He came and asettled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.

14 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

15 “aThe land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,

1By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the 2Gentiles—

16 “aThe 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.”

17 aFrom that time Jesus began to 1preach and say, “bRepent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

The First Disciples

18 aNow 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.

19 And He * said to them, “1Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

20 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.

21 Going on from there He saw two other brothers, 1aJames the son of Zebedee, and 2John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them.

22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

Ministry in Galilee

23 Jesus was going athroughout all Galilee, bteaching in their synagogues and cproclaiming the 1gospel of the kingdom, and dhealing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.

24 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, 1cepileptics, dparalytics; and He healed them.

25 Large crowds afollowed Him from Galilee and bthe Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from cbeyond the Jordan.

Chapter 5

The Sermon on the Mount; The Beatitudes

1 aWhen Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on bthe 1mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.

2 aHe opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,

3 “1aBlessed are the 2poor in spirit, for btheirs is the kingdom of heaven.

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

5 “Blessed are athe 1gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are athose who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

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

8 “Blessed are athe pure in heart, for bthey shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for athey shall be called sons of God.

10 “Blessed 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.

Disciples and the World

13 “You are the salt of the earth; but aif the salt has become tasteless, how 1can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

14 “You are athe light of the world. A city set on a 1hill cannot be hidden;

15 anor 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 2keeps 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 commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be 2liable to cthe court.’

22 “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be 1guilty before athe court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘2You good-for-nothing,’ shall be 1guilty before 3bthe supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be 1guilty enough to go into the 4cfiery hell.

23 “Therefore if you are apresenting your 1offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,

24 leave your 1offering there before the altar and go; first be areconciled to your brother, and then come and present your 1offering.

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 1cent.

27 “aYou have heard that it was said, ‘bYou shall not commit adultery’;

28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman awith lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

29 “aIf 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 4bhell.

30 “aIf 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 4bhell.

31 “It was said, ‘aWhoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’;

32 abut I say to you that everyone who 1divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a 2divorced woman commits adultery.

33 “Again, ayou have heard that 1the ancients were told, ‘2bYou shall not 3make false vows, but shall fulfill your 4vows to the Lord.’

34 “But I say to you, amake no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is bthe throne of God,

35 or 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 aevil.

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 “If anyone wants to sue you and take your 1shirt, let him have your 2coat also.

41 “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,

45 so 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 “If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

48 “Therefore 1ayou are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.