1:1 This is the record of the genealogy ¹  of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

1:2 Abraham was the father ²  of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 1:3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah (by Tamar), Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 1:4 Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 1:5 Salmon the father of Boaz (by Rahab), Boaz the father of Obed (by Ruth), Obed the father of Jesse, 1:6 and Jesse the father of David the king.

David was the father of Solomon (by the wife of Uriah ³ ), 1:7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, ⁴  1:8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah, 1:9 Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 1:10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, ⁵  Amon the father of Josiah, 1:11 and Josiah ⁶  the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

1:12 After ⁷  the deportation to Babylon, Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, ⁸  Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 1:13 Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, 1:14 Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, 1:15 Eliud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, 1:16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, by whom ⁹  Jesus was born, who is called Christ. ¹⁰ 

1:17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to Christ, ¹¹  fourteen generations.

1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ happened this way. While his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they came together, ¹²  she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 1:19 Because Joseph, her husband to be, ¹³  was a righteous man, and because he did not want to disgrace her, he intended to divorce her ¹⁴  privately. 1:20 When he had contemplated this, an ¹⁵  angel of the Lord ¹⁶  appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 1:21 She will give birth to a son and you will name him ¹⁷  Jesus, ¹⁸  because he will save his people from their sins.” 1:22 This all happened so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: 1:23 “Look! The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and they will call him ¹⁹  Emmanuel,” ²⁰  which means ²¹  “God with us.” ²²  1:24 When Joseph awoke from sleep he did what the angel of the Lord ²³  told him. He took his wife, 1:25 but did not have marital relations ²⁴  with her until she gave birth to a son, whom he named ²⁵  Jesus.

2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem ²⁶  in Judea, in the time ²⁷  of King Herod, ²⁸  wise men ²⁹  from the East came to Jerusalem ³⁰  2:2 saying, “Where is the one who is born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose ³¹  and have come to worship him.” 2:3 When King Herod ³²  heard this he was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him. 2:4 After assembling all the chief priests and experts in the law, ³³  he asked them where the Christ ³⁴  was to be born. 2:5 “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they said, “for it is written this way by the prophet:

2:6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are in no way least among the rulers of Judah,

for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” ³⁵ 

2:7 Then Herod ³⁶  privately summoned the wise men and determined from them when the star had appeared. 2:8 He ³⁷  sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and look carefully for the child. When you find him, inform me so that I can go and worship him as well.” 2:9 After listening to the king they left, and once again ³⁸  the star they saw when it rose ³⁹  led them until it stopped above the place where the child was. 2:10 When they saw the star they shouted joyfully. ⁴⁰  2:11 As they came into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, they bowed down ⁴¹  and worshiped him. They opened their treasure boxes and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, ⁴²  and myrrh. ⁴³  2:12 After being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, ⁴⁴  they went back by another route to their own country.

2:13 After they had gone, an ⁴⁵  angel of the Lord ⁴⁶  appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod ⁴⁷  is going to look for the child to kill him.” 2:14 Then he got up, took the child and his mother during ⁴⁸  the night, and went to Egypt. 2:15 He stayed there until Herod ⁴⁹  died. In this way what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet was fulfilled: “I called my Son out of Egypt.” ⁵⁰ 

2:16 When Herod ⁵¹  saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he became enraged. He sent men ⁵²  to kill all the children in Bethlehem ⁵³  and throughout the surrounding region from the age of two and under, according to the time he had learned from the wise men. 2:17 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:

2:18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,

weeping and loud wailing, ⁵⁴ 

Rachel weeping for her children,

and she did not want to be comforted, because they were< ⁵⁵  gone.” ⁵⁶ 

2:19 After Herod ⁵⁷  had died, an ⁵⁸  angel of the Lord ⁵⁹  appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 2:20 saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” 2:21 So ⁶⁰  he got up and took the child and his mother and returned to the land of Israel. 2:22 But when he heard that Archelaus ⁶¹  was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, ⁶²  he was afraid to go there. After being warned in a dream, he went to the regions of Galilee. 2:23 He came to a town called Nazareth ⁶³  and lived there. Then what had been spoken by the prophets was fulfilled, that Jesus ⁶⁴  would be called a Nazarene. ⁶⁵ 

3:1 In those days John the Baptist came into the wilderness ⁶⁶  of Judea proclaiming, 3:2 “Repent, ⁶⁷  for the kingdom of heaven is near.” 3:3 For he is the one about whom Isaiah the prophet had spoken: ⁶⁸ 

“The voice ⁶⁹  of one shouting in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make ⁷⁰  his paths straight.’” ⁷¹ 

3:4 Now John wore clothing made from camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his diet consisted of locusts and wild honey. ⁷²  3:5 Then people from Jerusalem, ⁷³  as well as all Judea and all the region around the Jordan, were going out to him, 3:6 and he was baptizing them ⁷⁴  in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.

3:7 But when he saw many Pharisees ⁷⁵  and Sadducees ⁷⁶  coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 3:8 Therefore produce fruit ⁷⁷  that proves your ⁷⁸  repentance, 3:9 and don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! 3:10 Even now the ax is laid at ⁷⁹  the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

3:11 “I baptize you with water, for repentance, but the one coming after me is more powerful than I am – I am not worthy ⁸⁰  to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ⁸¹  3:12 His winnowing fork ⁸²  is in his hand, and he will clean out his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the storehouse, ⁸³  but the chaff he will burn up with inextinguishable fire.” ⁸⁴ 

3:13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John to be baptized by him in the Jordan River. ⁸⁵  3:14 But John ⁸⁶  tried to prevent ⁸⁷  him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?” 3:15 So Jesus replied ⁸⁸  to him, “Let it happen now, ⁸⁹  for it is right for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John ⁹⁰  yielded ⁹¹  to him. 3:16 After ⁹²  Jesus was baptized, just as he was coming up out of the water, the ⁹³  heavens ⁹⁴  opened ⁹⁵  and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove ⁹⁶  and coming on him. 3:17 And ⁹⁷  a voice from heaven said, ⁹⁸  “This is my one dear Son; ⁹⁹  in him ¹⁰⁰  I take great delight.” ¹⁰¹ 

4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness ¹⁰²  to be tempted by the devil. 4:2 After he fasted forty days and forty nights he was famished. ¹⁰³  4:3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.” ¹⁰⁴  4:4 But he answered, ¹⁰⁵  “It is written, ‘Man ¹⁰⁶  does not live ¹⁰⁷  by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” ¹⁰⁸  4:5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, ¹⁰⁹  had him stand ¹¹⁰  on the highest point ¹¹¹  of the temple, 4:6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you’ ¹¹²  and ‘with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” ¹¹³  4:7 Jesus said to him, “Once again it is written: ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’” ¹¹⁴  4:8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their grandeur. ¹¹⁵  4:9 And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you throw yourself to the ground and worship ¹¹⁶  me.” 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, ¹¹⁷  Satan! For it is written: ‘You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’” ¹¹⁸  4:11 Then the devil left him, and angels ¹¹⁹  came and began ministering to his needs.

4:12 Now when Jesus ¹²⁰  heard that John had been imprisoned, ¹²¹  he went into Galilee. 4:13 While in Galilee, he moved from Nazareth ¹²²  to make his home in Capernaum ¹²³  by the sea, ¹²⁴  in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, 4:14 so that what was spoken by Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled: ¹²⁵ 

4:15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,

the way by the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles –

4:16 the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,

and on those who sit in the region and shadow of death a light has dawned.” ¹²⁶ 

4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach this message: ¹²⁷  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

4:18 As ¹²⁸  he 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 fishermen). ¹²⁹  4:19 He said to them, “Follow me, and I will turn you into fishers of people.” ¹³⁰  4:20 They ¹³¹  left their nets immediately and followed him. ¹³²  4:21 Going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in a boat ¹³³  with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. Then ¹³⁴  he called them. 4:22 They ¹³⁵  immediately left the boat and their father and followed him.

4:23 Jesus ¹³⁶  went throughout all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, ¹³⁷  preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of disease and sickness among the people. 4:24 So a report about him spread throughout Syria. People ¹³⁸  brought to him all who suffered with various illnesses and afflictions, those who had seizures, ¹³⁹  paralytics, and those possessed by demons, ¹⁴⁰  and he healed them. 4:25 And large crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, ¹⁴¹  Jerusalem, ¹⁴²  Judea, and beyond the Jordan River. ¹⁴³ 

5:1 When ¹⁴⁴  he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain. ¹⁴⁵  After he sat down his disciples came to him. 5:2 Then ¹⁴⁶  he began to teach ¹⁴⁷  them by saying:

5:3 “Blessed ¹⁴⁸  are the poor in spirit, ¹⁴⁹  for the kingdom of heaven belongs ¹⁵⁰  to them.

5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. ¹⁵¹ 

5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger ¹⁵²  and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children ¹⁵³  of God.

5:10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.

5:11 “Blessed are you when people ¹⁵⁴  insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely ¹⁵⁵  on account of me. 5:12 Rejoice and be glad because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.

5:13 “You are the salt ¹⁵⁶  of the earth. But if salt loses its flavor, ¹⁵⁷  how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by people. 5:14 You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. 5:15 People ¹⁵⁸  do not light a lamp and put it under a basket ¹⁵⁹  but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven.

5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish these things but to fulfill them. ¹⁶⁰  5:18 I ¹⁶¹  tell you the truth, ¹⁶²  until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter ¹⁶³  will pass from the law until everything takes place. 5:19 So anyone who breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others ¹⁶⁴  to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever obeys them and teaches others to do so will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 5:20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law ¹⁶⁵  and the Pharisees, ¹⁶⁶  you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

5:21 “You have heard that it was said to an older generation, ¹⁶⁷  ‘Do not murder,’ ¹⁶⁸  and ‘whoever murders will be subjected to judgment.’ 5:22 But I say to you that anyone who is angry with a brother ¹⁶⁹  will be subjected to judgment. And whoever insults ¹⁷⁰  a brother will be brought before ¹⁷¹  the council, ¹⁷²  and whoever says ‘Fool’ ¹⁷³  will be sent ¹⁷⁴  to fiery hell. ¹⁷⁵  5:23 So then, if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 5:24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother and then come and present your gift. 5:25 Reach agreement ¹⁷⁶  quickly with your accuser while on the way to court, ¹⁷⁷  or he ¹⁷⁸  may hand you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the warden, and you will be thrown into prison. 5:26 I tell you the truth, ¹⁷⁹  you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny! ¹⁸⁰ 

5:27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ ¹⁸¹  5:28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 5:29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away! It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into hell. ¹⁸²  5:30 If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away! It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into hell.

5:31 “It was said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a legal document.’ ¹⁸³  5:32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

5:33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to an older generation, ¹⁸⁴  ‘Do not break an oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ ¹⁸⁵  5:34 But I say to you, do not take oaths at all – not by heaven, because it is the throne of God, 5:35 not by earth, because it is his footstool, and not by Jerusalem, ¹⁸⁶  because it is the city of the great King. 5:36 Do not take an oath by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black. 5:37 Let your word be ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no.’ More than this is from the evil one. ¹⁸⁷ 

5:38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ¹⁸⁸  5:39 But I say to you, do not resist the evildoer. ¹⁸⁹  But whoever strikes you on the ¹⁹⁰  right cheek, turn the other to him as well. 5:40 And if someone wants to sue you and to take your tunic, ¹⁹¹  give him your coat also. 5:41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, ¹⁹²  go with him two. 5:42 Give to the one who asks you, ¹⁹³  and do not reject ¹⁹⁴  the one who wants to borrow from you.

5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ ¹⁹⁵  and ‘hate your enemy.’ 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemy and ¹⁹⁶  pray for those who persecute you, 5:45 so that you may be like ¹⁹⁷  your Father in heaven, since he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 5:46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors ¹⁹⁸  do the same, don’t they? 5:47 And if you only greet your brothers, what more do you do? Even the Gentiles do the same, don’t they? 5:48 So then, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. ¹⁹⁹ 

6:1 “Be ²⁰⁰  careful not to display your righteousness merely to be seen by people. ²⁰¹  Otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven. 6:2 Thus whenever you do charitable giving, ²⁰²  do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in synagogues ²⁰³  and on streets so that people will praise them. I tell you the truth, ²⁰⁴  they have their reward. 6:3 But when you do your giving, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 6:4 so that your gift may be in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. ²⁰⁵ 

6:5 “Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray while standing in synagogues ²⁰⁶  and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. 6:6 But whenever you pray, go into your room, ²⁰⁷  close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. ²⁰⁸  6:7 When ²⁰⁹  you pray, do not babble repetitiously like the Gentiles, because they think that by their many words they will be heard. 6:8 Do ²¹⁰  not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 6:9 So pray this way: ²¹¹ 

Our Father ²¹²  in heaven, may your name be honored, ²¹³ 

6:10 may your kingdom come, ²¹⁴ 

may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

6:11 Give us today our daily bread, ²¹⁵ 

6:12 and forgive us our debts, as we ourselves ²¹⁶  have forgiven our debtors.

6:13 And do not lead us into temptation, ²¹⁷  but deliver us from the evil one. ²¹⁸ 

6:14 “For if you forgive others ²¹⁹  their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 6:15 But if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive you your sins.

6:16 “When ²²⁰  you fast, do not look sullen like the hypocrites, for they make their faces unattractive ²²¹  so that people will see them fasting. I tell you the truth, ²²²  they have their reward. 6:17 When ²²³  you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 6:18 so that it will not be obvious to others when you are fasting, but only to your Father who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

6:19 “Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth ²²⁴  and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 6:20 But accumulate for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 6:21 For where your ²²⁵  treasure ²²⁶  is, there your heart will be also.

6:22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If then your eye is healthy, ²²⁷  your whole body will be full of light. 6:23 But if your eye is diseased, ²²⁸  your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

6:24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate ²²⁹  the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise ²³⁰  the other. You cannot serve God and money. ²³¹ 

6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry ²³²  about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing? 6:26 Look at the birds in the sky: ²³³  They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds ²³⁴  them. Aren’t you more valuable ²³⁵  than they are? 6:27 And which of you by worrying can add even one hour to his life? ²³⁶  6:28 Why do you worry about clothing? Think about how the flowers ²³⁷  of the field grow; they do not work ²³⁸  or spin. 6:29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! 6:30 And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, ²³⁹  which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, ²⁴⁰  won’t he clothe you even more, ²⁴¹  you people of little faith? 6:31 So then, don’t worry saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 6:32 For the unconverted ²⁴²  pursue these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 6:33 But above all pursue his kingdom ²⁴³  and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 6:34 So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own. ²⁴⁴ 

7:1 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. ²⁴⁵  7:2 For by the standard you judge you will be judged, and the measure you use will be the measure you receive. ²⁴⁶  7:3 Why ²⁴⁷  do you see the speck ²⁴⁸  in your brother’s eye, but fail to see ²⁴⁹  the beam of wood ²⁵⁰  in your own? 7:4 Or how can you say ²⁵¹  to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ while there is a beam in your own? 7:5 You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. 7:6 Do not give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs; otherwise they will trample them under their feet and turn around and tear you to pieces. ²⁵² 

7:7 “Ask ²⁵³  and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door ²⁵⁴  will be opened for you. 7:8 For everyone who asks ²⁵⁵  receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 7:9 Is ²⁵⁶  there anyone among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 7:10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ²⁵⁷  7:11 If you then, although you are evil, ²⁵⁸  know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts ²⁵⁹  to those who ask him! 7:12 In ²⁶⁰  everything, treat others as you would want them ²⁶¹  to treat you, ²⁶²  for this fulfills ²⁶³  the law and the prophets.

7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the way is spacious that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 7:14 But the gate is narrow and the way is difficult that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

7:15 “Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves. ²⁶⁴  7:16 You will recognize them by their fruit. Grapes are not gathered ²⁶⁵  from thorns or figs from thistles, are they? ²⁶⁶  7:17 In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad ²⁶⁷  tree bears bad fruit. 7:18 A good tree is not able to bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree to bear good fruit. 7:19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 7:20 So then, you will recognize them by their fruit.

7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ ²⁶⁸  will enter into the kingdom of heaven – only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 7:22 On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons and do ²⁶⁹  many powerful deeds?’ 7:23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Go away from me, you lawbreakers!’ ²⁷⁰ 

7:24 “Everyone ²⁷¹  who hears these words of mine and does them is like ²⁷²  a wise man ²⁷³  who built his house on rock. 7:25 The rain fell, the flood ²⁷⁴  came, and the winds beat against that house, but it did not collapse because it had been founded on rock. 7:26 Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 7:27 The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, and it collapsed; it was utterly destroyed!” ²⁷⁵ 

7:28 When ²⁷⁶  Jesus finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed by his teaching, 7:29 because he taught them like one who had authority, ²⁷⁷  not like their experts in the law. ²⁷⁸