^aNow when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on ^bthe ¹mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2 And ^aHe opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,

3 “^1aBlessed are the poor in spirit, for ^btheirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are ^athose who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 “Blessed are ^athe ¹gentle, for they will inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are ^athose who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are ^athe merciful, for they will receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are ^athe pure in heart, for ^bthey will see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for ^athey will be called sons of God.

10 “Blessed are those who have been ^apersecuted for the sake of righteousness, for ^btheirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people ^ainsult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for ^ain this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

13 “You are the salt of the earth; but ^aif the salt has become tasteless, how ¹can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by people.

14 “You are ^athe light of the world. A city set on a ¹hill cannot be hidden; 15 ^anor do people light a lamp and put it under a ¹basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may ^asee your good works, and ^bglorify your Father who is in heaven.

17 “Do not presume that I came to abolish the ^aLaw or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. 18 For truly I say to you, ^auntil heaven and earth pass away, not ¹the smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law, until all is accomplished! 19 Therefore, whoever nullifies one of the least of these commandments, and teaches ¹others to do the same, shall be called least ^ain the kingdom of heaven; but whoever ²keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20 “For I say to you that unless your ^arighteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

21 “^aYou have heard that ¹the ancients were told, ‘^bYOU SHALL NOT MURDER,’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be answerable to ^cthe court.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be answerable to ^athe court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘¹You good-for-nothing,’ shall be answerable to ^2bthe supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the ^3cfiery hell. 23 Therefore, if you are ^apresenting your ¹offering at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your ¹offering there before the altar and go; first be ^areconciled to your brother, and then come and present your ²offering. 25 ^1aCome to good terms with your accuser quickly, while you are with him on the way to court, so that your accuser will not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you will not be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I say to you, ^ayou will not come out of there until you have paid up the last ¹quadrans.

27 “^aYou have heard that it was said, ‘^bYOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’; 28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman ^awith lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 Now ^aif your right eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, ¹than for your whole body to be thrown into ^2bhell. 30 And ^aif your right hand is causing you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you; for it is better for you ¹to lose one of the parts of your body, ²than for your whole body to go into ^3bhell.

31 “Now it was said, ‘^aWHOEVER SENDS HIS WIFE AWAY IS TO GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE’; 32 ^abut I say to you that everyone who ¹divorces his wife, except for the reason of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a ²divorced woman commits adultery.

33 “Again, ^ayou have heard that ¹the ancients were told, ‘^2bYOU SHALL NOT ³MAKE FALSE VOWS, BUT SHALL FULFILL YOUR ⁴VOWS TO THE LORD.’ 34 But I say to you, ^atake no oath at all, neither by heaven, for it is ^bthe throne of God, 35 nor by the earth, for it is the ^afootstool of His feet, nor ¹by Jerusalem, for it is ^bTHE CITY OF THE GREAT KING. 36 Nor shall you take an oath by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. 37 But make sure your statement is, ‘¹Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is ²of ^aevil origin.

38 “^aYou have heard that it was said, ‘^bEYE FOR EYE, and TOOTH FOR TOOTH.’ 39 But I say to you, do not show opposition against an evil person; but ^awhoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other toward him also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your ¹tunic, let him have your ²cloak also. 41 Whoever ¹forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 ^aGive to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

43 “^aYou have heard that it was said, ‘^bYOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR ^cand hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, ^alove your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may prove yourselves to be ^asons 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 righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For ^aif you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors, do they not do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Even the Gentiles, do they not do the same? 48 Therefore ^ayou shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.