Holman Christian Standard Bible (282 page)

The Massacre of the Innocents

16
 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been outwitted by the wise men, flew into a rage. He gave orders to massacre all the male children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, in keeping with the time he had learned from the wise men. 
17
 Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:

The Holy Family in Nazareth

19
 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 
20
 saying, “Get up! Take the child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, because those who sought the child's life are dead.”
21
 So he got up, took the child and His mother, and entered the land of Israel.
22
 But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee. 
23
 Then he went and settled in a town called Nazareth to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets, that He will be called a
•Nazarene
. 

Matthew

The Messiah's Herald

3
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Wilderness of Judea 
2
 and saying, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near! ” 
3
 For he is the one spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, who said:

4
 John himself had a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
5
 Then people from Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the vicinity of the Jordan were flocking to him,
6
 and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. 

7
 When he saw many of the
•Pharisees
and
•Sadducees
 coming to the place of his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 
8
 Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance.
9
 And don't presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones!
10
 Even now the ax is ready to strike the root of the trees! Therefore, every tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 

11
 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but the One who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to remove His sandals. He Himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 
12
 His winnowing shovel is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn. But the chaff He will burn up with fire that never goes out.” 

The Baptism of Jesus

13
 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 
14
 But John tried to stop Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and yet You come to me? ”

15
 Jesus answered him,
“Allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness.”
Then he allowed Him to be baptized.

16
 After Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on Him. 
17
 And there came a voice from heaven:

Matthew

The Temptation of Jesus

4
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. 
2
 After He had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, He was hungry.
3
 Then the tempter approached Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 

4
 But He answered,
“It is written:

5
 Then the Devil took Him to the holy city, had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 
6
 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:

7
 Jesus told him,
“It is also written:
Do not test the Lord your God.
”

8
 Again, the Devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.
9
 And he said to Him, “I will give You all these things if You will fall down and worship me.” 

10
 Then Jesus told him,
“Go away,
 
Satan! For it is written:

11
 Then the Devil left Him, and immediately angels came and began to serve Him. 

Ministry in Galilee

12
 When He heard that John had been arrested, He withdrew into Galilee. 
13
 He left Nazareth behind and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.
14
 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

17
 From then on Jesus began to preach,
“Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near! ”

The First Disciples

18
 As He was walking along the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, since they were fishermen.
19
 “Follow Me,”
He told them,
“and I will make you fish for
 
people! ”
20
 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.

21
 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and He called them.
22
 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.

Teaching, Preaching, and Healing

23
 Jesus was going all over Galilee, teaching in their
•synagogues
, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 
24
 Then the news about Him spread throughout Syria. So they brought to Him all those who were afflicted, those suffering from various diseases and intense pains, the demon-possessed, the epileptics, and the paralytics. And He healed them.
25
 Large crowds followed Him from Galilee,
•Decapolis
, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. 

Matthew

The Sermon on the Mount

5
When He saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.
2
 Then He began to teach them, saying: 

The Beatitudes

11
 “You are blessed when they insult and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of Me.
12
 Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
 

Believers Are Salt and Light

13
 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It's no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled on by men.
 

14
 “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. 
15
 No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket,
 
but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. 
16
 In the same way, let your light shine
 
before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
 

Christ Fulfills the Law

17
 “Don't assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 
18
 For
•I assure you
: Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter
 
or one stroke of a letter will pass from the law until all things are accomplished.
19
 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches people to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 
20
 For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the
•scribes
and
•Pharisees
, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Murder Begins in the Heart

21
 “You have heard that it was said to our ancestors,
 
Do not murder
,
and whoever murders will be subject to judgment. 
22
 But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother
 
will be subject to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Fool! '
 
will be subject to the
•Sanhedrin
. But whoever says, ‘You moron! ' will be subject to
•hellfire
.
23
 So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you,
24
 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
25
 Reach a settlement quickly with your adversary while you're on the way with him, or your adversary will hand you over to the judge, the judge to
 
the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. 
26
 I assure you: You will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny!
 

Adultery in the Heart

27
 “You have heard that it was said,
Do not commit adultery.
28
 But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 
29
 If your right eye
•causes
you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
 
30
 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell!

Divorce Practices Censured

31
 “It was also said,
Whoever divorces
 
his wife must give her a written notice of divorce.
32
 But I tell you, everyone who divorces his wife, except in a case of sexual immorality,
 
causes her to commit adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
 

Tell the Truth

33
 “Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors,
 
You must not break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord.
34
 But I tell you, don't take an oath at all: either by heaven, because it is God's throne;
35
 or by the earth, because it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. 
36
 Neither should you swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black.
37
 But let your word ‘yes' be ‘yes,' and your ‘no' be ‘no.'
 
Anything more than this is from the evil one.