The Gospel According to Matthew
#
Chapter 1
#
1 The book of the birth of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham.
2 Abraham begot Isaac; Isaac begot Jacob; Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.
3 Judah begot Phares and Zara by Tamar; Phares begot Ezron; Ezron begot Aram;
4 Aram begot Amminadab; Amminadab begot Naason; Naason begot Salmon;
5 Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab; Boaz begot Obed by Ruth; Obed begot Jesse;
6 Jesse begot David the king; David the king begot Solomon by the wife of Uriah;
7 Solomon begot Rehoboam; Rehoboam begot Abia; Abia begot Asa;
8 Asa begot Josaphat; Josaphat begot Joram; Joram begot Oziah;
9 Oziah begot Jotham; Jotham begot Achaz; Achaz begot Hezekiah;
10 Hezekiah begot Manasseh; Manasseh begot Amon; Amon begot Josiah;
11 Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers in the Babylonian captivity.
12 After the Babylonian captivity, Jeconiah begot Salathiel; Salathiel begot Zorobabel;
13 Zorobabel begot Abiud; Abiud begot Eliachim; Eliachim begot Azor;
14 Azor begot Sadok; Sadok begot Achim; Achim begot Eliud;
15 Eliud begot Eleazar; Eleazar begot Mathan; Mathan begot Jacob;
16 Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary, to whom was betrothed the Virgin Mary, of whom was born Jesus, named the Anointed.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the Babylonian captivity fourteen generations; and from the Babylonian captivity to Christ fourteen generations.
18 And the birth of Jesus Christ was like this: His mother Mary, having been betrothed to Joseph, before their coming together, was found having conceived from the Holy Spirit.
19 And Joseph her husband, being just, and not willing publicly to expose her, was minded to put her away quietly.
20 And while he pondered these things, behold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying: “Joseph, son of David, fear not to receive unto yourself Mary your wife, for that which has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
21 “She will bear a son, and you will call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
22 But all this happened so that it might be fulfilled which the Lord spoke through the prophet:
23‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which is translated, God with us.’
24 And Joseph, having risen from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and took unto him his wife.
25 And he knew her not until she bore her son, the firstborn, and he called his name Jesus.
Chapter 2
#
1 At the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, magians from the East came to Jerusalem,
2 Saying: “Where is the one who was born king of the Judeans? For we saw his star in the East, and we came to bow to him.”
3 And when king Herod heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 And gathering together all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he was inquiring of them where the Christ is to be born.
5 And they said to him: “In Bethlehem of Judea. For so it has been written through the prophet:
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means the least among the rulers of Judah: from you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod secretly called the magians and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance;
8 And having dispatched them into Bethlehem, he said: “Go, inquire precisely about the child, and whenever you may have found him, send word to me, that I too may come and bow to him.”
9 And they, having heard the king, went their way; and behold, the star which they saw in the East preceded them, until, having come, it stood over where the child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
11 And when they entered into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling down they bowed to him; and opening their treasures, they offered him gifts—gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12 And having been instructed in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they went back another way into their country.
13 And when they departed, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph, saying: “Arise, take the child and his mother and flee into Egypt, and remain there until I should tell you. For Herod is seeking the child to destroy him.”
14 And he, having risen, took the child and his mother by night, and went into Egypt, and he was there until the death of Herod:
15 That it might be fulfilled what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ‘Out of Egypt I will call my son.’”
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been deceived by the magians, became exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and killed all the male children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the borders thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the magians.
17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying:
18 ‘A voice in Rama cried out, lamentation and weeping and great mourning; Rachel weeping her children, and would not be comforted, because they were not.’
19 And upon the death of Herod, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
20 Saying: “Arise, and take the child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel. For those seeking the life of the child have died.”
21 And he, having risen, took the child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.
22 And when he heard that Archelaus reigned over Judea in place of Herod his father, he was afraid to go there, and being directed in a vision, he retired into the territories of Galilee.
23 And coming, he dwelt in the city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was said by the prophets, that ‘he shall be called a Nazarene.’
Chapter 3
#
1 In those days comes John the Baptist to make proclamation in the desert of Judea,
2 Saying: “Change your hearts, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.”
3 For this is he the one spoken of through Isaiah the prophet, saying: ‘A voice of one crying in the desert, prepare the way of the Lord and make straight his paths.’
4 And this John had his garment of camel’s hair, and a leather girdle around his waist and his food was locusts and wild honey.
5 At that time went out to him all the Jerusalemites and all Judea, and the whole region of Jordan,
6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
7 And seeing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he says to them: “Offspring of vipers, who showed you to flee from the coming wrath?
8 Produce, therefore, fruit worthy of a change of heart.
9 And do not think to say within yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as father.’ For I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham out of these stones.
10 For now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and cast into fire.
11 I baptize you in water for a change of heart, but the one coming after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire.
12 Whose winnowing fan is in his hand, and he will cleanse his threshing floor and gather the wheat into his barn; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
13 Then comes Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan, to John, to be baptized by him.
14 And John forbids him, saying: “I ought to be baptized by you, and you come to me?”
15 And Jesus answers and says to him: “Allow it now; for thus it is becoming to us to fulfill all justice.” Then he allowed him.
16 And when Jesus was baptized, he immediately went up out of the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting upon him.
17 And behold, a voice out of the heavens saying: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I was well pleased.”
Chapter 4
#
1 At that time, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the Devil.
2 And having fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards he was hungry.
3 And, drawing near, the tempter said to him: “If you are the Son of God, speak that these stones become bread.”
4 He answers and says: “It has been written, ‘Not by bread alone shall man live, but by every word proceeding from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the Devil took him away into the holy city, and set him upon the pinnacle of the temple,
6 And says to him: “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it has been written that ‘He has commanded his angels concerning you, and upon hands they shall bear you up, that you may never strike your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus said to him: “It has been written: ‘Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.’”
8 Again the Devil takes him away onto a very high mountain, and shows him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory,
9 And says to him: “All these will I give to you, if falling down you may bow to me.”
10 Then Jesus says to him: “Get behind me, Satan; for it has been written: ‘To the Lord your God you shall bow, and him alone you shall serve.’”
11 Then the Devil left him; and behold angels approached and were serving him.
12 And when Jesus had heard that John was handed over, he withdrew and went into Galilee:
13 And having left the city Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum by the sea, in the borders of Zabulon and of Naphthalim,
14 That it might be fulfilled which was said through Isaiah the prophet:
15 ‘Land of Zabulon and land of Nephthalim, way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles:
16 The people that sat in darkness saw a great light, and to those sitting in the land and the shadow of death, light arose to them.’
17 From that time Jesus began to make proclamation, and to say: “Change your hearts, for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near.”
18 While Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers.
19 And he says to them: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
20 And they, immediately having left their nets, followed him.
21 And advancing from there, he saw another two brothers, James of Zebedee and John his brother in a boat with Zebedee their father, while they were rigging their nets, and he called them.
22 And immediately having left the boat and their father, they followed him.
23 And Jesus went throughout all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every malady among the people.
24 And his fame went throughout the whole land of Syria, and they brought to him all the sick who were beset with diverse illnesses and torments, and those who were stricken by demons, and lunatics, and those having palsy, and he healed them.
25 And great multitudes followed him from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond the Jordan, and he healed them.
Chapter 5
#
1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples approached him.
2 And opening his mouth he was teaching them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.
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 justice, for they shall have their fill.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall find 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 persecuted for the sake of justice, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.
11 “Blessed are you when they may reproach you, and persecute you, and say every evil thing against you, falsely, for my sake;
12 “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in the heavens; for thus did they persecute the prophets who were before you.
13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its savor, by what may it be made salty? For nothing it is potent anymore except to be thrown out and to be trodden on by men.
14 “You are the light of the world; a city that is set upon a mountain cannot be hidden.
15 “Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but upon a lampstand, that it may give light to all those who are in the house.
16 “Thus let your light shine before people, that they should see your good works and glorify your Father who is in the heavens.
17 “Do not suppose that I came to dissolve the law or the prophets; I did not come to dissolve, but to fulfill.
18 “Amen I say to you, until the heavens and the earth shall pass away, one iota, which is a stroke of a letter, shall not pass away from the law and from the prophets until everything should come to pass.
19 “Whoever shall dissolve one of the least of these commandments, and shall likewise teach people, shall be called the least in the kingdom of the heavens; but whoever shall do and teach, he shall be called great in the kingdom of the heavens.
20 “But I say to you, that if your justice does not abound more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of the heavens.
21 “You have heard that it was said to the ancients: ‘Thou shalt not commit murder, for whoever may commit murder shall be liable to judgment.’
22 “But I say to you, that everyone who is angry at his brother in vain shall be liable to judgment; and whoever shall say to his brother, ‘Stupid,’ shall be liable to the council; and whoever shall say to his brother, ‘Moron,’ shall be liable to the gehenna of fire.
23 “If you may offer your gift upon the altar, and there recall that your brother may hold a grudge against you,
24 “Leave your offering before the altar, and go first to be reconciled with your brother, and then, having come, make your offering.
25 “Be fair-minded with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest he hands you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you may be cast into prison.
26 “Amen I say to you, you may not come out from there until you repay the last pittance.
27 “You have heard that it was said to the ancients: ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery.’
28 “But I say to you, that everyone who looks at a married woman in order to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
29 “If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is better for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body be cast into gehenna.
30 “And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is better for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be cast into gehenna.
31 “Now it was said that ‘Whoever may divorce his wife, let him give her a writ of divorce.’
32 “But I say to you, that everyone who divorces his wife without cause of whoredom lends her to commit adultery, and whoever marries the one divorced commits adultery.
33 “Again you have heard that it was said to the ancients: ‘Thou shalt not swear falsely, but thou shalt repay your oaths to the Lord.’
34 “But I say to you not to swear at all, neither by the heavens, for it is the throne of God,
35 “nor by the earth, for it is his footstool, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King;
36 “Nor by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.
37 “But let your word be yes, yes, no, no; for more than that is from the evil one.
38 “You have heard that it was said: ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’
39 “But I say to you: do not oppose the evil one; but whoever should slap you upon the right cheek, turn to him also the other;
40 “And if a man may wish to take you to court and take away your tunic, yield to him also your cloak.
41 “And whoever shall compel you to go one mile, go with him also two.
42 “To the one asking from you, give; and from the one who would borrow from you, do not turn your face.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Thou shalt love thy companion, and hate thy enemy.’
44 “But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who falsely accuse and persecute you;
45 “That you may be children of your Father who is in the heavens, for he makes his sun to rise upon the wicked and the good, and sends rain upon the just and the sinners.
46 “For if you may love those who love you, what might be your reward? Do not even the tax gatherers do the same?
47 “And if you give greetings to your friends only, what more do you do? Do not also the tax gatherers and sinners do the same?
48 “Therefore, be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Chapter 6
#
1 “Take heed that you do not your mercy before men as a demonstration to them: otherwise you will not have a reward from your Father who is in the heavens.
2 “But when you may do mercy, do not trumpet it before you like the grandstanders do in the synagogues and in the public squares, that they may be glorified by men. Amen I say to you, that is their very reward.
3 “But whenever you do mercy, let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4 “So that your mercy may be in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you manifestly.
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the grandstanders, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the corners of public squares so as to be visible to people: Amen I say to you, that is their very reward.
6 “But you, whenever you pray, enter into your room, shut your door, and pray to your Father in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you manifestly.
7 “And whenever you pray, do not babble like the gentiles do. For they suppose that in their much speaking they may be heard.
8 “Therefore, do not be like them; for your Father knows what need you have before you ask him.
9 “Thus therefore shall you pray: ‘Our Father who are in the heavens, holy be thy name.
10 “May your kingdom come, may your will come to pass, as in the heavens, so also upon the earth.
11 “Give us this day our daily bread.
12 “And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.
13 “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For thine is the kingdom and the power and glory unto the ages. Amen.’
14 “For if you will forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will forgive you also.
15 “But if you will not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
16 “And when you fast, do not appear sad like the grandstanders, who disfigure their faces, so that they may appear to men as fasting. Amen I say to you, that is their very reward.
17 “But you, whenever you fast, anoint your head and wash your face;
18 “So that you might not appear to men as fasting, but to your Father, who is in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.
19 “Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moth and corrosion corrupt, and where thieves dig through and steal.
20 “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor corrosion corrupt, and where thieves do not dig through and steal.
21 “For where your treasure is, there will be also your hearts.
22 “The lamp of the body is ther eye. If your eye is clear, 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 within you is dark, how much greater the darkness?
24 “No one is able to serve two masters; either he will hate one and love the other, or he will hold fast to the and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your souls, what you might eat or what you might drink, nor for your bodies, as to what you might wear. Is not the soul more than food, and the body more than clothes?
26 “Look at the birds of the sky, for they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor do they gather into barns, and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more than them?
27 “And which of you by worrying is able to add to his stature one cubit?
28 “And about clothing why do you worry? Look at the wild lily, how it grows: it neither labors nor spins.
29 “I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed like one of these.
30 “And if the wild grass, which exists today, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, God thus clothes, how much more you, O ye of little faith?
31 “Do not worry therefore, 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 heavnely Father knows that you have need of all these things.
33 “Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all that will be added to you.
34 “Do not therefore worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.”
Chapter 7
#
1 “Judge not, that you be not judged.
2 “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged, and with what measure you measure, it shall be measured out to you.
3 “Why do you look at the splinter that is in your brother’s eye and the log in your own eye you do not notice?
4 “Or how will you say to your brother: Let me extract the splinter from your eye, and behold, there is a log in your eye?
5 “Grandstander, extract first the log from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to extract the splinter from your brother’s eye.
6 “Do not give holiness to dogs, and do not cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and having turned, they tear you to pieces.
7 “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8 “For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, it will be opened.
9 “Who is there among you, if his son should ask for bread, would give him a stone?
10 “Or if he should ask for a fish, would give him a serpent?
11 “If you then being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in the heavens give good things to those who ask him?
12 “All things whatsoever you might wish that people should do for you, do also for them. For this is the law and the prophets.
13 “Enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter through it.
14 “How strait is the gate, and narrow the way that leads to life, and few are those who find it!
15 “Take heed of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are rapacious wolves.
16 “By their fruits you will know them. Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?
17 “Even so, every good tree brings forth good fruit and the evil tree brings forth evil fruit.
18 “Neither is a good tree able to produce evil fruit, nor an evil tree to produce good fruit.
19 “Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and cast into fire.
20 “So by their fruits you will come to know them.
21 “Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but whoever does the will of my Father who is in the heavens.
22 “Many will say to me in that day: ‘Lord, Lord, have not we prophesied in your name, and extracted demons in your name, and performed many powerful works in your name?’
23 “And then I will say to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, all those who work lawlessness.’
24 “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon rock,
25 “The rains fell, the rivers surged, the winds blew and they beat upon that house, and it did not fall, for it had been founded on 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 upon the sand;
27 “The rains came down, the rivers rose up, the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell, and its collapse was great.”
28 And it happened when Jesus finished all these words, the people were astonished at his teaching.
29 For he was teaching as with authority, and not like their scribes.