1And on a Sabbath day, as He went through the fields of grain; His disciples plucked some ears of grain, rubbed them in their hands and ate the kernels. 2And some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why do you what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath days?” 3And Jesus answered, “Have you never read what David did, when he was hungry, and those who were with him; 4How he went into the house of God, and took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat, except for the priests alone?” 5And then He said to them, “The Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath.” 6And on another Sabbath, He entered the synagogue and taught; and there was a man whose right hand was paralyzed. 7And the scribes and Pharisees watched Him, to see whether He would heal on the Sabbath day; that they might find an occasion to accuse Him. 8But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to the man with the paralyzed hand, “Get up, and stand in front of everyone.” And he stood up. 9Then Jesus said to those scribes and Pharisees, “I will ask you one thing: ‘Is it lawful on the Sabbath days to do good, or to do evil; to save life, or to destroy it?’” 10And, looking around at them all, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so; and his hand was completely restored like the other. 11And the scribes and Pharisees were furious, and began to discuss what to do to Jesus. 12And one day, Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent all night praying to God. 13And when morning came, He called His disciples to Him; and He chose twelve of them, whom He designated as His apostles. These were: 14Simon (whom He also named Peter); Andrew, his brother; James; John; Philip; Bartholomew; 15Matthew; Thomas; James, son of Alphaeus; and Simon, who called Zelotes (the Zealot); 16Judas (also called Thaddaeus), the son (brother) of James; and Judas Iscariot, who also was the traitor. 17And He descended the mountain with them, and stood on a level place, and a large crowd of His disciples, and a great number of people, from all over Judaea, Jerusalem, and the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, came to hear Him, and to be healed of their diseases, 18And those that were vexed with unclean spirits (demons) were healed. 19And the throng sought to touch Him; because power was coming from Him, and healing them all. 20And He looked at His disciples, and said, “Blessed are you who are poor; for yours is the kingdom of God. 21Blessed are you that hunger now; for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you that weep now; for you shall laugh. 22Blessed are you, when people shall hate you, and when they shall ostracize you, and shall insult and condemn you as evil, for the Son of man's sake. 23Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy; because your reward is great in heaven; for in the same way your ancestors treated God’s prophets. 24But woe to you that are rich! For you have already received your consolation. 25Woe to you that are well fed now! For you shall hunger. Woe to you that laugh now! For you shall mourn and weep. 26Woe to you, when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.” 27“But I say to you who are listening: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28Bless those that curse you, and pray for them who despitefully abuse you. 29And to him that hits you on the one cheek, offer the other one, too; and if someone takes away your cloak, allow him to take your coat also. 30Give to every man that asks of you; and if someone takes away what belongs to you, do not ask for it back. 31And do to others what you would have them do to you. 32For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those that love them. 33And if you do good to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that. 34And if you lend to them from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? For sinners also lend to sinners, expecting to receive as much back. 35But love your enemies, and do good to them, and lend, expecting nothing back; and your reward shall be great, and you shall be the children of the Most High; because He is kind to the unthankful and to the wicked. 36Therefore, be merciful, just as your Father is also merciful. 37“Do not judge, and you shall not be judged; do not condemn, and you shall not be condemned; forgive, and you shall be forgiven; 38Give, and it shall be given to you; in good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For with whatever measure you use for your giving, it shall be measured to you the same.” 39And He also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Shall they not both fall into the ditch? 40The student is not above his teacher; but every one that is well informed (wise) shall be as his teacher. 41And why do you obsess over the mote (speck) that is in your brother's eye, but are oblivious to the beam that is in your own eye? 42How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me pull out the mote (speck) that is in your eye’, when you yourself do not acknowledge the beam (plank) that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first remove the beam from your eye, and then you shall see clearly to remove the mote in your brother's eye.” 43A good tree does not produce corrupt fruit; nor does a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 44Each tree is known by its fruit. People do not get figs from thornbushes; nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. 45A good man brings forth good things out of the good treasures in his heart; and an evil man brings forth evil out of the evil treasure of his heart; for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. 46“And why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ when you do not do what I say? 47I will tell you what the person is like who comes to Me, hears My words, and obeys them: 48He is like a man who built a house, digging deep to lay the foundation on a rock; and when the flood waters arose, the torrent beat vehemently upon that house, but could not shake it; because it was founded (established) upon a rock (firm foundation). 49But those who hear, but do not act on what they hear, are like a man that built a house without a firm foundation; against which the torrent beat vehemently, and it immediately fell; and the collapse of that house was great.” Reader-Friendly Bible: Purple Letter Edition © 2024 by Jim Musser. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. Bible Hub |