When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; after he sat down, his disciples came to
him. Then he began to
speak, and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. “Blessed
are the meek, for they will
inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they
will be filled. “Blessed
are the merciful, for they
will receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will
see God. “Blessed
are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God. “Blessed are those who are
persecuted for
righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when
people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you
falsely on my account.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way
they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
“You’ve heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye
and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an
evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also. Give
to everyone who begs from
you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.
“You’ve heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your
enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that
you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the
evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.
For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax
collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters,
what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect,
therefore, as your heavenly
Father is perfect.
“Do
not store up for yourselves treasures on earth; but store up for yourselves
treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and
steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “No one can serve two masters; for a slave
will either hate the one and
love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
“Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you
will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food,
and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they
neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not
of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour
to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the
lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell
you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But
if God so clothes the
grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe
you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we
eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for
all these things; and indeed your
heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive
first for the kingdom of God
and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as
well.
“So, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will
bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” Indeed it is!
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