of these commandments, and shall teach men to do so, will be least in the kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them, will be great in the kingdom of Heaven. For I tell 20 you, Unless your righteousness exceed that of the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of Heaven.

You have heard that it was said to them of 21 old, Thou shalt not commit murder; and, Whoever commits murder, shall be punishable by the Judges. But I say to you, Whoever is angry 22 with his brother without cause, shall be punishable by the Judges; and whoever shall call his brother a fool, shall be punishable by the Sanhedrim; and whoever shall call him a reprobate, shall be punishable by the fire of hell.

Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, 23 and there remember that your brother has a charge against you, leave there your gift before 24 the altar, and go away; first reconcile your brother to you, and then come and offer your gift. Show your good-will to him who has 25 this charge against you, quickly, while you are

* Exodus xx. 13; Leviticus xxiv. 17.

with him in the way; lest he bring you before the judge, and the judge deliver you to the 26 officer, and you be cast into prison. I tell you in truth, You will not come out thence, till you have paid the last mite.

27

29

You have heard that it was said, Thou shalt 28 not commit adultery." But I say to you, Whoever looks upon a woman to lust after her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If, then, your right eye be leading you into sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you that a part of your body should perish, than that the whole should be cast into 30 hell. And if your right hand be leading you

31

into sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you that one of your limbs should perish, than that your whole body should be cast into hell.

IT has been said, Let him who would put away his wife give her a writing of divorce32 ment.t But I say to you, Whoever puts away his wife except for adultery, causes her to

* Exodus xx. 14.

† Deuteronomy xxiv. 1.

commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who has been separated from her husband, commits adultery.

AGAIN, you have heard that it was said to 88 them of old, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform thine oaths to the LORD. But I 34 say to you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for 3 it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King: neither shall you 86 swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your manner of 87 speech be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay; for what is more than these has its source in what is evil.

You have heard that it was said, An eye 38 for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I 30 say to you, Resist not evil-doers; but should any one strike you on the right cheek, even turn to him the other; and is any one dis- 40 posed to bring you before a judge to get your tunic, let him have your cloak also; and should 41

* See Exodus xx. 7; Leviticus xix. 12; Numbers xxx. 2; Deuteronomy xxiii. 21.

† Exodus xxi. 24; Leviticus xxiv. 20; Deuteronomy xix. 21.

a man in authority compel your services for one 42 mile, go with him two. To him who asks of you, give; from him who would borrow of you, turn not away.

43

You have heard that it was said, Thou shalt 44 love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. 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 harass and perse45 cute you; that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he causes his sun to rise. on the bad and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.

46

For if you love those who love you, to what reward are you entitled? Do not even the tax47 gatherers the same? And if you salute your brethren only, what do you that is excellent? Do not even the heathen so?

48

6

Be you, then, perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect.

TAKE care not to perform your good deeds to be seen by men; otherwise you have no 2 reward with your Father in heaven. When,

*See Leviticus xix. 18.

therefore, you give alms, do not sound a trumpet
before you, as the hypocrites do, in the syna-
gogues and in the streets, that men may give
them honor. I tell you in truth, They have
their reward. But when you give alms, let 8
not your left hand know what your right hand
is doing; and your alms being in secret, your 4
Father, who sees what is done in secret, will
reward you openly.

AND when you pray, be not like the hypo- 5 crites, who are wont to stand praying in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, to be seen by men. I tell you in truth, They have their reward. But do you, when you 6 pray, enter your closet, and having shut the door, pray to your Father who is with you in secret; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you openly.

And when you pray, do not use idle repe- 7 titions, as the heathen do; for they think they shall be heard for their abundance of words. Be not you, then, like them; for your Father 8 knows what you need before you ask him. Do 9 you, then, pray in this manner.

Ch. vi. 9-13. Compare Luke xi. 2-4.