Jesus Teaches the People^(A)

5 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on ·a hill [the mountain] and sat down. His ·followers [disciples] ·came to [gathered around] him, ² and he began to teach them, saying:

¹¹ “·You are blessed [^TBlessed are you; or God will bless you] when people ·insult [mock; abuse; revile] you and ·hurt [persecute] you. They will lie and say all kinds of evil things ·about [against] you because ·you follow [^Lof] me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because you have a great reward in heaven. ·People did the same evil things to [^LThey likewise persecuted] the prophets who lived before you.

You Are Like Salt and Light^(B)

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt ·loses its salty taste [becomes tasteless], ·it cannot [^Lhow can it…?] be made salty again. It is good for nothing, except to be thrown out and ·walked on [trampled].

¹⁴ “You are the light ·that gives light to [for; ^Lof] the world. A city that ·is built [stands; is set] on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ And people don’t light a lamp and then hide it under a ·bowl [or basket]. They put it on a lampstand so the light shines for all the people in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way let your light shine ·before others [for people to see], so that they will see ·the good things you do [^Lyour good deeds/works] and will ·praise [glorify; give honor to] your Father in heaven.

The Importance of the Law and the Prophets^(C)

¹⁷ “Don’t think that I have come to ·destroy [abolish; do away with] ·the law of Moses or the teaching of the prophets [^Lthe Law and the Prophets; ^Creferring to the OT]. I have not come to destroy them but to ·bring about what they said [fulfill/complete them]. ¹⁸ I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth ·are gone [pass away; disappear], not even ·the smallest letter [^Tone jot; ^Lone iota; ^Cthe smallest Greek letter] or the smallest ·part [stroke; ^Ttittle] of a letter will ·be lost [pass away; disappear] until everything ·has happened [is accomplished/achieved]. ¹⁹ [^LTherefore] Whoever ·refuses to obey [ignores; breaks; annuls] ·any command [^Lone of the least of these commands] and teaches other people ·not to obey that command [^Lto do likewise] will be ·the least important [^Lcalled/considered least] in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever ·obeys [keeps; practices] the commands and teaches other people to obey them will be [considered; ^Lcalled] great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ [^LFor] I tell you that ·if you are no more obedient than [^Lunless your righteousness surpasses/exceeds that of] the ·teachers of the law [scribes] and the Pharisees, you will ·never [or certainly not] enter the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus Teaches About Anger^(D)

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to ·our people long ago [our ancestors; the ancients], ‘You ·must [^Lshall] not murder [Ex. 20:13; Deut. 5:17]. Anyone who murders another will be ·judged [subject to judgment].’ ²² But I tell you, ·if you are [^Leveryone who is] angry with a brother or sister,^[a] you will be ·judged [subject to judgment]. ·If you say [^LWhoever says] ·bad things [“Fool!”; ^LRaca; ^Can Aramaic term of derision] to a brother or sister, you will be ·judged [subject/liable to judgment] by the ·council [Sanhedrin]. And if you call someone a ·fool [idiot; moron], you will be in danger of the fire of ·hell [^LGehenna; ^Ca valley outside of Jerusalem where in the OT period children were sacrificed to a pagan god; later used as a burning trash heap; a metaphor for hell].

²³ “So when you ·offer your gift to God [present your offering/sacrifice] at the altar, and you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, ²⁴ leave your ·gift [offering; sacrifice] there at the altar. Go and ·make peace [be reconciled] with that person [^Lfirst], and then come and ·offer your gift [present your offering/sacrifice].

²⁵ “If your ·enemy [opponent; adversary; accuser] is taking you to court, ·become friends [reach agreement; settle matters] quickly, ·before you go [on the way] to court. Otherwise, your ·enemy [opponent; adversary; accuser] might turn you over to the judge, and the judge might give you to the ·guard [officer; warden] to ·put [throw] you in ·jail [prison]. ²⁶ I tell you the truth, you will ·not [never; certainly not] leave there until you have paid ·everything you owe [the last penny; ^CGreek: the last quadrans; a small copper coin of very low value].

Jesus Teaches About Sexual Sin^(E)

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You ·must [shall] not ·be guilty of [commit] adultery [Ex. 20:14; Deut. 5:18].’ ²⁸ But I tell you that if anyone looks at a woman ·and wants to sin sexually with her [lustfully; ^Lwith a desire for her], in his ·mind [heart] he has already ·done that sin [committed adultery] with her. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to ·sin [^Lstumble], ·take [tear; gouge] it out and throw it away. [^LFor] It is better to lose one part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into ·hell [^LGehenna; v. 22]. ³⁰ If your right hand causes you to ·sin [^Lstumble], cut it off and throw it away. It is better to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into ·hell [^LGehenna; v. 22].

Jesus Teaches About Divorce^(F)

³¹ “It was also said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a written divorce ·paper [notice; certificate; Deut. 24:1].’ ³² But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife ·forces [causes; makes] her ·to be guilty of [commit] adultery. ·The only reason for a man to divorce his wife is if she has sexual relations with another man [^L…except in the case of sexual immorality]. And anyone who marries that divorced woman ·is guilty of [commits] adultery.

Make Promises Carefully

³³ “[^LAgain] You have heard that it was said to ·our people long ago [our ancestors; the ancients], ‘Don’t break your ·promises [vows; oaths], but ·keep [fulfill] the ·promises [vows; oaths] you make to the Lord [Lev. 19:12; Num. 30:2; Deut. 23:21].’ ³⁴ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all. ·Don’t swear an oath using the name of heaven [^L…neither by heaven], because heaven is God’s throne. ³⁵ ·Don’t swear an oath using the name of the earth [^L…nor by earth], because the earth ·belongs to God [^Lis his footstool; Is. 66:1]. ·Don’t swear an oath using the name of Jerusalem […nor by Jerusalem], because it is the city of the great King [Ps. 48:2]. ³⁶ Don’t even swear by your own head, because you cannot make one hair on your head become white or black. ³⁷ ·Say only yes if you mean yes, and no if you mean no [^LLet your word “yes” be “yes”; your “no” be “no”]. ·If you say more than yes or no, it [^LAnything more than this] is from the Evil One.

Don’t Retaliate^(G)

³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth [Ex. 21:24; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21].’ ³⁹ But I tell you, don’t ·stand up against [resist; retaliate against] an evil person. If someone ·slaps [strikes] you on the right cheek [^Ceither an insult or an act of violence], turn to him the other cheek also. ⁴⁰ If someone wants to sue you in court and take your ·shirt [tunic], let him have your coat also. ⁴¹ If someone forces you to go with him one mile, go with him two miles [^Calluding to the practice of impressment, whereby a Roman soldier could command a civilian to carry his gear for a mile]. ⁴² If a person asks you for something, give it to him. Don’t ·refuse to give to [^Lturn away from] someone who wants to borrow from you.

Love All People^(H)

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy [Lev. 19:18].’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, love your enemies. Pray for those who ·hurt [persecute] you.^{[b] 45} ·If you do this, […so that] you will be ·true children [^Lchildren; or sons] of your Father in heaven. [^LFor] He causes ·the [^Lhis] sun to rise on evil people and on good people, and he sends rain ·to those who do right and to those who do wrong [^Lon the just/righteous and the unjust/unrighteous]. ⁴⁶ [^LFor] If you love only the people who love you, ·you will get no reward [what reward is there for that?]. ·Even [^LDon’t even…?] the tax collectors do that. ⁴⁷ And if you ·are nice only to your friends [^Lgreet only your brothers; ^Cprobably meaning fellow Jews], ·you are no better than other people [^Lwhat more are you doing (than others)?]. Even ·those who don’t know God [the Gentiles; pagans] ·are nice to their friends [^Ldo the same]. ⁴⁸ ·So [Therefore] you must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.