The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth (Chap. 3)

1: Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

2: Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

3: But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

4: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret hinself shall reward thee openly.

5: And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

6: But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

7: But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

8: Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

9: After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10: Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11: Give us this day our daily bread.

12: And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13: And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

14: For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

15: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

16: Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

17: But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

18: That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

19: Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

20: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

21: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

22: The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

23: But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

24: No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

25: Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

26: Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

27: Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit to his stature?

28: And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

29: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30: Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

31: Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32: (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

34: Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

35: Judge not, that ye be not judged.

36: For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

37: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom.

38: And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

39: Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

40: Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

41: Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

42: Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

43: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

44: Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?

45: Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

46: If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

47: Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

48: Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

49: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

50: Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

51: Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

52: Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

53: A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

54: Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

55: Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

56: A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

57: But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

58: For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

59: Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

60: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

61: And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

62: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

63: And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:

64: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.