Descendants of Reuben

1 The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (^cfor he was the firstborn, but because ^dhe defiled his father’s couch, ^ehis birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel, so that he could not be enrolled as the oldest son; 2 ^fthough Judah became strong among his brothers and a ^gchief came from him, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph), 3 the ^hsons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 4 The sons of Joel: Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son, 5 Micah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal his son, 6 Beerah his son, whom ⁱTiglath-pileser¹ king of Assyria carried away into exile; he was a chief of the Reubenites. 7 And his kinsmen by their clans, ^jwhen the genealogy of their generations was recorded: the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah, 8 and Bela the son of Azaz, son of ^kShema, son of Joel, who lived in ^lAroer, as far as ^mNebo and ⁿBaal-meon. 9 He also lived to the east as far as the entrance of the desert this side of the Euphrates, because their livestock had multiplied ^oin the land of Gilead. 10 And in the days of Saul they waged war against the ^pHagrites, who fell into their hand. And they lived in their tents throughout all the region east of Gilead.

Descendants of Gad

11 The sons of Gad lived over against them in the land of Bashan as far as ^qSalecah: 12 Joel the chief, Shapham the second, Janai, and Shaphat in Bashan. 13 And their kinsmen according to their fathers’ houses: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia and Eber, seven. 14 These were the sons of Abihail the son of Huri, son of Jaroah, son of Gilead, son of Michael, son of Jeshishai, son of Jahdo, son of Buz. 15 Ahi the son of Abdiel, son of Guni, was chief in their fathers’ houses, 16 and they lived in Gilead, in Bashan and in its towns, and in all the pasturelands of ^rSharon to their limits. 17 All of these were recorded in genealogies in the days of ^sJotham king of Judah, and in the days of ^tJeroboam king of Israel.

18 The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had valiant men who carried shield and sword, and drew the bow, ^uexpert in war, 44,760, able to go to war. 19 They waged war against the ^vHagrites, ^wJetur, Naphish, and Nodab. 20 And when they prevailed² over them, the Hagrites and all who were with them were given into their hands, ^xfor they cried out to God in the battle, and he granted their urgent plea ^ybecause they trusted in him. 21 They carried off their livestock: 50,000 of their camels, 250,000 sheep, 2,000 donkeys, and 100,000 men alive. 22 For many fell, because the war was of God. And they lived ^zin their place until ^athe exile.

The Half-Tribe of Manasseh

23 The members of the half-tribe of Manasseh lived in the land. They were very numerous from Bashan to Baal-hermon, ^bSenir, and Mount Hermon. 24 These were the heads of their fathers’ houses: Epher,³ Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty warriors, famous men, heads of their fathers’ houses. 25 But they broke faith with the God of their fathers, and ^cwhored ^dafter the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. 26 So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of ^ePul king of Assyria, the spirit of ^fTiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and he took them into exile, namely, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them ^gto Halah, ^gHabor, Hara, and ^gthe river Gozan, to this day.

Save Me, O My God

A Psalm of David, ⁿwhen he fled from Absalom his son.

The Sermon on the Mount

1 Seeing the crowds, ^ohe went up on the mountain, and when he ^psat down, his disciples came to him.

The Beatitudes

2 And ^qhe opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

3 ^r“Blessed are ^sthe poor in spirit, for ^utheirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are ^vthose who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the ^wmeek, for they ^wshall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and ^xthirst ^yfor righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are ^zthe merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are ^athe pure in heart, for ^bthey shall see God.

9 “Blessed are ^cthe peacemakers, for ^dthey shall be called ^esons¹ of God.

10 ^f“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for ^utheirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 ^g“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely ^hon my account. 12 ⁱRejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for ^jso they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Salt and Light

13 “You are the salt of the earth, ^kbut if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

14 ^l“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 ^mNor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so ⁿthat² they may see your good works and ^ogive glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Christ Came to Fulfill the Law

17 ^p“Do not think that I have come to abolish ^qthe Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but ^rto fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, ^suntil heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 ^tTherefore whoever relaxes ^uone of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least ^vin the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great ^vin the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds ^wthat of the scribes and Pharisees, you ^xwill never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Anger

21 ^y“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ^z‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable ^ato judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that ^beveryone who is angry with his brother³ will be liable ^ato judgment; whoever insults⁴ his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to ^cthe hell⁵ of fire. 23 ^dSo if ^eyou are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 ^fCome to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. 26 Truly, I say to you, ^gyou will never get out until you have paid the last penny.⁶

Lust

27 ^h“You have heard that it was said, ⁱ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that ^jeveryone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 ^kIf your right eye ^lcauses you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into ^mhell. 30 ^kAnd if your right hand ^lcauses you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into ^mhell.

Divorce

31 ^h“It was also said, ⁿ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 ^oBut I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and ^pwhoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Oaths

33 “Again ^hyou have heard that it was said to those of old, ^q‘You shall not swear falsely, but ^rshall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34 But I say to you, ^sDo not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for ^tit is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is ^uthe city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; ^vanything more than this comes from evil.⁷

Retaliation

38 ^h“You have heard that it was said, ^y‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, ^zDo not resist the one who is evil. But ^aif anyone ^bslaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And ^zif anyone would sue you and take your tunic,⁸ let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone ^cforces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 ^dGive to the one who begs from you, and ^edo not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Love Your Enemies

43 ^f“You have heard that it was said, ^g‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, ⁱLove your enemies and ^jpray for those who persecute you, 45 ^kso that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and ^lsends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 ^mFor if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers,⁹ what more are you doing than others? Do not even ⁿthe Gentiles do the same? 48 ^oYou therefore must be ^pperfect, ^qas your heavenly Father is perfect.