The New Testament: Majority English Bible

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ISBN: 978-1-4759-7981-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-7980-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-7979-4 (e)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

The Gospel according to Matthew

The Gospel according to Mark

The Gospel according to Luke

The Gospel according to John

The Acts of the Apostles

The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans

The First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians

The Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians

The Epistle of Paul to the Galatians

The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians

The Epistle of Paul to the Philippians

The Epistle of Paul to the Colossians

The First Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians

The Second Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians

The First Epistle of Paul to Timothy

The Second Epistle of Paul to Timothy

The Epistle of Paul to Titus

The Epistle to the Hebrews

The Epistle of James

The First Epistle of Peter

The Second Epistle of Peter

The First Epistle of John

The Revelation from John

PREFACE

The Bible is the word of God. How much simpler can we state it? In reading it we are listening to the voice of God to us and for us all, no matter what, when, or where we are. This book contains all God wants us to know regarding Himself, mankind, life, death, and the hereafter.

The Majority English Bible (MEB), of which we have in our hands the New Testament portion, was born into a huge family of English Bible translations. Each child is different in his own way but yet reflects the family’s common characteristics and heritage. Some children are commonplace, and some are outstanding. Each vies for attention and respect through his own distinctive personality. Further, the younger children must compete for the attention and affection that the older ones already have won. Thus it is in the Bible world, and the Majority English Bible accepts the challenge of winning the love and respect of the majority of English Bible readers.

Through its translation philosophy, the Majority English Bible strives for sameness, the familiar scriptures as we have known them; yet it must be distinctive from the plethora of Bible translations in order to justify its existence. Therefore, The Common Bible, Inc., producer of the MEB, established a certain philosophy to create a text different yet familiar. The translation philosophy centers around three concepts: literal, traditional, and modern. It is to be as literal as possible to the original Greek, traditional in its familiar cadence and format, and modern in its writing. Any of the three can and do clash with the others; so guidelines were established for the translation process, which resulted in every word, phrase, and sentence being crafted carefully, word by word, phrase by phrase.

This was done through an unprecedented process called conflation, or merging. The process consisted of extracting the majority word, grammatical construction, syntax, even paragraph division from twenty established English New Testament versions, ranging over a period of 200 years of Bible translation history. Major issues—such as the word best expressing the Greek, the grammatical form best converting the Greek into English, the Greek textual variance closest to the original intent—are all settled objectively.

Internal evidence establishes the fact that consulting and borrowing from previous translations is a standard procedure in the trade. But no version has strictly conflated or merged such a large number of translations representing different times and viewpoints into an objective, majority/plurality text determined by them all. This arduous translation project took 24 years intermittently to complete. It was precise, controlled by strict guidelines; it was scholastic in consulting three Greek testaments, Greek grammar, Greek dictionary, and analytical lexicon. Consequently, the translation leaves no editorial footprints. It has no hidden agenda or purpose apart from producing an English Bible that all can have confidence in. It represents everybody’s work of translating and our own punctilious labor of transcribing.

First and foremost, the translation process was based on the overriding conviction of the verbal inspiration of all sixty-six books of the scripture. This means that the Holy Spirit guided in the writing process through the choice of each Greek or Hebrew word and sanctioned its use by the writer. The MEB too aspires to say it the way the Holy Spirit wanted it said. The modern tendency toward dynamic or thought translation tends to eclipse verbal inspiration.

Words are important. Words produce thoughts and thoughts messages; whereas thoughts and messages could not be ascertained if there were no words or if words had no specific meaning. Word conversion formulates the foundation for Bible translation. It had been that way historically until the twentieth century. Consequently, with a commitment to verbal inspiration we present a modern translation that is both literal and traditional.

One must quickly distinguish between the two. While literality is a feature of the traditional mode, modern literal translations often lack traditionalism. Therefore, it was necessary to create and employ a definition for a traditional Bible so that the average reader, who is unaware of translation nuances, can sense the aura of the traditional along with the contemporary when reading.

To be unique among Bible translations, guidelines were produced. We introduce some of these guidelines so that the reader may spot them. They also assist in a clearer understanding of God’s wonderful word.

The first guideline was to retain thee/thou usage but only for the second person address of deity. In this way the ancient English is identified as confessing divinity, especially of the Christ, in what is intended as a language of reverence. Though the use may be archaic, it is not obsolete. It is still familiar to the vast majority of the public through prayers, hymnology, poetry, and classical literature–all representing the highest forms of literature, as the Bible should also do. While the original language makes no such distinction, yet this age of secularism and a general irreverence toward the things of God suggest the need to encourage a language of reverence.

Further, The Majority Bible seeks to employ a concise, precise diction. Understanding the plain language of the inspired authors should not require long phrases or running commentary or clever colloquialism. The task of explaining and interpreting belongs to the commentators and preachers. The MEB’s clear, uncluttered diction compares favorably with other translations, especially those noted for their conciseness, such as those representing dynamic translation.

Care was taken to write at the highest stylistic level. However, maintaining literality and the Greek word order often prevented automatically translating into good English. So many times modern demands win over the traditional, and vice versa. In addition to providing a clear, accurate translation, we attempted to make this good, modern formal English writing that is fluid and not stiff. While we all revere the classical older Bibles, this Bible is written in a different mode.

The Majority Bible is as literal a translation as possible under the imposed guidelines, but early on we had to determine a definition of literalism. A conflict arose from variance in the Greek text. However, most of the textual variances involve grammar and syntax with only occasional diction differences remaining. We determined, therefore, that grammar and syntax are not part of literality except for study and teaching. Besides, ancient Greek is not automatically replicable into modern English. Furthermore, as confirmed in the dictionaries and concordances, words can be defined differently, sometimes with a changed meaning but more often with an updated one. So we dealt with these issues individually and set two principles into our guidelines: that the oldest definition was the more traditional, and that grammatical features (such as those found in verb tense) and syntax may be excluded from literality in order to compose good English sentences.

The Majority Bible capitalizes every reference to deity. While this practice is contrary to the modern style books and is not exactly traditional, it actually improves the writing and understanding of the scriptures. The name of Jesus Christ is used sparingly, and references to the Lord through various pronouns—personal, relative, and demonstrative—or through implied pronouns, as in Greek verbs, often translate into faulty pronoun reference. Beyond correcting reference, capitalizing also distinguishes between those in the narrative who believe His deity and those who do not. The gospels profusely illustrate this difference. While we admit that modern writing style does not allow this practice, we feel that clarity and correctness are more important than style. However, the practice of capitalization does not extend to terms denoting scripture, as that is the work, not the person, of deity.

Readers will note the heavy use of italics. They never indicate emphasis or irony but are words supplied in English not found in the Greek text. That is, they are the translator’s insertions for smoothness of writing and understanding. While many of the italicized words are implied in Greek grammar, yet editorial guidelines wanted to transparently show which words were the original author’s and which were the translator’s. The variance, of course, lies in the word that is translated by a phrase. Our use of italics is considerably expanded in comparison to other translations.

Further in modern English, punctuation means something grammatically. We strictly applied those punctuation principles. Therefore, the reader should read for meaning according to punctuation and for oral reading according to phrases, but not verses. Many times the sentence flows on to the next verse, an idea hidden in phrased punctuation. Even the lowly comma bears a message, though subliminal, which also has meaning. A consciousness of punctuation rules will be beneficial. This is modern writing; older writers were not cumbered with such precise punctuation practices, and the Greek writers used no punctuation at all.

Since they lacked periods or other punctuation, the Greek writers often used a particle translated and/but to mark thought or sentence division. Frequently their and actually replaced our period-capital. We usually try to stay literal by texting and, although in modern writing a sentence should not begin with a simple conjunction and the practice does become monotonous. Also, most Greek sentences have some form of transition, which consistent use is also frowned upon in modern standard English. In this area the literal humbly won over the modern.

Greek writers only occasionally marked topics through extra word or line spacing, but the editors who compiled the Greek texts that we use did use paragraph and topic divisions. We usually adhere to those divisions, although the original writing allows freedom in this area.

A special oddity in the Majority Bible involves fitting chapter and verse divisions into the paragraph divisions. Basically, each chapter begins a new paragraph; but sometimes the paragraph bleeds over to the next chapter or stops just before the chapter.

Despite that, we follow the traditional chapter and verse numbering, as they are familiar points of Bible reference, even though the paragraph may be contrary to the chapter division. Along this line, it will also be noted that some verse numbers are omitted. That is intentional, not a textual error. The omissions represent those verses found in historical Bibles in use when chapter/verse divisions were created. In the Critical Edition of this New Testament, not yet published, each textual question will be footnoted.

The observant reader may also note other distinctive features, chiefly in grammar and writing technique. Notwithstanding all this, the supreme intent is to make Bible reading simple, clear, and understandable. There is nothing mystical or mysterious about God’s holy word. It simply needs to be read and read continually. We pray that in this translation folks may take a new interest and delight in reading what God has to say to them. Life and eternity depend on it.

Editor

The Common Bible, Inc.

December, 2012

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO

MATTHEW

CHAPTER 1

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram,

4 Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon,

5 Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse,

6 and Jesse the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah,

7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa,

8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah,

9 Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah,

11 Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the carrying away to Babylon.

12 And after the exile to Babylon, Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

13 Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor,

14 Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud,

15 Eliud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob,

16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, Who is called Christ.

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, and from David to the exile to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the exile to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was in this way: When His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.

19 And Joseph her husband, being a just man and unwilling to disgrace her publicly, was minded to put her away secretly.

20 But while he was thinking on this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream in saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

21 And she will give birth to a son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.

22 All this happened that what was spoken of the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled:

23 Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall give birth to a son; and they shall call His name Immanuel, which means, God with us.

24 And when Joseph woke from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took unto him his wife

25 but did not know her until she had given birth to a son. And he called His name Jesus.

CHAPTER 2

1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,

2 saying, Where is He Who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.

3 When King Herod heard this, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him.

4 And he gathered together all the chief priests and scribes of the people and inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

5 They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

Are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

For out of you shall come a ruler

Who will shepherd my people Israel.’"

7 Then Herod called the wise men secretly and ascertained from them the time the star appeared.

8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make careful search for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word that I too may come and worship him."

9 After having heard the king, they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the east went before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was.

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

11 And they came into the house and saw the Child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him. And opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

12 And being warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

13 Now when they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, Arise, take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you; for Herod will search for the Child to destroy Him.

14 So he arose and took the Child and His mother by night and departed into Egypt;

15 and he remained there until the death of Herod, that might be fulfilled what was spoken of the Lord through the prophet, Out of Egypt I called My Son.

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was furiously angry; and he sent and slew all the male children in Bethlehem and in all its neighborhood from two years old and under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.

17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet,

18 "A voice was heard in Ramah,

Weeping and great mourning,

Rachel weeping for her children,

And she refused to be comforted because they are no more."

19 But when Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt

20 in saying, Arise, take the Child and His mother and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.

21 So he arose and took the Child and His mother and came into the land of Israel.

22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in the place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there; and being warned by God in a dream, he withdrew into the region of Galilee.

23 And he came and dwelt in a town called Nazareth, that might be fulfilled what was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

CHAPTER 3

1 In those days, John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,

2 saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

3 This is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness,

‘Make ready the way of the Lord;

Make His paths straight,’"

4 This John had his garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

5 Then went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region round about the Jordan,

6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan on confessing their sins.

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

8 "Bring forth, therefore, fruit worthy of repentance;

9 "and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father.’ For I tell you that God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.

10 "And already the axe is laid at the root of the trees; every tree, therefore, that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 "I indeed baptize you with water for repentance; but He Who is coming after me is mightier than I, Whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

12 "His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff He will burn up with unquenchable fire."

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him.

14 But John tried to prevent Him by saying, I have need to be baptized by Thee, and dost Thou come to me?

15 But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented to Him.

16 And when Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately out of the water. And behold, the heavens were opened; and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.

17 And lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.

CHAPTER 4

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry.

3 And the tempter came and said to Him, If Thou art the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.

4 But He answered, "It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’"

5 Then the devil took Him to the holy city and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple

6 and said to Him, "If Thou art the Son of God, throw Thyself down; for it is written,

‘He will give His angels charge concerning you,

And on their hands they will bear you up

Lest you strike your foot against a stone.’"

7 Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’"

8 Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory;

9 and he said to Him, "All these things I will give Thee if Thou wilt fall down and worship me."

10 Then Jesus said to him, "Begone, Satan! for it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.’"

11 Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He withdrew into Galilee.

13 And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum by the sea in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali,

14 that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled,

15 "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,

The way of the sea beyond the Jordan,

Galilee of the Gentiles:

16 "The people who sat in darkness

Saw a great light,

And on those who sat in the land and the shadow of death,

Light dawned."

17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

18 And as He was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.

19 And He said to them, Come, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.

20 And at once they left their nets and followed Him.

21 And going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with their father Zebedee mending their nets; and He called them.

22 And they immediately left the boat and their father and followed Him.

23 And Jesus went about through all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every kind of disease and every sickness among the people.

24 And His fame spread throughout all Syria. And they brought to Him all who were sick, suffering with various diseases and pains, those possessed with demons, and epileptics and paralytics; and He healed them.

25 And great crowds followed Him from Galilee and Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.

CHAPTER 5

1 And seeing the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and when he sat down, His disciples came to Him.

2 And He opened His mouth and taught them in saying:

3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit,

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 "Blessed are those 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 righteousness,

For they shall be satisfied.

7 "Blessed are the merciful,

For they shall obtain mercy.

8 "Blessed are the pure in heart,

For they shall see God.

9 "Blessed are the peacemakers,

For they shall be called sons of God.

10 "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness,

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 "Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.

12 "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven; for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall it be salted? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men.

14 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

15 "Neither do men light a lamp and put it under a measure but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all in the house.

16 "So let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

17 "Do not think that I have come to destroy the law or the prophets; I have not come to destroy but to fulfill.

18 "For truly I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not one letter or one tittle will pass from the law until all is accomplished.

19 "Whoever, therefore, breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20 "For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter into the kingdom of heaven.

21 "You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not murder’ and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to the judgment.’

22 "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca’ shall be liable to the Sanhedrin; and whoever says, ‘You fool’ shall be liable to the hell of fire.

23 "If, therefore, you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,

24 "leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

25 "Come to terms with your opponent quickly while you are with him on the way, lest your opponent should hand you over to the judge; and the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.

26 "Truly I say to you, you will never come out from there till you have paid the last penny.

27 "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’

28 "But I say to you that anyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

29 "And if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it from you; it is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into hell.

30 "And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

31 "It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’

32 "But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unfaithfulness, makes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

33 "Again, you have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’

34 "But I say to you, swear not at all, neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne,

35 "nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.

36 "Neither shall you swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.

37 "But let your words be ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything more than these comes from the evil one.

38 "You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye’ and ‘a tooth for a tooth.’

39 "But I say to you, do not resist an evil man; but if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

40 "And if anyone wants to sue you and take away your coat, let him have your cloak also.

41 "And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two.

42 "Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

43 "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.

44 "But I say to you, love your enemies; and pray for those who persecute you,

45 "so that you may be sons of your Father Who is in heaven. For He makes His sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust.

46 "For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do that?

47 "And if you salute your brothers only, what are you doing more than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

48 "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

CHAPTER 6

1 "Be careful not to do your good deeds before men to be seen by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven.

2 "Therefore, when you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets that they may be glorified by men. Truly I say to you, they already have their reward.

3 "But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing

4 "so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you.

5 "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites; for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and at the street corners that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they already have their reward.

6 "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room and shut your door. Pray to your Father Who is in secret; and your Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you.

7 "And when you pray, do not use vain words as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words.

8 "Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

9 "In this manner, therefore, you should pray:

Our Father, Who art in heaven,

Hallowed be Thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done

On earth as in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts,

As we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.

14 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

15 "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

16 "And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites; for they disfigure their faces that they may be seen by men that they are fasting. Truly, I say to you, they have already their reward.

17 "But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,

18 "so that you may not be seen by men to be fasting but by your Father, Who is in secret; and your Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you.

19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasure on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.

20 "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

21 "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

22 "The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light.

23 "But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold devotion to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

25 "Therefore I say to you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food and the body than clothing?

26 "Look at the birds of the air: they sow not or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of much more value than they?

27 "And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his stature?

28 "And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they do not toil or spin,

29 "yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 "Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

32 "For after all these things the Gentiles seek, for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

34 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have anxieties of itself. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble.

CHAPTER 7

1 "Judge not, that you may not be judged.

2 "For with the judgment you judge you will be judged, and with the measure you mete it will be measured to you.

3 "And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye but consider not the beam that is in your own eye?

4 "Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when behold, there is a beam in your own eye?

5 "You hypocrite, first take the beam out of your own eye; and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

6 "Do not give what is holy to the dogs, and throw not your pearls before swine lest they trample them under their feet and turn and attack you.

7 "Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you;

8 "for everyone who asks receives and he who seeks finds and to him who knocks the door will be opened.

9 "Or what man is there of you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone;

10 "or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?

11 "If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father, Who is in heaven, give good things to those who ask Him?

12 "Therefore, whatever you would have men to do to you, do even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.

13 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many are there who enter by it.

14 "For narrow is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and few are those who find it.

15 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing; but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

16 "You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles?

17 "Even so every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

18 "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit; neither can a bad tree bear good fruit.

19 "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

20 "So by their fruits you will know them.

21 "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father, Who is in heaven.

22 "Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name cast out demons and in your name do many miraculous works?’

23 "And then I will say to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of iniquity.’

24 "Everyone, therefore, who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock.

25 "And the rain fell, and the floods came; and the winds blew and beat upon that house. But it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

26 "And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.

27 And the rain fell, and the floods came; and the winds blew and beat upon that house. And it fell, and great was the fall of it.

28 When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were astonished at His teaching;

29 for He taught them as one having authority and not as their scribes.

CHAPTER 8

1 When He came down from the mountain, great crowds followed Him.

2 And behold, a leper came and worshiped before Him while saying, Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean.

3 And Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him while saying, I will; be clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

4 And Jesus said to him, See you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded for a testimony to them.

5 When He entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him in entreating Him

6 by saying, Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.

7 Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."

8 The centurion answered, "Lord, I am not worthy to have Thee come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed."

9 "For I also am a man under authority and have soldiers under me. And I say to this one ‘Go’ and he goes, and to another ‘Come’ and he comes, and to my servant ‘Do this’ and he does it."

10 When Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who followed Him, "Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel.

11 "And I tell you that many will come from the east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the darkness outside; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, Go your way; as you have believed, be it done for you. And the servant was healed at that very hour.

14 And when Jesus came into Peter’s house, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever.

15 And He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she arose and waited on Him.

16 When evening came, they brought to Him many who were possessed with demons; and He cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick,

17 that might be fulfilled what was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, He Himself took our infirmities and bore our diseases.

18 Now when Jesus saw great crowds about Him, He gave orders to cross to the other side.

19 And a scribe came and said to Him, Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.

20 And Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

21 Another of the disciples said to Him, Lord, let me first go and bury my father.

22 But Jesus said to him, Follow Me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.

23 And when He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him.

24 And behold, a great storm arose on the sea so that the boat was covered by the waves; but He was asleep.

25 And they came and woke Him by saying, Lord, save us; we are perishing!

26 And He said to them, Why are you afraid, O you of little faith? Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

27 And the men were amazed, saying, What kind of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?

28 And when He came to the other side to the country of the Gadarenes, there met Him two possessed by demons. These men coming out of the tombs were so fierce that no one could pass that way.

29 And behold, they cried out, "What hast Thou to do with us, Thou Son of God? Hast Thou come here to torment us before the time?"

30 Now at some distance from them there was a large herd of swine feeding.

31 And the demons begged Him by saying, If Thou dost cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.

32 And He said to them, Go. And they came out and went into the swine; and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep cliff into the sea and perished in the water.

33 And the herdsmen fled and went away into the town and told everything, and what had happened to the men possessed with demons.

34 And behold, the whole town came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their district.

CHAPTER 9

1 And He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city.

2 And behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.

3 And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man blasphemes."

4 And Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts?

5 "For which is easier, to say ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or to say ‘Arise and walk’?

6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins—then He said to the paralytic, Arise; take up your bed, and go to your home.

7 And he arose and went to his home.

8 But when the crowds saw it, they were awestruck and glorified God, Who had given such power to men.

9 As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office; and He said to him, Follow Me. And he arose and followed Him.

10 And as He was at table in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and His disciples.

11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?

12 But when Jesus heard it, He said, "It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick.

13 "But go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

14 Then the disciples of John came to Him in saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Thy disciples do not fast?

15 Jesus said to them, "Can the guests of the wedding mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

16 "No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse rent is made.

17 "Nor do men put new wine into old wineskins; if they do, the skins burst. And the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. But they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved."

18 While He was saying these things to them, a ruler came up and worshiped before Him while saying, "My daughter has just died; but come and lay Thy hand on her, and she will live."

19 And Jesus rose and followed him, and so did His disciples.

20 And behold, a woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the tassel of His cloak;

21 for she said to herself, "If I can only touch His garment, I shall be well."

22 But Jesus turned and seeing her, said, Take courage, daughter; your faith has made you well. And the woman was well from that hour.

23 And when Jesus came into the ruler’s house and saw the flute-players and the crowd making a noise,

24 He said, Go away, for the girl is not dead but is asleep. And they laughed at Him.

25 But when the crowd had been put out, He went in and took her by the hand; and the girl arose.

26 And the news of this spread through all that country.

27 As Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed Him while crying out, Have mercy on us, Son of David!

28 And when He had gone into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, Do you believe that I am able to do this?

They said to Him, Yes, Lord.

29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it done to you.

30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly charged them by saying, "See that no one knows it."

31 But they went out and spread His fame in all that country.

32 And as they were going out, there was brought to Him a dumb man who was possessed by a demon.

33 And when He cast out the demon, the dumb man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, Never was a thing seen like this in Israel.

34 But the Pharisees said, By the prince of the demons he casts out demons.

35 And Jesus went about through all the towns and villages teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every kind of disease and sickness.

36 But when He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them because they were distressed and scattered like sheep without a shepherd.

37 Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

38 Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.

CHAPTER 10

1 And He called His twelve disciples to Him and gave them authority over unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee and John his brother;

3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus;

4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

5 These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and enter not any town of the Samaritans;

6 "but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

7 "And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’

8 "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

9 "Take no gold or silver or copper in your purses,

10 "no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his food.

11 "Into whatever town or village you enter inquire who in it is worthy; and stay there until you leave.

12 "As you enter the house, salute it.

13 "And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.

14 "And whoever will not receive you or listen to your words, as you leave that house or town, shake off the dust from your feet.

15 "Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that town.

16 "Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; be therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

17 "But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and will flog you in their synagogues;

18 "and you will be brought before governors and kings for My sake for a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.

19 "But when they deliver you up, do not be anxious about how or what you shall speak; for what you are to say will be given you in that hour.

20 "For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father That speaks in you.

21 "Brother will deliver up brother to death, and father his child; and children will rise up against their parents and cause them to be put to death.

22 "And you will be hated by all men because of My name. But he who endures to the end will be saved.

23 "But when they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not have gone through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

24 "A disciple is not above his teacher or a servant above his master.

25 "It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more those of his household.

26 "Do not fear them, therefore; for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed and hidden that will not be known.

27 "What I tell you in the dark speak in the light, and what you hear in your ear proclaim upon the housetops.

28 "And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul, but rather fear Him Who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

29 "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s will.

30 "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

31 "Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

32 "Everyone, therefore, who shall acknowledge Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father, Who is in heaven.

33 "But whoever disowns Me before men, I will also disown him before My Father, Who is in heaven.

34 "Do not think that I have come to bring peace on the earth; I have not come to bring peace but a sword.

35 "For I have come to set a man against his father and a daughter against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

36 "and a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.

37 "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

38 "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.

39 "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

40 "He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him Who sent Me.

41 "He who receives a prophet because he is a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward, and he who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.

42 And whoever gives to drink to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.

11:1 When Jesus had finished these instructions to His twelve disciples, He left from there to teach and preach in their towns.

CHAPTER 11

2 Now when John heard in prison of the works of Christ, he sent by his disciples

3 and said to Him, Art Thou the One Who is to come, or are we to look for another?

4 Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see:

5 "the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear. The dead are raised up, and the poor have the good news preached to them.

6 And blessed is he who finds no cause of stumbling in Me.

7 As these were going away, Jesus began to say to the crowds concerning John, "What