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Matthew 5

1When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain. After he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2He opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

3Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5Blessed are the gentle, for they will inherit the earth.

6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

10Blessed are those who have been persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because your reward is great in heaven; for that is how they persecuted the prophets before you.

13You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, how will it be made salty? It is no longer useful for anything except to be thrown out and trampled by people.

14You are the light of the world. A city standing on a mountain cannot be hidden. 15Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it shines on everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good deeds and give glory to your Father in heaven.

17Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter or one stroke will pass from the Law until everything takes place. 19So whoever sets aside one of the least of these commandments and teaches people to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

21You heard that it was said to those of old, “You shall not murder,” and, “Whoever murders will be liable to judgment.” 22But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever says to his brother, “You empty-head!” will be liable to the council; and whoever says, “You fool!” will be liable to fiery Gehenna. 23So if you are bringing your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there before the altar, and first go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and bring your gift. 25Come to terms with your accuser quickly while you are on the way with him, so that your accuser does not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you are thrown into prison. 26Truly I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the last copper coin.

27You heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery.” 28But I tell you that everyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29If your right eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it away from you; for it is better for you to lose one of your body parts than for your whole body to be thrown into Gehenna. 30And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away from you; for it is better for you to lose one of your body parts than for your whole body to go into Gehenna.

31It was also said, “Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.” 32But I tell you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on account of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

33Again, you heard that it was said to those of old, “You shall not swear falsely, but shall fulfill your oaths to the Lord.” 34But I tell you not to swear at all: neither by heaven, because it is God's throne, 35nor by the earth, because it is the footstool for his feet, nor by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. 36Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37Let your word be “Yes, yes” or “No, no”; anything beyond these comes from the evil one.

38You heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” 39But I tell you not to resist an evildoer. Instead, whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

43You heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” 44But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45so that you may become sons of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on evil and good people, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48So you must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Translation notes 14

5:3–12 — Blessed. A declaration that these people are fortunate in light of God's favor and promises, not necessarily feeling happy. “Poor in spirit” retains the image rather than replacing it with a description of humility.

5:3 — Kingdom of heaven. Literally “kingdom of the heavens.” The English singular is idiomatic; it does not change the phrase to “kingdom of God” or describe merely a place people go after death.

5:5 — Gentle; earth. Traditionally “meek.” The word does not mean weak or cowardly. “Earth” can also be rendered “land”; the saying recalls Psalm 37:11.

5:6, 10, 20; 6:1, 33 — Righteousness. Retained as a connected theme. It concerns what is right before God; “justice” is a possible rendering in some contexts, but neither private virtue alone nor social justice alone exhausts the word here.

5:9, 45 — Sons. The gendered family image is retained. It need not exclude women from the promise. The same distinction applies to the sermon's language of “brother” and “brothers.”

5:18 — Letter and stroke. Greek “one iota or one small stroke”: even the smallest details of the writing. “Fulfill” in verse 17 is retained without replacing it with a theory of how the Law remains applicable.

5:22 — Empty-head; anger. The Greek represents the Aramaic insult raka, associated with emptiness; the following insult is the Greek “fool.” Some manuscripts qualify anger with “without cause.” That qualification is absent from the base text.

5:22, 29–30 — Gehenna. Often rendered “hell”: for example, NET uses “hell” in 5:22. The name derives from the Valley of Hinnom and is used here for divine punishment, with explicit fire imagery in 5:22. Retaining it distinguishes this term from Hades and other biblical descriptions; it does not weaken the warning. “Fiery Gehenna” is literally “the Gehenna of fire.”

5:28–30 — Lust and stumbling. The wording focuses on looking with the purpose of lusting. “Stumble” is an image for being led into sin. The shocking commands about the eye and hand are retained; their exaggerated bodily imagery stresses radical action against sin.

5:32 — Sexual immorality. Greek porneia. The scope of the exception is disputed. The passage explicitly describes a husband divorcing a wife. The difficult causative wording is retained; the study notes discuss its passive Greek form and the implied situation of remarriage. The Greek makes the wife the affected participant in a causative construction. The current wording understands the consequence in light of the following remarriage clause; another interpretation emphasizes her suffering adultery through the divorce.

5:37 — Yes, yes; the evil one. Alternatively, “Let your yes be yes, and your no be no.” “From evil” is an alternative to “from the evil one.”

5:39–41 — Resistance, clothing, and distance. “An evildoer” can alternatively be read as “evil.” A tunic was an inner garment; a cloak was an outer garment. The mile is a Roman mile, somewhat shorter than a modern U.S. mile.

5:43–44 — Enemies. The command to love one's neighbor recalls Leviticus 19:18; “hate your enemy” is not presented here as a separately identifiable Old Testament quotation. Some manuscripts expand verse 44 with blessing and doing good to enemies; the base text has the shorter wording printed here.

5:48 — Perfect. The Greek can express completeness, wholeness, or perfection. The immediate example is the Father's generosity toward both good and evil people. “Perfect” retains the full force of the demand; “complete” is a significant alternative.