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Luke 6:20-49
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Luke 6:20-49
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
20 [a]And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,[b]
for the kingdom of God is yours.
21 Blessed are you who are now hungry,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who are now weeping,
for you will laugh.(A)
22 Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude and insult you,
and denounce your name as evil
on account of the Son of Man.(B)
23 Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.(C)
24 But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.(D)
25 But woe to you who are filled now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will grieve and weep.(E)
26 Woe to you when all speak well of you,
for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.(F)
Love of Enemies.[c] 27 (G)“But to you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,(H) 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.(I) 29 To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.(J) 32 For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit [is] that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount.(K) 35 But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.(L) 36 Be merciful, just as [also] your Father is merciful.
Judging Others.[d] 37 (M)“Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.(N) 38 Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”(O) 39 And he told them a parable, “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?(P) 40 No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.(Q) 41 Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’ when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.
A Tree Known by Its Fruit.(R) 43 [e]“A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. 44 For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles. 45 A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.
The Two Foundations. 46 (S)“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I command? 47 [f]I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, listens to my words, and acts on them.(T) 48 That one is like a person building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built. 49 But the one who listens and does not act is like a person who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 6:20–49 Luke’s “Sermon on the Plain” is the counterpart to Matthew’s “Sermon on the Mount” (Mt 5:1–7:27). It is addressed to the disciples of Jesus, and, like the sermon in Matthew, it begins with beatitudes (Lk 6:20–22) and ends with the parable of the two houses (Lk 6:46–49). Almost all the words of Jesus reported by Luke are found in Matthew’s version, but because Matthew includes sayings that were related to specifically Jewish Christian problems (e.g., Mt 5:17–20; 6:1–8, 16–18) that Luke did not find appropriate for his predominantly Gentile Christian audience, the “Sermon on the Mount” is considerably longer. Luke’s sermon may be outlined as follows: an introduction consisting of blessings and woes (Lk 6:20–26); the love of one’s enemies (Lk 6:27–36); the demands of loving one’s neighbor (Lk 6:37–42); good deeds as proof of one’s goodness (Lk 6:43–45); a parable illustrating the result of listening to and acting on the words of Jesus (Lk 6:46–49). At the core of the sermon is Jesus’ teaching on the love of one’s enemies (Lk 6:27–36) that has as its source of motivation God’s graciousness and compassion for all humanity (Lk 6:35–36) and Jesus’ teaching on the love of one’s neighbor (Lk 6:37–42) that is characterized by forgiveness and generosity.
- 6:20–26 The introductory portion of the sermon consists of blessings and woes that address the real economic and social conditions of humanity (the poor—the rich; the hungry—the satisfied; those grieving—those laughing; the outcast—the socially acceptable). By contrast, Matthew emphasizes the religious and spiritual values of disciples in the kingdom inaugurated by Jesus (“poor in spirit,” Mt 5:3; “hunger and thirst for righteousness,” Mt 5:6). In the sermon, blessed extols the fortunate condition of persons who are favored with the blessings of God; the woes, addressed as they are to the disciples of Jesus, threaten God’s profound displeasure on those so blinded by their present fortunate situation that they do not recognize and appreciate the real values of God’s kingdom. In all the blessings and woes, the present condition of the persons addressed will be reversed in the future.
- 6:27–36 See notes on Mt 5:43–48 and Mt 5:48.
- 6:37–42 See notes on Mt 7:1–12; 7:1; 7:5.
- 6:43–46 See notes on Mt 7:15–20 and 12:33.
- 6:47–49 See note on Mt 7:24–27.
Luke 6:20-49
New International Version
Luke 6:20-49
New International Version
20 Looking at his disciples, he said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.(A)
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.(B)
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.(C)
22 Blessed are you when people hate you,
when they exclude you(D) and insult you(E)
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.(F)
23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy,(G) because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.(H)
24 “But woe to you who are rich,(I)
for you have already received your comfort.(J)
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.(K)
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.(L)
26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.(M)
Love for Enemies(N)
27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,(O) 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.(P) 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.(Q) 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.(R)
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?(S) Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you?(T) Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them,(U) and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children(V) of the Most High,(W) because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful,(X) just as your Father(Y) is merciful.
Judging Others(Z)
37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged.(AA) Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.(AB) 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.(AC) For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”(AD)
39 He also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit?(AE) 40 The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.(AF)
41 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
A Tree and Its Fruit(AG)
43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit.(AH) People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.(AI)
The Wise and Foolish Builders(AJ)
46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’(AK) and do not do what I say?(AL) 47 As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice,(AM) I will show you what they are like. 48 They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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