Matthew 3-5

English Standard Version

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

3 ^(A)In those days ^(B)John the Baptist came preaching in ^(C)the wilderness of Judea, ^2 (D)“Repent, for ^(E)the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”^{[a] 3} For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

⁴ Now John wore ^(H)a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was ^(I)locusts and ^(J)wild 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, ^(K)confessing their sins.

⁷ But when he saw many of ^(L)the Pharisees and ^(M)Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, ^(N)“You brood of ^(O)vipers! Who warned you to flee from ^(P)the wrath to come? ⁸ Bear fruit ^(Q)in keeping with repentance. ⁹ And do not presume to say to yourselves, ^(R)‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from ^(S)these stones to raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰ Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. ^(T)Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

^11 (U)“I baptize you with water ^(V)for repentance, but ^(W)he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you ^(X)with the Holy Spirit and ^(Y)fire. ¹² His ^(Z)winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and ^(AA)gather his wheat into the barn, ^(AB)but the chaff he will burn with ^(AC)unquenchable fire.”

The Baptism of Jesus

^13 (AD)Then Jesus came ^(AE)from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. ^14 (AF)John 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, ^(AG)the heavens were opened to him,^[c] and he ^(AH)saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; ¹⁷ and behold, ^(AI)a voice from heaven said, ^(AJ)“This is my beloved Son,^[d] with whom I am well pleased.”

The Temptation of Jesus

4 ^(AK)Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness ^(AL)to be tempted by the devil. ² And after fasting ^(AM)forty days and forty nights, he ^(AN)was hungry. ³ And ^(AO)the tempter came and said to him, “If you are ^(AP)the Son of God, command ^(AQ)these stones to become loaves of bread.” ⁴ But he answered, ^(AR)“It is written,

^5 (AT)Then the devil took him to ^(AU)the holy city and set him 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,

and

⁷ Jesus said to him, “Again ^(AW)it is written, ^(AX)‘You shall not ^(AY)put the Lord your God to the test.’” ^8 (AZ)Again, 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, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, ^(BA)Satan! For ^(BB)it is written,

¹¹ Then the devil left him, and behold, ^(BE)angels came and were ministering to him.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

¹² Now when he heard that ^(BF)John had been arrested, ^(BG)he withdrew into Galilee. ¹³ And leaving ^(BH)Nazareth he went and lived in ^(BI)Capernaum by ^(BJ)the sea, in the territory of ^(BK)Zebulun and Naphtali, ^14 (BL)so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

^17 (BP)From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ^(BQ)“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”^[e]

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

^18 (BR)While walking by ^(BS)the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you ^(BT)fishers of men.”^{[f] 20} Immediately they left their nets and followed him. ²¹ And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John 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.

Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds

^23 (BU)And he went throughout all Galilee, ^(BV)teaching in their synagogues and ^(BW)proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and ^(BX)healing every disease and every affliction among the people. ²⁴ So his fame spread throughout all ^(BY)Syria, and ^(BZ)they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and ^(CA)pains, ^(CB)those oppressed by demons, ^(CC)those having seizures, and ^(CD)paralytics, and he healed them. ^25 (CE)And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the ^(CF)Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

The Sermon on the Mount

5 Seeing the crowds, ^(CG)he went up on the mountain, and when he ^(CH)sat down, his disciples came to him.

The Beatitudes

² And ^(CI)he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

^3 (CJ)“Blessed are ^(CK)the poor in spirit, for ^(CL)theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ “Blessed are ^(CM)those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

⁵ “Blessed are the ^(CN)meek, for they ^(CO)shall inherit the earth.

⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and ^(CP)thirst ^(CQ)for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

⁷ “Blessed are ^(CR)the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

⁸ “Blessed are ^(CS)the pure in heart, for ^(CT)they shall see God.

⁹ “Blessed are ^(CU)the peacemakers, for ^(CV)they shall be called ^(CW)sons^[g] of God.

^10 (CX)“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for ^(CY)theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

^11 (CZ)“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely ^(DA)on my account. ^12 (DB)Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for ^(DC)so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Salt and Light

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth, ^(DD)but 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 (DE)“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ^15 (DF)Nor 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 ^(DG)that^[h] they may see your good works and ^(DH)give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Christ Came to Fulfill the Law

^17 (DI)“Do not think that I have come to abolish ^(DJ)the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but ^(DK)to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly, I say to you, ^(DL)until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. ^19 (DM)Therefore whoever relaxes ^(DN)one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least ^(DO)in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great ^(DP)in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds ^(DQ)that of the scribes and Pharisees, you ^(DR)will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Anger

^21 (DS)“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ^(DT)‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable ^(DU)to judgment.’ ²² But I say to you that ^(DV)everyone who is angry with his brother^[i] will be liable ^(DW)to judgment; whoever insults^[j] his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to ^(DX)the hell^[k] of fire. ^23 (DY)So if ^(DZ)you 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 (EA)Come 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, ^(EB)you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.^[l]

Lust

^27 (EC)“You have heard that it was said, ^(ED)‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I say to you that ^(EE)everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ^29 (EF)If your right eye ^(EG)causes 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 ^(EH)hell. ^30 (EI)And if your right hand ^(EJ)causes 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 ^(EK)hell.

Divorce

^31 (EL)“It was also said, ^(EM)‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ^32 (EN)But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and ^(EO)whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Oaths

³³ “Again ^(EP)you have heard that it was said to those of old, ^(EQ)‘You shall not swear falsely, but ^(ER)shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ ³⁴ But I say to you, ^(ES)Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for ^(ET)it is the throne of God, ³⁵ or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is ^(EU)the 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’; ^(EV)anything more than this comes from evil.^[m]

Retaliation

^38 (EW)“You have heard that it was said, ^(EX)‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹ But I say to you, ^(EY)Do not resist the one who is evil. But ^(EZ)if anyone ^(FA)slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. ⁴⁰ And ^(FB)if anyone would sue you and take your tunic,^[n] let him have your cloak as well. ⁴¹ And if anyone ^(FC)forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. ^42 (FD)Give to the one who begs from you, and ^(FE)do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Love Your Enemies

^43 (FF)“You have heard that it was said, ^(FG)‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, ^(FH)Love your enemies and ^(FI)pray for those who persecute you, ^45 (FJ)so 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 ^(FK)sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ^46 (FL)For 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,^[o] what more are you doing than others? Do not even ^(FM)the Gentiles do the same? ^48 (FN)You therefore must be ^(FO)perfect, ^(FP)as your heavenly Father is perfect.