Bible: The New Testament: The Gospel According to Matthew (I - VII)

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Book of the generation of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham. ²Abraham begot Isaac; and Isaac begot Jacob; and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers; ³and Judah begot Pharez and Zarah, of Tamar; and Pharez begot Hezron; and Hezron begot Ram; ⁴and Ram begot Amminadab; and Amminadab begot Nahshon; and Nahshon begot Salmon; ⁵and Salmon begot Boaz, of Rahab; and Boaz begot Obed, of Ruth; and Obed begot Jesse; ⁶and Jesse begot David the king; and David begot Solomon, of the wife of Uriah; ⁷and Solomon begot Rehoboam; and Rehoboam begot Abijah; and Abijah begot Asa; ⁸and Asa begot Jehoshaphat; and Jehoshaphat begot Joram; and Joram begot Uzziah; ⁹and Uzziah begot Jotham; and Jotham begot Ahaz; and Ahaz begot Hezekiah; ¹⁰and Hezekiah begot Manasseh; and Manasseh begot Amon; and Amon begot Josiah; ¹¹and Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the removal to Babylon. ¹²And after the removal to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Salathiel; and Salathiel begot Zerubbabel; ¹³and Zerubbabel begot Abiud; and Abiud begot Eliakim; and Eliakim begot Azor; ¹⁴and Azor begot Zadock; and Zadock begot Achim; and Achim begot Eliud; ¹⁵and Eliud begot Eleazar; and Eleazar begot Matthan; and Matthan begot Jacob; ¹⁶and Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

¹⁷All the generations, therefore, from Abraham unto David are fourteen generations; and from David unto the removal to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the removal to Babylon unto the Christ, fourteen generations.

¹⁸Now the birth of Jesus Christ was after this manner. His mother Mary having been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found with child by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹And Joseph her husband, being just, and not willing to expose her openly, desired to put her away privately. ²⁰But while he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying: Joseph, son of David, fear not to take to thee Mary thy wife; for that which is begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit. ²¹And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins.

²²And all this has come to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:

²³Behold, the virgin shall be with child,

And shall bring forth a son,

And they shall call his name Immanuel;

which is interpreted, God with us.

²⁴And Joseph, awaking from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord bade him, and took to him his wife; ²⁵and he knew her not till she brought forth a son; and he called his name Jesus.

And Jesus having been born in Bethlehem of Judæa, in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, ²saying: Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and came to do him homage. ³And the king, Herod, hearing it, was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴And having assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ should be born. ⁵And they said to him: In Bethlehem of Judæa; for thus it is written by the prophet:

⁶And thou Bethlehem, land of Judah,

Art by no means least among the princes of Judah;

For out of thee shall come forth a Governor,

Who shall rule my people Israel.

⁷Then Herod, having secretly called the wise men, inquired of them exactly the time of the appearing of the star. ⁸And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said: Go and inquire strictly concerning the child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I also may come and do him homage. ⁹And they, having heard the king, departed; and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the child was. ¹⁰And seeing the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. ¹¹And coming into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and did homage to him; and opening their treasures, they presented to him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. ¹²And being warned by God in a dream, not to return to Herod, they departed into their own country by another way.

¹³And when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream, saying: Arise, and take the child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be there until I bring thee word; for Herod is about to seek the child to destroy him. ¹⁴And he arose and took the child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt, ¹⁵and was there until the death of Herod; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: Out of Egypt I called my son.

¹⁶Then Herod, seeing that he was mocked by the wise men, was exceedingly enraged; and he sent forth, and slew all the male children that were in Bethlehem, and in all its borders, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had exactly learned from the wise men. ¹⁷Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

¹⁸A voice was heard in Ramah,

Weeping, and great mourning;

Rachel weeping for her children,

And would not be comforted, because they are not.

¹⁹But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appears in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, ²⁰saying: Arise, and take the child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel; for they are dead who sought the child's life. ²¹And he arose, and took the child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. ²²But hearing that Archelaus reigned in Judæa instead of Herod his father, he was afraid to go thither; and being warned by God in a dream, he retired into the region of Galilee. ²³And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets: He shall be called a Nazarene.

III.

In those days comes John the Immerser, preaching in the wilderness of Judæa, ²and saying: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. ³For this is he that was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, saying:

The voice of one crying in the wilderness,

Prepare the way of the Lord,

Make straight his paths.

⁴And he, John, had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey.

⁵Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judæa, and all the region about the Jordan; ⁶and they were immersed by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. ⁷But seeing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his immersion, he said to them: Brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of repentance; ⁹and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for our father; for I say to you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham. ¹⁰And already the axe is laid to the root of the trees; therefore every tree that brings not forth good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire. ¹¹I indeed immerse you in water unto repentance; but he that comes after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to bear; he will immerse you in the Holy Spirit and fire; ¹²whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing-floor, and will gather his wheat into the garner; but the chaff he will burn up with fire unquenchable.

¹³Then Jesus comes from Galilee to the Jordan, to John, to be immersed by him. ¹⁴But John sought to hinder him, saying: I have need to be immersed by thee, and dost thou come to me? ¹⁵And Jesus answering said to him: Suffer it now; for thus it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him. ¹⁶And having been immersed, Jesus went up immediately from the water; and lo, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending, as a dove, and coming upon him. ¹⁷And lo, a voice out of heaven, saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

IV.

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted by the Devil. ²And having fasted forty days and forty nights, he afterwards hungered. ³And coming to him, the tempter said: If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread. ⁴But he answering said: It is written, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

⁵Then the Devil takes him into the holy city, and sets him on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶and says to him: If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down; for it is written:

He will give his angels command concerning thee;

And on their hands they will bear thee up,

Lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone.

⁷Jesus said to him: Again it is written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

⁸Again the Devil takes him into an exceedingly high mountain, and shows him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; ⁹and says to him: All these things I will give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. ¹⁰Then Jesus says to him: Get thee hence, Satan; for it is written: Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. ¹¹Then the Devil leaves him; and behold, angels came and ministered to him.

¹²And hearing that John was delivered up, he retired into Galilee. ¹³And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali; ¹⁴that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying:

¹⁵The land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali,

By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,

Galilee of the Gentiles,

¹⁶The people that sat in darkness, saw great light,

And to those sitting in the region and shadow of death light sprang up.

¹⁷From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. ¹⁸And walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁹And he says to them: Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men. ²⁰And they, immediately leaving the nets, followed him. ²¹And going on from thence, he saw other two brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. ²²And they, immediately leaving the ship and their father, followed him.

²³And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every infirmity among the people. ²⁴And his fame went forth into all Syria; and they brought to him all that were sick, taken with divers diseases and torments, and possessed with demons, and lunatic, and palsied; and he healed them. ²⁵And great multitudes followed him from Galilee, and Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and Judæa, and from beyond the Jordan.

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into the mountain; and he having sat down, his disciples came to him. ²And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying:

³Happy the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴Happy they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.

⁵Happy the meek; for they shall inherit the earth.

⁶Happy they that hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.

⁷Happy the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.

⁸Happy the pure in heart; for they shall see God.

⁹Happy the peacemakers; for they shall be called sons of God.

¹⁰Happy they who are persecuted for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹Happy are ye, when they shall revile and persecute you, and shall say all evil against you falsely, for my sake. ¹²Rejoice, and exult; because great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets that were before you.

¹³Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt become tasteless, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot by men.

¹⁴Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill can not be hid. ¹⁵Nor do they light a lamp and put it under the bushel, but on the lamp-stand; and it shines to all that are in the house. ¹⁶Thus let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

¹⁷Think not that I came to destroy the law, or the prophets; I came not to destroy, but to fulfill. ¹⁸For verily I say to you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall not pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. ¹⁹Whoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

²⁰For I say to you, that except your righteousness shall exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

²¹Ye heard that it was said to those of old: Thou shalt not kill; and whoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment. ²²But I say to you, that every one who is angry with his brother, without cause, shall be in danger of the judgment; and whoever shall say to his brother, Raca! shall be in danger of the council; and whoever shall say, Thou fool! shall be in danger of hell-fire. ²³Therefore if thou bringest thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother has aught against thee; ²⁴leave there thy gift before the altar, and go, first be reconciled to thy brother and then come and offer thy gift.

²⁵Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art in the way with him; lest haply the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. ²⁶Verily I say to thee, thou shalt not come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

²⁷Ye heard that it was said: Thou shalt not commit adultery. ²⁸But I say to you, that every one who looks on a woman, to lust after her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹And if thy right eye causes thee to offend, pluck it out and cast it from thee; for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members perish, and not thy whole body be cast into hell. ³⁰And if thy right hand causes thee to offend, cut it off and cast it from thee; for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members perish, and not thy whole body be cast into hell.

³¹And it was said: Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement. ³²But I say to you, that whoever shall put away his wife, save for the cause of fornication, makes her commit adultery; and whoever shall marry her when put away, commits adultery.

³³Again ye heard, that it was said to those of old: Thou shalt not swear falsely, but shalt perform to the Lord thine oaths. ³⁴But I say to you, swear not at all; neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; ³⁵nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶Nor shalt thou swear by thy head; because thou canst not make one hair white or black. ³⁷But let your word be, Yea, yea, Nay, nay; for that which is more than these comes of evil.

³⁸Ye heard that it was said: An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. ³⁹But I say to you, that ye resist not evil; but whoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. ⁴⁰And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. ⁴¹And whoever shall compel thee to go one mile, go with him two. ⁴²Give to him that asks of thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not away.

⁴³Ye heard that it was said: Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and shalt hate thine enemy. ⁴⁴But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you; ⁴⁵that ye may be sons 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 just and the unjust. ⁴⁶For if ye love those who love you, what reward have ye? Do not also the publicans the same? ⁴⁷And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye that excels? Do not also the heathen thus? ⁴⁸Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect.

VI.

Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen by them; otherwise ye have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. ²Therefore when thou doest alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say to you, they have in full their reward. ³But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand does; ⁴that thine aims may be in secret and thy Father who sees in secret will himself reward thee.

⁵And when ye pray, ye shall not be as the hypocrites; for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Verily I say to you, they have in full their reward. ⁶But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret; and thy Father who sees in secret will reward thee.

⁷But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do; for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. ⁸Be not ye therefore like to them; for your Father knows what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. ⁹Do ye, therefore, pray after this manner:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

¹⁰Thy kingdom come; thy will be done, as in heaven, so also on the earth.

¹¹Give us this day our daily bread.

¹²And forgive us our debts, as also we forgave our debtors.

¹³And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

¹⁴For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; ¹⁵but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

¹⁶And when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance; for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear to men to fast. Verily I say to you, they have in full their reward. ¹⁷But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face; ¹⁸that thou appear not to men to fast, but to thy Father who is in secret; and thy Father who sees in secret will reward thee.

¹⁹Lay not up for yourselves treasures on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal. ²⁰But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

²²The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body will be light; ²³but if thine eye be evil, thy whole body will be dark. If therefore the light that is in thee is darkness, how great the darkness! ²⁴No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. Ye can not serve God and Mammon.

²⁵For this cause I say to you, take not thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than food, and the body than raiment? ²⁶Behold the birds of the air, that they sow not, nor reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are ye not much better than they? ²⁷And which of you by taking thought can add one cubit to his stature? ²⁸And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not, nor spin; ²⁹and I say to you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰And if God so clothes the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, will he not much more you, ye of little faith? ³¹Take not thought therefore, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewith shall we be clothed? ³²For after all these do the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that ye have need of all these. ³³But seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these shall be added to you. ³⁴Take not thought, therefore, for the morrow; for the morrow will take thought for itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.

VII.

Judge not, that ye be not judged. ²For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you. ³And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? ⁴Or how wilt thou say to thy brother: Let me cast out the mote from thine eye; and behold, the beam is in thine own eye? ⁵Hypocrite! first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then thou wilt see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

⁶Give not that which is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before the swine; lest they trample them with their feet, and turn and rend you.

⁷Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. ⁸For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened. ⁹Or what man is there of you, of whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? ¹⁰And if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? ¹¹If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him? ¹²Therefore all things whatever ye would that men should do to you, so also do ye to them; for this is the law and the prophets.

¹³Enter in through the strait gate; because wide is the gate, and broad the way, that leads to destruction, and many are they who go in thereat. ¹⁴Because strait is the gate, and narrow the way, that leads to life, and few are they who find it.

¹⁵Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheeps' clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.

¹⁶Ye shall know them from their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷So every good tree brings forth good fruit; but the corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit. ¹⁸A good tree can not bring forth evil fruit, nor a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire. ²⁰So then, from their fruits ye shall know them.

²¹Not every one that says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in thy name, and in thy name cast out demons, and in thy name do many miracles? ²³And then will I profess to them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye who work iniquity.

²⁴Every one, therefore, who hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house on the rock. ²⁵And the rain descended, and the streams came, and the winds blew, and fell upon that house; and it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶And every one who hears these sayings of mine, and does them not, shall be likened to a foolish man, who built his house on the sand. ²⁷And the rain descended, and the streams came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it.

²⁸And it came to pass, when Jesus ended these sayings, that the multitudes were astonished at his teaching. ²⁹For he taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes.