Matthew 5

₁When Jesus saw the crowd of people, He went to the mountain side and He sat down. His disciples came to Him. ₂Then He started to teach them.

Jesus said:

₁₁You are happy when people do bad things to you and humiliate you because you serve Me. You are happy when people say bad things about you and tell stories that are not_true. ₁₂When people do bad things to you, you must be very happy, because in heaven God will be good to you. People also did bad things to the prophets who lived long ago.’

₁₃Jesus said: ‘You are to the earth what salt is in food. But if salt no longer tastes like salt, then no one can make it taste like salt again. Salt that does not taste like salt is no good. People throw it away and they walk on it.

₁₄You are to the world like the light of the sun. If a city is built on a mountain, then all the people can see that city and you can not hide that city.’

₁₅Jesus also said to them: ‘You do not put a lamp under a bowl or under a bed. No one does that. You put a lamp on the table and the light shines so that everyone in the house can see. ₁₆Your light must also shine and people must see your light. They must see the good things that you do, then they will praise your Father in heaven.’

₁₇‘Do not think I came to say that the laws of Moses and the books of the prophets are not important anymore. I did not come to say that they are unimportant. I came to show what Moses and the prophets really meant and what they wanted to say. ₁₈I tell you this and it is sure: Heaven and earth will stop and disappear, but nothing in the laws of Moses will disappear. Not even a letter or the smallest part of a word will disappear. Everything that is written in the Old_Testament must first happen. ₁₉Some people think it is not important to do every small thing that the laws of God say and they also teach other people to do the same. But any person who does that must know: He will also be unimportant to God in heaven who rules over all. But anyone who does what the laws of God say, and who teaches other people to do so, will be important to God in heaven who rules over all. ₂₀I tell you this and it is sure: You must do what God says and do what He wants. You must listen to God more than the teachers_of_the_Laws and the Pharisees do. If you do not obey God like that, then you will not go to God in heaven who rules over all.’

₂₁Jesus said: ‘You know that the laws of Moses say: “You must not kill someone. If you kill someone, then the court will punish you.” ₂₂But I tell you: Any person who gets angry with his brother must know this: The court will punish him. And any person who says to his brother: “You are no good,” must know: The council will punish him.

And if you say to someone that he is a fool, then you will burn in the fire of hell.

₂₃If you bring your offering to the altar and you remember that your brother is angry with you, ₂₄then you must leave your offering there at the altar and go and make peace with your brother. Then come back and give your offering to God.

₂₅If someone wants to take you to court, then you must make peace with him before you go into the court. If you don't do that, he will give you over to the judge and the judge will give you over to the guards and they will put you in jail. ₂₆I tell you this and it is sure: You will not get out of jail. You will first have to pay everything that you have, even your last copper_coin.’

₂₇Jesus also said: ‘You know that the laws of Moses say: “You must not have sex with someone if you are not married to that person. If you do, it is adultery.” ₂₈But I tell you: Any person who looks at another woman who is not his wife, and wants to have sex with her, has already sinned and is guilty of adultery in his heart. ₂₉If your right eye makes you sin, take it out and throw it away, because then you have only lost an eye and your whole body will not go to hell. ₃₀If your right hand makes you sin, cut it off and throw it away, because then you have only lost a hand and you will not go to hell.’

₃₁‘You know that the laws of Moses say: “A man who divorces his wife must give her divorce papers.” ₃₂But I tell you: Do not divorce. If a man divorces his wife and she marries another man, then she is guilty of adultery but it is her first husband's fault. And every man who divorces his wife and marries another woman is guilty of adultery. A man may divorce his wife only if she has had sex with another man.’

₃₃Jesus also said: ‘You know that the laws of Moses say: “You must not promise something if you do not want to do it” and “if you have promised that you will give something to the Lord, then you must give it.” ₃₄But I tell you: You must never promise something and say God is your Witness. Do not promise something and say the sky is your witness, or the heaven or the throne of God is your witness. ₃₅Do not promise something and say the earth is your witness because the earth is where God puts his feet to rest. Do not promise something and say Jerusalem is the witness because Jerusalem is the city of God, the Great_King. ₃₆Do not promise something and say that you are the witness because you can not change the colour of one hair on your head.

₃₇You must just say “yes” when you want to say yes and say “no” when you want to say no. If you say more than this, it is the devil who makes you say it.’

₃₈‘You know that the laws of Moses say: “If someone takes out your eye, then you may also take out his eye. If someone hits you and he hits out your tooth, then you may also hit out his tooth.”

₃₉But I tell you: If someone does something bad to you, do not also try to do something bad to him. If he hits you on the right side of your face, turn your head and tell him that he may also hit you on the other side of your face. ₄₀If he wants to take you to court because he wants your shirt, give him your shirt as well as your coat. ₄₁If a soldier tells you to carry something for him for one mile, then you must carry it for 2 miles. ₄₂If someone asks you for something, give it to him. If someone wants to borrow money, don't say “no” to him. Give it to him.’

₄₃Jesus said: ‘You know that the laws of Moses say: “You must love other people, also the people near you, and you must hate your enemy.” ₄₄But I tell you: You must love your enemies and you must pray for the people who do bad things to you. ₄₅Then people will know that you are children of your Father in heaven. Your Father lets the sun shine on bad people and on good people and He lets the rain fall on people who do good things and also on people who do bad things. ₄₆If you love only those people who love you, then God will not reward you, because the tax-collectors do the same. They also love their friends and the people near them. ₄₇And if you are friendly only with the people near you, then you do what all the other people do. You are not better than they are. The people who do not know God do the same. ₄₈Your Father in heaven loves all people. You must also love everyone.’