The Living Bible (298 page)

Matthew
5

One day as the crowds were gathering, he went up the hillside with his disciples and sat down and taught them there.

    
³
 
“Humble men are very fortunate!”
he told them,
“for the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them.
⁴
 
Those who mourn are fortunate! for they shall be comforted.
⁵
 
The meek and lowly are fortunate! for the whole wide world belongs to them.

    
⁶
 
“Happy are those who long to be just and good, for they shall be completely satisfied.
⁷
 
Happy are the kind and merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.
⁸
 
Happy are those whose hearts are pure, for they shall see God.
⁹
 
Happy are those who strive for peace—they shall be called the sons of God.
¹⁰
 
Happy are those who are persecuted because they are good, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

    
¹¹
 
“When you are reviled and persecuted and lied about because you are my followers—wonderful!
¹²
 
Be
happy
about it! Be
very glad!
for a
tremendous reward
awaits you up in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted too.

    
¹³
 
“You are the world’s seasoning, to make it tolerable. If you lose your flavor, what will happen to the world? And you yourselves will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.
¹⁴
 
You are the world’s light—a city on a hill, glowing in the night for all to see.
^15-16
 Don’t hide your light! Let it shine for all; let your good deeds glow for all to see, so that they will praise your heavenly Father.

    
¹⁷
 
“Don’t misunderstand why I have come—it isn’t to cancel the laws of Moses and the warnings of the prophets. No, I came to fulfill them and to make them all come true.
¹⁸
 
With all the earnestness I have I say: Every law in the Book will continue until its purpose is achieved.
*
¹⁹
 
And so if anyone breaks the least commandment and teaches others to, he shall be the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But those who teach God’s laws
and obey them
shall be great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

    
²⁰
 
“But I warn you—unless your goodness
*
is greater than that of the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders, you can’t get into the Kingdom of Heaven at all!

    
²¹
 
“Under the laws of Moses the rule was, ‘If you murder, you must die.’
²²
 
But I have added to that rule and tell you
*
that if you are only
angry,
even in your own home,
*
you are in danger of judgment! If you call your friend an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse him, you are in danger of the fires of hell.
*

    
²³
 
“So if you are standing before the altar in the Temple, offering a sacrifice to God, and suddenly remember that a friend has something against you,
²⁴
 
leave your sacrifice there beside the altar and go and apologize and be reconciled to him, and then come and offer your sacrifice to God.
²⁵
 
Come to terms quickly with your enemy before it is too late and he drags you into court and you are thrown into a debtor’s cell,
²⁶
 
for you will stay there until you have paid the last penny.

    
²⁷
 
“The laws of Moses said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’
²⁸
 
But I say: Anyone who even looks at a woman with lust in his eye has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
²⁹
 
So if your eye—even if it is your best eye!
*
—causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. Better for part of you to be destroyed than for all of you to be cast into hell.
³⁰
 
And if your hand—even your right hand—causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. Better that than find yourself in hell.

    
³¹
 
“The law of Moses says, ‘If anyone wants to be rid of his wife, he can divorce her merely by giving her a letter of dismissal.’
³²
 
But I say that a man who divorces his wife, except for fornication, causes her to commit adultery if she marries again. And he who marries her commits adultery.

    
³³
 
“Again, the law of Moses says, ‘You shall not break your vows to God but must fulfill them all.’
³⁴
 
But I say: Don’t make any vows! And even to say ‘By heavens!’ is a sacred vow to God, for the heavens are God’s throne.
³⁵
 
And if you say ‘By the earth!’ it is a sacred vow, for the earth is his footstool. And don’t swear ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the capital of the great King.
³⁶
 
Don’t even swear ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black.
³⁷
 
Say just a simple ‘Yes, I will’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Your word is enough. To strengthen your promise with a vow shows that something is wrong.

    
³⁸
 
“The law of Moses says, ‘If a man gouges out another’s eye, he must pay with his own eye. If a tooth gets knocked out, knock out the tooth
*
of the one who did it.’
³⁹
 
But I say: Don’t resist violence! If you are slapped on one cheek, turn the other too.
⁴⁰
 
If you are ordered to court, and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat too.
⁴¹
 
If the military demand that you carry their gear for a mile, carry it two.
⁴²
 
Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.

    
⁴³
 
“There is a saying, ‘Love your
friends
and hate your enemies.’
⁴⁴
 
But I say: Love your
enemies!
Pray for those who
persecute
you!
⁴⁵
 
In that way you will be acting as true sons of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust too.
⁴⁶
 
If you love only those who love you, what good is that? Even scoundrels do that much.
⁴⁷
 
If you are friendly only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even the heathen do that.
⁴⁸
 
But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Matthew
6

“Take care! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired, for then you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.
²
 
When you give a gift to a beggar, don’t shout about it as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you in all earnestness, they have received all the reward they will ever get.
³
 
But when you do a kindness to someone, do it secretly—don’t tell your left hand what your right hand is doing.
⁴
 
And your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.

    
⁵
 
“And now about prayer. When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who pretend piety by praying publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. Truly, that is all the reward they will ever get.
⁶
 
But when you pray, go away by yourself, all alone, and shut the door behind you and pray to your Father secretly, and your Father, who knows your secrets, will reward you.

    
^7-8
 
“Don’t recite the same prayer over and over as the heathen do, who think prayers are answered only by repeating them again and again. Remember, your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!

    
⁹
 
“Pray along these lines: ‘Our Father in heaven, we honor your holy name.
¹⁰
 
We ask that your kingdom will come now. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven.
¹¹
 
Give us our food again today, as usual,
¹²
 
and forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.
¹³
 
Don’t bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil One.
*
Amen.’
^14-15
 
Your heavenly Father will forgive you if you forgive those who sin against you; but if
you
refuse to forgive
them, he
will not forgive
you.

    
¹⁶
 
“And now about fasting. When you fast, declining your food for a spiritual purpose, don’t do it publicly, as the hypocrites do, who try to look wan and disheveled so people will feel sorry for them. Truly, that is the only reward they will ever get.
¹⁷
 
But when you fast, put on festive clothing,
¹⁸
 
so that no one will suspect you are hungry, except your Father who knows every secret. And he will reward you.

    
¹⁹
 
“Don’t store up treasures here on earth where they can erode away or may be stolen.
²⁰
 
Store them in heaven where they will never lose their value and are safe from thieves.
²¹
 
If your profits are in heaven, your heart will be there too.

    
²²
 
“If your eye is pure, there will be sunshine in your soul.
²³
 
But if your eye is clouded with evil thoughts and desires, you are in deep spiritual darkness. And oh, how deep that darkness can be!

    
²⁴
 
“You cannot serve two masters: God and money. For you will hate one and love the other, or else the other way around
.

    
²⁵
 
“So my counsel is: Don’t worry about
things—
food, drink, and clothes. For you already have life and a body—and they are far more important than what to eat and wear.
²⁶
 
Look at the birds! They don’t worry about what to eat—they don’t need to sow or reap or store up food—for your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are.
²⁷
 
Will all your worries add a single moment to your life?

    
²⁸
 
“And why worry about your clothes? Look at the field lilies! They don’t worry about theirs.
²⁹
 
Yet King Solomon in all his glory was not clothed as beautifully as they.
³⁰
 
And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won’t he more surely care for you, O men of little faith?

    
^31-32
 
“So don’t worry at all about having enough food and clothing. Why be like the heathen? For they take pride in all these things and are deeply concerned about them. But your heavenly Father already knows perfectly well that you need them,
³³
 
and he will give them to you if you give him first place in your life and live as he wants you to.

    
³⁴
 
“So don’t be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time.
*