Matthew 7
Jesus concludes the Sermon on the Mount with teaching about judging others, asking and receiving from God, the narrow gate, and recognizing false prophets by their fruits. He closes with the parable of the wise man who built his house on a rock and the foolish man who built on sand.
| v | King James Version | Modern English |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Judge not, that ye be not judged. | "Do not judge, so that You will not be judged. |
| 2 | For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. | With the judgment You use, You will be judged. With the measure You use, it will be measured back to You. |
| 3 | And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? | Why do You see the speck in Your brother's eye but do not notice the plank in Your own eye? |
| 4 | 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? | How can You say to Your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of Your eye,' when there is a plank in Your own eye? |
| 5 | 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. | You hypocrite! First take the plank out of Your own eye. Then You will see clearly to remove the speck from Your brother's eye. |
| 6 | 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. | Do not give what is holy to dogs. Do not throw Your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot and turn and tear You to pieces. |
| 7 | Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: | Ask, and it will be given to You. Seek, and You will find. Knock, and it will be opened to You. |
| 8 | For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. | Everyone who asks receives. Everyone who seeks finds. To everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. |
| 9 | Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? | Which of You, if His son asks for bread, will give Him a stone? |
| 10 | Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? | Or if He asks for a fish, will He give Him a snake? |
| 11 | 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? | If You then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to Your children, how much more will Your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! |
| 12 | 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. | So in everything, do to others what You would have them do to You. This is the Law and the Prophets. |
| 13 | 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: | Enter through the narrow gate. Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many go through it. |
| 14 | Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. | Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads to life, and few find it. |
| 15 | Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. | Watch out for false prophets. They come to You in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. |
| 16 | Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? | You will know them by their fruits. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? |
| 17 | Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. | Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, and every bad tree bears evil fruit. |
| 18 | A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. | A good tree cannot bear evil fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. |
| 19 | Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. | Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. |
| 20 | Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. | So You will know them by their fruits. |
| 21 | Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. | Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven — but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven. |
| 22 | Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? | Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name?' |
| 23 | And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. | Then I will declare to them, 'I never knew You. Depart from Me, You who practice iniquity.' |
| 24 | 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: | Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise man who built His house on the rock. |
| 25 | 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. | The rain came down, the floods rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house — but it did not fall, because it was built on the rock. |
| 26 | 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: | Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built His house on the sand. |
| 27 | 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. | The rain came down, the floods rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house — and it fell. Great was its fall." |
| 28 | And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: | When Jesus had finished these sayings, the crowds were amazed at His teaching, |
| 29 | For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. | for He taught them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. |