| So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. | If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. |
| But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. | But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. |
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| Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one. | All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. |
| But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! | But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. |
| But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. | Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. |
| When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. | So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. |
| But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. | But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. |
| But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. | But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. |
| When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. | And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. |
| Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. | This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’ |
| Give us today the food we need. | Give us today our daily bread. |
| And forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. | And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. |
| And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. | And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. |
| If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. | For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. |
| But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. | But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. |
| And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. | When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. |
| But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. | But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. |
| Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. | Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. |
| Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. | For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. |
| No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money. | No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. |
| That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? | Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? |
| Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? | Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? |
| Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. | But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. |
| So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. | Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. |
| Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. | Do not judge, or you too will be judged. |
