can you spare
9 minutes
to read a message
19 centuries old?
The Sermon on the Mount is for everyone.
Anyone who reads it will be happier during the next 24 hours.
Anyone who carries it in his heart will be happier forever.
Read ... re-read ... and understand its words.
I
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he saw the crowd
There he seated himse'
he opened his lips to tea
★ Blessed are those who
feel their spiritual need,
for the Kingdom of
Heaven belongs to them!
Blessed are the mourners,
for they will be consoled!
Blessed are the humble
imnded, for they will possess the land! Blessed are
those who are hungry and thirsty for uprightness, for
they will be satisfied! Blessed are the merciful, for
they will be shown mercy! Blessed are the pure in
heart, for they will see. God! Blessed are the peace
makers, for they will be called God's sons! Blessed
are those who have endured persecution for their
uprightness, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to
them! Blessed are you when people abuse you, and
persecute you, and falsely say everything bad of you,
on my account. Be glad and exult over it, for you will
be richly rewarded in heaven, for that is the Way they
persecuted the prophets who went before you!
"hr You are the salt of the earth! But if salt loses its
strength, how can it be made salt again? It is good
for nothing but to be thrown away and trodden
underfoot. You are the light of the world! A city that
is built upon a hill cannot be hidden. People do not
light a lamp and put it under a peck-measure; they
put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in
s of people he went up on the mountain,
f, and when his disciples had come up to him,
ch them. And he said:
the house. Your light must burn in that way among
men so that they will see the good you do, and praise
your Father in heaven.
★ Do not suppose that I have come to do away with
the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to do away
with them but to fulfill them. For I tell you, as long
as heaven and earth endure, not one dotting of an i
or crossing of a / will be dropped from the Law until
it is all observed. Anyone, therefore, who weakens
one of the slightest of these commands, and teaches
others to do so, will be ranked lowest in the King
dom of Heaven; but anyone who observes them and
teaches others to do so will be ranked high in the
Kingdom of Heaven. For I tell you that unless your
uprightness is far superior to that of the scribes and
Pharisees, you will never even enter the Kingdom of
Heaven!
★ You have heard that the men of old were told
"Y>u shall not murder,” and "Whoever murders will
have to answer to the court.” But I tell you that any
one who gets angry with his brother will have to
answer to the court, and anyone who speaks con
temptuously to his brother will have to answer to the
great council, and anyone who says to his brother
"You cursed fool!” will have to answer for it in the
fiery pit! So when you are presenting your gift at the
altar, if you remember that your brother has any
grievance against you, leave your gift right there
before the altar and go and make up with your
brother; then come back and present your gib 3e
quick and come to terms with your opponent ■ •ie
you are on the way to court with him, or b ..^y
hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand
you over to the officer, and you will be thrown into
prison. I tell you, you will never get out again until
you have paid the last penny’
★ You have heard that men were told "You shall
not commit adultery.” But I tell you that anyone
who looks at a woman with desire has already com
mitted adultery with her in his heart. But if your
right eye makes you fall, tear it out and throw it
away, for you might better lose one part of your
body than have it all thrown into the pit! If your
right hand makes you fall, cut it off and throw it
away! For you might better lose one pair of your
body than have it all go down to the pit!
★ They were told, "Anyone who divorces his wife
must give her a certificate of divorce.” But I tell you
that anyone who divorces his wife on any ground,
except unfaithfulness, makes her commit adultery,
and anyone who marries her after she is divorced
commits adultery.
★ Again, you have heard that the men of old were
told, "You shall not swear falsely, but you must fulfil
your oaths to the Lord.” But I tell you not to swear,
at all, either by heaven, for it is God’s throne, or by
the earth, for it is his foot-stool; or by Jerusalem, for
it is the city of the great king. You must not swear
by your own head, for you cannot make one single
THIS TEXT IS FROM THE "NEW TESTA* TNT, AN AMERICAN TRANSLATION" BY EDGAR J. GOODSPEED. COPYRIGHT, THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO. 1923 AND 19*E liSEO BY PERMISSION OF UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
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