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¹ WHEN Jesus saw the crowds, he went up to the mountain; and as he sat down, his disciples drew near to him.² And he opened his mouth and taught them, and he said,

³ Blessed are the poor in pride, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.⁴ Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.⁵ Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be well satisfied.⁷ Blessed are the merciful, for to them shall be mercy.⁸ Blessed are those who are pure in their hearts, for they shall see God.⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of justice, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.¹¹ Blessed are you, when they reproach you and persecute you, and speak against you every kind of bad word, falsely, for my sake,¹² Then be glad and rejoice, for your reward is increased in heaven; for in this very manner they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

¹³ You are indeed the salt of the earth; but if the salt should lose its savor, with what could it be salted? It would not be worth anything, but to be thrown outside and to be trodden down by men.¹⁴ You are indeed the light of the world; a city that is built upon a mountain cannot be hidden.¹⁵ Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp holder, so it gives light to all who are in the house.¹⁶ Let your light thus shine before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

¹⁷ Do not expect that I have come to weaken the law or the prophets; I have not come to weaken, but to fulfil.¹⁸ For truly I tell you, Until heaven and earth pass away, not even one yoth * or a dash shall pass away from the law until all of it is fulfilled.¹⁹ Whoever therefore tries to weaken even one of these smallest commandments, and teaches men so, he shall be regarded as small in the kingdom of heaven; but anyone who observes and teaches them, he shall be regarded as great in the kingdom of heaven.²⁰ For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.

²¹ You have heard that it was said to those who were before you, You shall not kill, and whoever kills is guilty before the court.²² But I say to you, that whoever becomes angry with his brother for no reason, is guilty before the court: and whoever should say to his brother, Raca (which means, I spit on you) is guilty before the congregation; and whoever says to his brother, you are a nurse maid, is condemned to hell fire.²³ If it should happen therefore that while you are presenting your offering upon the altar, and right there you remember that your brother has any grievance against you,²⁴ Leave your offering there upon the altar, and first go and make peace with your brother, and then come back and present your offering.²⁵ Try to get reconciled with your accuser promptly, while you are going on the road with him; for your accuser might surrender you to the judge, and the judge would commit you to the jailer, and you will be cast into prison.²⁶ Truly I say to you, that you would never come out thence until you had paid the last cent.

²⁷ You have heard that it is said, You shall not commit adultery.²⁸ But I say to you, that whoever looks at a woman with the desire to covet her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart.²⁹ If your right eye should cause you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you; for it is better for you to lose one of your members, and not all your body fall into hell.³⁰ And if your right hand should cause you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away from you; for it is better for you to lose one of your members, and not all your body fall into hell.³¹ It has been said that whoever divorces his wife, must give her the divorce papers.³² But I say to you, that whoever divorces his wife, except for fornication, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is separated but not divorced, commits adultery.

³³ Again you have heard it was said to them who were before you, that you shall not lie in your oaths, but entrust your oaths to the Lord.³⁴ But I say to you, never swear; neither by heaven, because it is God''s throne;³⁵ Nor by the earth, for it is a stool under his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of a great king.³⁶ Neither shall you swear by your own head, because you cannot create in it a single black or white hair.³⁷ But let your words be yes, yes, and no, no; for anything which adds to these is a deception.

³⁸ You have heard that it is said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.³⁹ But I say to you, that you should not resist evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.⁴⁰ And if anyone wishes to sue you at the court and take away your shirt, let him have your robe also.⁴¹ Whoever compels you to carry a burden for a mile, go with him two.⁴² Whoever asks from you, give him; and whoever wishes to borrow from you, do not refuse him.

⁴³ You have heard that it is said, Be kind to your friend, and hate your enemy.⁴⁴ But I say to you, Love your enemies, and bless anyone who curses you, and do good to anyone who hates you, and pray for them who carry you away by force and persecute you,⁴⁵ So that you may become sons of your Father who is in heaven, who causes his sun to shine upon the good and upon the bad, and who pours down his rain upon the just and upon the unjust.⁴⁶ For if you love only those who love you, what reward will you have? Do not even the publicans do the same thing?⁴⁷ And if you salute only your brothers, what is it more that you do? Do not even the publicans do the same thing?⁴⁸ Therefore, you become perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.