The Gospel According to Matthew, chapters 1 - 7
1 A T A B L E O F T H E D E S C E N T of Jesus Christ, son of David,
son of Abraham. Abraham was father of Isaac, Isaac of Jacob, Jacob of Judah
and his brothers, Judah of Perez and Zarah (their mother was Tamar),
Perez of Hezron, Hezron of Ram, Ram of Amminadab, Amminadab of
Nahshon, Nahshon of Salma, Salma of Boaz (his mother was Rahab),
Baoz of Obed (his mother was Ruth), Obed of Jesse; and Jesse was the
father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon (his mother had been the wife of
Uriah), Solomon of Rehoboam, Rehoboam of Abijah, Abijah of Asa,
Asa of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat of Joram, Joram of Azariah, Azariah of
Jotham, Jotham of Ahaz, Ahaz of Hezekiah, Hezekiah of Manasseh,
Manasseh of Amon, Amon of Josiah; and Josiah was the father of Jeconiah
and his brothers at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
After the deportation of Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Sealtiel of
Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel of Abiud, Abiud of Eliakim, Eliakim of Azor,
Azor of Zadok, Zadok of Achim, Achim of Eliud, Eliud of Eleazar, Eleazar
of Matthan, Matthan of Jacob, Jacob of Joseph, the husband of Mary, who
gave birth to Jesus called Messiah.
There are thus fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David,
fourteen from David until the deportation to Babylon, and fourteen from
the deportation until the Messiah.
THIS IS THE STORY of the birth of the Messiah. Mary his mother was
betrothed to Joseph; before their marriage she found that she was with
child by the Holy Spirit. Being a man of principle, and at the same time
wanting to save her from exposure, Joseph desired to have the marriage
contract set aside quietly. He had resolved on this, when the angel of the
Lord appeared to him in a dream. 'Joseph son of David,' said the angel,
'do not be afraid to take Mary home with you as your wife. It is by the
Holy Spirit that she has conceived this child. She will bear a son; and you
shall give him the name Jesus (Saviour), for he will save his people from
their sins.' All this happened in order to fulfil what the Lord declared
through the prophet: 'The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and he
shall be called Emmanuel', a name which means, 'God is with us', Rising
from sleep Joseph did as the angel had directed him; he took Mary home
to be his wife, but had no intercourse with her until her son was born. And
he named the child Jesus.
2 JESUS WAS BORN at Bethlehem in Judaea during the reign of Herod.
After his birth astrologers from the east arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 'Where
is the child who is born to be king of the Jews? We observed the rising of
his star, and we have come to pay him homage.' King Herod was greatly
perturbed when he heard this; and so was the whole of Jerusalem. He called
a meeting of the chief priests and lawyers of the Jewish people, and put
before them the question: 'Where is it that the Messiah is to be born?'
'At Bethlehem in Judaea', they replied; and they referred him to the
prophecy which reads: 'Bethlehem in the land of Judah, you are far from
least in the eyes of the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a leader
to be the shepherd of my people Israel.'
Herod next called the astrologers to meet him in private, and ascertained
from them the time when the star had appeared. He then sent them on to
Bethlehem, and said, 'Go and make a careful inquiry for the child. When
you have found him, report to me, so that I may go myself and pay him
homage.'
They set out at the king's bidding; and the star which they had seen at
its rising went ahead of them until it stopped above the place where the
child lay. At the sight of the star they were overjoyed. Entering the house,
they saw the child with Mary his mother, and bowed to the ground in
homage to him; then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts:
gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to go
back to Herod, they returned home another way.
After they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a
dream, and said to him, 'Rise up, take the child and his mother and
escape with them to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you; for Herod
is going to search for the child to do away with him.' So Joseph rose
from sleep, and taking mother and child by night he went away with
them to Egypt, and there he stayed until Herod's death. This was to fulfil
what the Lord had declared through the prophet: 'I called my son out
of Egypt.'
When Herod saw how the astrologers had tricked him he fell into a
passion, and gave orders for the massacre of all the children in Bethlehem
and its neighbourhood, of the age of two years or less, corresponding with
the time he had ascertained from the astrologers. So the words spoken
through Jeremiah the prophet were fulfilled: 'A voice was heard in Rama,
wailing and loud laments; it was Rachel weeping for her children, and
refusing all consolation, because they were no more.'
The time came that Herod died; and an angel of the Lord appeared in
a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said to him, 'Rise up, take the child and his
mother, and go with them to the land of Israel, for the men who threatened
the child's life are dead.' So he rose, took mother and child with him, and
came to the land of Israel. Hearing, however, that Archelaus had succeeded
his father Herod as king of Judaea, he was afraid to go there. And being
warned by a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee; there he settled in
a town called Nazareth. This was to fulfil the words spoken through the
prophets: 'He shall be called Nazarene.'
3 ABOUT THAT TIME John the Baptist appeared as a preacher in the
Judaean wilderness; his theme was: 'Repent; for the kingdom of Heaven
is upon you!' It is of him that the prophet Isaiah spoke, when he said,
'A voice crying aloud for the wilderness, "Prepare a way for the Lord; clear
a straight path for him." '
John's clothing was a rough coat of camel's hair, with a leather belt
round his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. They flocked to
him from Jerusalem, from all Judaea, and the whole Jordan valley, and
were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins.
When he said to many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism
he said to them: 'You vipers' brood! Who warned you to escape from the
coming retribution? Then prove your repentance by the fruit it bears;
and do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our
father." I tell you that God can make children for Abraham out of these
stones here. Already the axe is laid to the roots of the trees; and every tree
that fails to produce good fruit is cut down and thrown on the fire. I baptize
you with water, for repentance; but the one who comes after me is mightier
than I. I am not fit to take off his shoes. He will baptize you with the Holy
Spirit and with fire. His shovel is ready in his hand and he will winnow his
threshing-floor; the wheat he will gather into his granary, but he will burn
the chaff on the fire that can never go out.'
Then Jesus arrived at the Jordan from Galilee, and came to John to be
baptized by him. John tried to dissuade him. 'Do you come to me?' he
said; 'I need rather to be baptized by you.' Jesus replied, 'Let it be so for the
present; we do well to conform in this way with all that God requires.'
John then allowed for him to come. After baptism Jesus came up out of the
water at once, and at that moment heaven opened; he saw the Spirit of
God descending like a dove to alight upon him; and a voice from heaven
was heard saying, 'This is my Son, my Beloved, on whom my favour
rests.'
4 JESUS WAS THEN LED AWAY by the Spirit into the wilderness, to be
tempted by the devil.
For forty days and forty nights he fasted, and at the end of them he was
famished. The tempter approached him and said, 'If you are the Son of
God, tell these stones to become bread.' Jesus answered, 'Scripture says,
"Man cannot live on bread alone; he lives on every word that God utters." '
The devil then took him to the Holy City and set him on the parapet of
the temple. 'If you are the Son of God,' he said, 'throw yourself down; for
Scripture says, "He will put his angels in charge of you, and they will
support you in their arms, for fear you should strike your foot against
a stone." ' Jesus answered him, 'Scripture says again, "You are not to put
the Lord your God to the test." '
Once again the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him
all the kingdoms of the world in their glory. 'All these', he said, 'I will give
you, if you will only fall down and do me homage.' But Jesus said, 'Begone,
Satan! Scripture says, "You shall do homage to the Lord your God and
worship him alone." '
Then the devil left him; and angels appeared and waited on him.
When he heard that John had been arrested, Jesus withdrew to Galilee;
and leaving Nazareth he went and settled at Capernaum on the Sea of
Galilee, in the district of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfil the pas-
sage in the prophet Isaiah which tells of the land of Zebulun, the land of
Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, the land beyond Jordan, heathen Galilee',
and says:
'The people that lived in darkness saw a great light;
light dawned on the dwellers in the land of death's dark shadow.'
From that day Jesus began to proclaim the message: 'Repent; for the
kingdom of Heaven is upon you.'
JESUS WAS WALKING by the Sea of Galilee when he saw two brothers,
Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the lake;
for they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, 'Come with me, and I will
make you fishers of men.' And at once they left their nets and followed him.
He went on, and saw another pair of brothers, James son of Zebedee
and his brother John; they were in the boat with their father Zebedee,
overhauling their nets. He called them, and at once they left the boat and
their father, and followed him.
He went round the whole of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, preach-
ing the gospel of the Kingdom, and curing whatever illness or infirmity
there was among the people. His fame reached the whole of Syria; and
sufferers from every kind of illness, racked with pain, possessed by devils,
epileptic, or paralysed, were all brought to him, and he cured them. Great
crowds also followed him, from Galilee and the Ten Towns, from
Jerusalem and Judaea, and from Transjordan.
WHEN HE SAW the crowds he went up the hill. There he took his seat,
and when his disciples had gathered round him he began to address
them. And this is the teaching he gave:
'How blest are those who know their need of God;
the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
How blest are the sorrowful;
they shall find consolation.
How blest are those of a gentle spirit;
they shall have the earth for their possession.
How blest are those who hunger and thirst to see right prevail;
they shall be satisfied.
How blest are those who show mercy;
mercy shall be shown to them.
How blest are those whose hearts are pure;
they shall see God.
How blest are the peacemakers;
God shall call them his sons.
How blest are those who have suffered persecution for the cause of right;
the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
'How blest you are, when you suffer insults and persecution and every
kind of calumny for my sake. Accept it with gladness and exultation, for
you have a rich reward in heaven; in the same way they persecuted the
prophets before you.
'You are salt to the world. And if salt becomes tasteless, how is its salt-
ness to be restored? It is now good for nothing but to be thrown away and
trodden underfoot.
'You are light for all the world. A town that stands on a hill cannot be
hidden. When a lamp is lit, it is not put under the meal-tub, but on the
lamp-stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. And you, like
the lamp, must shed light among your fellows, so that, when they see the
good you do, they must give praise to your Father in heaven.
'DO NOT SUPPOSE that I have come to abolish the Law and the prophets;
I did not come to abolish, but to complete. I tell you this: so long as heaven
and earth endure, not a letter, not a stroke, will disappear from the Law
until all that must happen has happened. If any man therefore sets aside
even the least of the Law's demands, and teaches others to do the same, he
will have the lowest place in the kingdom of Heaven, whereas anyone who
keeps the Law, and teaches others so, will stand high in the kingdom of
Heaven. I tell you, unless you show yourself far better men than the
Pharisees and the doctors of the law, you can never enter the kingdom of
heaven.
'You have learned that our forefathers were told, "Do not commit
murder; anyone who commits murder must be brought to judgement."
But I tell you this: Anyone who nurses anger against his brother
must be brought to judgement. If he abuses his brother he must answer
for it to the court; if he sneers at him he will have to answer for it in the
fires of hell.
'If, when you are bringing your gift to the altar, you suddenly remember
that your brother has a grievance against you, leave your gift where it is
before the altar. First go and make your peace with your brother, and only
then come back and offer your gift.
'If someone sues you, come to terms with him promptly while you are
both on your way to court; otherwise he may hand you over to the judge,
and the judge to the constable, and you will be put in jail. I tell you, once
you are there you will not be let out till you have paid the last farthing.
'You have learned that they were told, "Do not commit adultery."
But what I tell you is this: If a man looks on a woman with a lustful eye,
he has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
'If your right eye is your undoing, tear it out and fling it away; it is better
for you to lose one part of your body than for the whole of it to be thrown
into hell. And if your right hand is your undoing, cut it off and fling it
away; it is better for you to lose one part of your body than for the whole
of it to go to hell.
'They were told, "A man who divorces his wife must give her a note of
dismissal." But what I tell you is this: If a man divorces his wife for any
cause other than unchastity he involves her in adultery; and anyone who
marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
'Again, you have learned that our forefather were told "Do not break
our oath ", and, "Oaths sworn to the Lord must be kept." But what I tell
you is this: You are not to swear at all — not by heaven, for it is God's
throne, nor by earth, for it is his footstool, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the
city of the great King, nor by your own head, because you cannot turn
one hair of it white or black. Plain "Yes or "No" is all you need to say;
anything beyond that comes from the devil.
'You have learned that they were told, "Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth."
But what I tell you is this: Love your enemies and pray for your
persecutors; only so can you be children of your heavenly Father, who
makes his sun rise on good and bad alike, and sends the rain on the honest
and the dishonest. If you love only those who love you, what reward can
you expect? Surely the tax-gatherers do as much as that. And if you greet
only your brothers, what is there extraordinary about that? Even the
heathen do as much. There must be no limit to your goodness, as your
heavenly Father's goodness knows no bounds.
6 'BE CAREFUL not to make a show of your religion before men; if you do,
no reward awaits you in your Father's house in heaven.
'Thus, when you do some act of charity, do not announce it with a flourish
of trumpets, as the hypocrites do in synagogue and in the streets to win
admiration from men. I tell you this: they have their reward already. No;
when you do some act of charity, do not let your left hand know what your
right is doing; your good deed must be secret, and your Father who sees
what is done in secret will reward you.
'Again, when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; they love to say
their prayers standing up in synagogue and at the street--corners, for
everyone to see them. I tell you this: they have their reward already. But
when you pray, go into a room by yourself, shut the door, and pray to your
Father who is there in the secret place; and your Father who sees what is
secret will reward you.
'In your prayers do not go babbling on like the heathen, who imagine
that the more you say the more likely you are to be heard. Do not imitate
them. Your Father knows what your needs are before you ask him.
'This is how you should pray:
"Our Father in heaven,
thy name be hallowed;
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us the wrong we have done,
as we have forgiven those who have wronged us.
and do not bring us to the test,
but save us from the evil one."
For if you forgive others the wrongs they have done, your heavenly Father
will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, then the wrongs you
have done will not be forgiven by your Father.
'So too when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites: they make
their faces unsightly so that other people may see that they are fasting.
I tell you this: they have their reward already. But when you fast, anoint
your head and wash your face, so that men may not see that you are fasting,
but only your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees
what is secret will give you your reward.
'DO NOT STORE UP for yourselves treasure on earth, where it grows rusty
and moth-eaten, and thieves break in to steal it. Store up treasure in
heaven, where there is no moth and no rust to spoil it, no thieves to break
in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
'The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eyes are sound, you will have
light for your whole body; if the eyes are bad, your whole body will be in
darkness. If then the only light you have is darkness, the darkness is
doubly dark.
'No servant can be the slave of two masters; for either he will hate the
first and love the second, or he will be devoted to the first and think
nothing of the second. You cannot serve God and Money.
'Therefore I bid you put away anxious thoughts about food and drink
to keep you live, and clothes to cover your body. Surely life is more than
food, the body more than clothes. Look at the birds of the air; they do not
sow and reap and store in barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. You
are worth more than the birds! Is there a man of you who by anxious
thought can add a foot to his height? And why be anxious about clothes?
Consider how the lilies grow in the fields; they do not work, they do not
spin; and yet, I tell you, even Solomon in all his splendour was not
attired like one of these. But if that is how God clothes the grass in the
fields, which is there today, and tomorrow is thrown in the stove, will he
not all the more clothe you? How little faith you have! No, do not ask
anxiously, "What are we to eat? What are we to drink? What shall we
wear?" All these are things for the heathen to run after, not for you,
because your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. Set your
mind on God's kingdom and his justice before everything else, and all the
rest will come to you as well. So do not be anxious about tomorrow;
tomorrow will look after itself. Each day has troubles enough of its own.
7 'PASS NO JUDGEMENT, and you will not be judged. For as you judge
others, so you will yourselves be judged, and whatever measure you deal
out to other will be dealt back to you. Why do you look at the speck of
sawdust in your brother's eye, with never a thought for the great plank in
your own? Or how can you say to your brother, "Let me take the speck out
of your eye", when all the time there is that plank in your own? You hypo-
crite! First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly
to take the speck out of your brother's.
'Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls to the pigs:
they will only trample on them, and turn and tear you to pieces.
'Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, an the door
will be opened. For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds, and
to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
'Is there a man among you who will offer his son a stone when he asks
for bread, or a snake when he asks for fish? If you, then, bad as you are,
know how to give your children what is good for them, how much more will
your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him!
'Always treat others as you would like them to treat you: that is the Law
and the prophets.
'Enter by the narrow gate. The gate is wide that leads to perdition,
there is plenty of room on the road, and may go that way; but the gate
that leads to life is small and the road is narrow, and those who find it
are few.
'Beware of false prophets, men who come to you dressed up as sheep
while underneath they are savage wolves. You will recognize them by the
fruits they bear. Can grapes be picked from briars, or figs from thistles?
In the same way, a good tree always yields good fruit, and a poor tree bad
fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, or a poor tree good fruit. And when
a tree does not yield good fruit it is cut down and burnt. That is why I say
you will recognize them by their fruits.
'Not everyone who calls me "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of
Heaven, but only those who do the will of my heavenly Father. When that
day comes, many will say to me, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in you
name, cast out devils in your name, and in your name perform many
miracles?" Then I will tell them to their face, "I never knew you; out of my
sight, you and your wicked ways!"
'What then of the man who hears these words of mine and acts upon
them? He is like a man who had the sense to build his house on rock. The
rain came down, the floods rose, the wind blew, and beat upon that house;
but it did not fall, because its foundations were on rock. but what of the
man who hears these words of mine and does not act upon them? He is
like a man who was foolish enough to build his house on sand. The rain
came down, the floods rose, the wind blew, and beat upon that house;
down it fell with a crash.'
When Jesus had finished this discourse the people were astounded at
his teaching; unlike their own teacher he taught with a note of authority.
The New English Bible (with Apocrypha)
Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, 1970
Posted Sep 22, 2018, 3:24 AM UTC · edited
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