The Lord's Prayer

(Matthew 6:5-15)

1And it came to pass as he was in a certain place praying, when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray, even as John also taught his disciples.

2And he said to them, When ye pray, say, Father, thy name be hallowed; thy kingdom come;

3give us our needed bread for each day;

4and remit us our sins, for we also remit to every one indebted to us; and lead us not into temptation.

Ask, Seek, Knock

(Matthew 7:7-12)

5And he said to them, Who among you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight and say to him, Friend, let me have three loaves, 6since a friend of mine on a journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him; 7and he within answering should say, Do not disturb me; the door is already shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise up to give [it] thee? 8 -- I say to you, Although he will not get up and give [them] to him because he is his friend, because of his shamelessness, at any rate, he will rise and give him as many as he wants.

9And I say to you, Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. 10For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it will be opened. 11But of whom of you that is a father shall a son ask bread, and [the father] shall give him a stone? or also a fish, and instead of a fish shall give him a serpent? 12or if also he shall ask an egg, shall give him a scorpion? 13If therefore ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much rather shall the Father who is of heaven give [the] Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

A House Divided

(Matthew 12:22-30; Mark 3:20-27)

14And he was casting out a demon, and it was dumb; and it came to pass, the demon being gone out, the dumb [man] spoke. And the crowds wondered. 15But some from among them said, By Beelzebub the prince of the demons casts he out demons. 16And others tempting [him] sought from him a sign out of heaven. 17But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation: and a house set against a house falls; 18and if also Satan is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom subsist? because ye say that I cast out demons by Beelzebub. 19But if I by Beelzebub cast out demons, your sons -- by whom do they cast [them] out? For this reason they shall be your judges. 20But if by the finger of God I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God is come upon you. 21When the strong [man] armed keeps his own house, his goods are in peace; 22but when the stronger than he coming upon [him] overcomes him, he takes away his panoply in which he trusted, and he will divide the spoil [he has taken] from him. 23He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathers not with me scatters.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

(Matthew 12:43-45)

24When the unclean spirit has gone out of the man, he goes through dry places seeking rest; and not finding [any] he says, I will return to my house whence I came out. 25And having come, he finds it swept and adorned. 26Then he goes and takes seven other spirits worse than himself, and entering in, they dwell there; and the last condition of that man becomes worse than the first.

True Blessedness

27And it came to pass as he spake these things, a certain woman, lifting up her voice out of the crowd, said to him, Blessed is the womb that has borne thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. 28But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep [it].

The Sign of Jonah

(Matthew 12:38-42)

29But as the crowds thronged together, he began to say, This generation is a wicked generation: it seeks a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it but the sign of Jonas. 30For as Jonas was a sign to the Ninevites, thus shall also the Son of man be to this generation. 31A queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and shall condemn them: for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, more than Solomon is here. 32Men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and behold, more than Jonas is here.

The Lamp of the Body

(Matthew 6:22-24)

33But no one having lit a lamp sets it in secret, nor under the corn-measure, but on the lamp-stand, that they who enter in may see the light. 34The lamp of the body is thine eye: when thine eye is simple, thy whole body also is light; but when it is wicked, thy body also is dark. 35See therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. 36If therefore thy whole body [is] light, not having any part dark, it shall be all light as when the lamp lights thee with its brightness.

Woes to Pharisees and Experts in Law

(Matthew 23:1-36)

37But as he spoke, a certain Pharisee asked him that he would dine with him; and entering in he placed himself at table. 38But the Pharisee seeing [it] wondered that he had not first washed before dinner. 39But the Lord said to him, Now do ye Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but your inward [parts] are full of plunder and wickedness. 40Fools, has not he who has made the outside made the inside also? 41But rather give alms of what ye have, and behold, all things are clean to you.

42But woe unto you, Pharisees, for ye pay tithes of mint and rue and every herb, and pass by the judgment and the love of God: these ye ought to have done, and not have left those aside. 43Woe unto you, Pharisees, for ye love the first seat in the synagogues and salutations in the market-places. 44Woe unto you, for ye are as the sepulchres which appear not, and the men walking over them do not know [it].

45And one of the doctors of the law answering says to him, Teacher, in saying these things thou insultest us also. 46And he said, To you also woe, doctors of the law, for ye lay upon men burdens heavy to bear, and yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 47Woe unto you, for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, but your fathers killed them. 48Ye bear witness then, and consent to the works of your fathers; for they killed them, and ye build [their sepulchres]. 49For this reason also the wisdom of God has said, I will send to them prophets and apostles, and of these shall they kill and drive out by persecution, 50that the blood of all the prophets which has been poured out from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, 51from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias, who perished between the altar and the house; yea, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation. 52Woe unto you, the doctors of the law, for ye have taken away the key of knowledge; yourselves have not entered in, and those who were entering in ye have hindered.

53And as he said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him urgently, and to make him speak of many things; 54watching him, [and seeking] to catch something out of his mouth, [that they might accuse him].