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When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a hill. He sat down there, and many of his disciples gathered around him to hear him teach. 2 Then he began to teach them. He said,3 “It is well with those of you who admit to having spiritual need,
for God is ruling you from heaven.
4 It is well with those of you who mourn because of this sinful world,
for God will comfort you.
5 It is well with those of you who are humble,
for you will inherit the earth that God will one day restore.
6 It is well with those of you who desire to live a life pleasing to God as much as someone might need to eat and drink,
for God will satisfy your desire.
7 It is well with those of you who act mercifully toward others,
for God will act mercifully toward you.
8 It is well with those who do what God desires them to do,
for they will see God in his presence.
9 It is well with those of you who act peaceably with all people,
for God will regard you as his own children.
10 It is well with those of you who people treat poorly because you obey God,
for God is ruling over you from heaven.
11 It is well with those of you who people speak falsely against and persecute because of me. 12 When that happens, rejoice and be glad, because God will give you a great reward in heaven. Remember, that is how they persecuted the prophets who lived long ago.
13 Just as salt is good for food, so you shall be good for the world, keeping the people of the world from being more evil. But, as useless salt is thrown out onto the ground, so God will no longer use you, if you stop obeying him. 14 What light does for people in the dark, this is what you will do for the world. Just as a city on top of a hill is seen from far away, {so your good deeds in the world will be seen by many people.} 15 No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket. Instead, they put it on a lampstand so it can shine upon everyone in the house. 16 Similarly, you need to do what is right in such a way that other people can see what you do. When they see it, they will praise your Father who is in heaven.”
17 “You should not suppose that I have come to you in order to do away with the laws that God gave Moses or what the prophets wrote. Rather, I came to cause to happen those things that were predicted would happen. 18 This is a true saying: God will never do away with the smallest part of his laws until the end times when he has finished everything he planned to do. 19 Therefore, if one of you decides that any of the commands are not important, and you teach others this, you will be the least important person under God’s rule from heaven. But if one you obey God's commands and teach others to obey God as you are obeying him, you will become a great person under God’s rule from heaven. 20 I tell you that you must obey God's laws better than the teachers of the law and the Pharisees. Otherwise, you will never live in God's presence where he rules.
21 “Your religious teachers have told you what God said to our ancestors, ‘You shall not kill anyone,’ and, ‘If you kill anyone, the judge will declare you guilty.’ 22 But I tell you that even if you are angry with another one of my followers, God himself will judge you. If you say to another one of my followers, ‘You are worthless,’ a council will bring you before them for judgement. If you say to someone, ‘You are a fool,’ God will throw you into the fire in Hell. 23 So if, when you take your gift for God to the altar, you remember that you have offended someone, 24 leave your gift by the altar. Then, go to the person you have offended, and tell that person that you are sorry for what you have done, and ask that person to forgive you. Then go back and offer your gift to God. 25 If a fellow citizen takes you before a judge in order to accuse you of doing something wrong, come to an agreement quickly with that person, while you are still walking with that person to court. Do that while there still is time so that he will not take you to the judge, because the judge might say you are guilty and hand you over to his jailor, and the jailor will put you in prison. 26 This is a true saying which I am telling to you. You will never come out of prison until you pay everything which you owe to that person.”
27 “You have heard from your religious teachers that that God said to our ancestors, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that even if a man looks at a woman desiring to sleep with her, to God he has already committed adultery with her. 29 If you sin with your eyes, having looked at certain things, you should destroy both of your eyes. If this would help you to avoid sinning, it would be better to be blind and stop sinning, than for God to throw you into hell while you can still see. 30 And if one of your hands causes you to sin, cut your hand off and throw it away. If this would help you to avoid sinning, it would be better to lose a part of your body than for God to throw your whole body into hell.”
31 “God has said in the Scriptures, ‘If a man divorces his wife, he should write a document on which he states that he is divorcing her.’ 32 But I tell you that a man may divorce his wife only if she has committed adultery. If a man divorces his wife for any other reason, he causes her to act adulterously. If she marries someone else, then the man who marries her also commits adultery.”
33 “You have heard from your religious teachers that God said to our ancestors, ‘You shall fulfill your oaths as you have promised to the Lord.’ 34 But I tell you that when you make a promise, do not use the name of God or anything to guarantee your promise as the vows of the Pharisees! Do not swear by heaven. For God rules from there. 35 And do not swear any oath on the promise that the earth would witness it. For the earth belongs to God. Never swear an oath by the city of Jerusalem, because Jerusalem is the city that belongs to God, our great King.
36 Also, do not promise that you will do something by the authority of your own knowledge. For you are not even able to change the color of one hair on your head. 37 If you promise something, just say ‘Yes, I will do it,’ or ‘No, I will not do it.’ If you say anything more than that, it is Satan, the Evil One, who has suggested that you talk this way.”
38 “You have heard your religious teachers say that God told our ancestors, ‘If someone harms one of your eyes, then someone should harm one of that person’s eyes as punishment. And if someone harms one of your teeth, then someone should harm one of that person’s teeth as punishment.’ 39 But I tell you: Do not stop someone who does evil against you. Instead, if someone insults you by striking you on one cheek, turn your other cheek toward that person so he can strike it also. 40 If someone wants to sue you in a court so that you lose your tunic, let that person also have your outer garment, which is even of more worth to you. 41 And if a Roman soldier forces you to carry his burden for one mile, go with him and carry it for him for two miles. 42 If someone asks you for something, give it to him. And if someone asks you to lend him something, do not withhold it from him.”
43 “You have heard that God said to our ancestors, ‘Love your fellow Israelites and hate foreigners, for they are your enemies.’ 44 But I tell to you that you should also love your enemies, and pray for those who cause you to suffer. 45 {You ought to behave this way} in order to be like God, your Father who is in heaven. {For he acts kindly to all people.} This is seen in that he causes the sun to shine equally on wicked people and on good people, and he sends rain both on people who obey his law and on people who do not. 46 If you love only the people who love you, do not expect God to reward you at all. Even people who do evil things, such as tax collectors, love those who love them. You must act better than they do! 47 And if you greet only fellow Israelites, you are not acting any better than other people. Even non-Jews, who do not obey God’s law, do the same thing! 48 So you must act without fault, just as God your heavenly father acts without fault.”