The Lord of the Sabbath (1 Samuel 21:1–7; Matthew 12:1–8; Mark 2:23–28)
1 UDB One Sabbath day as Jesus and his disciples were walking through some grain fields, the disciples were picking some heads of grain. They rubbed them in their hands to separate the grains from the husks and ate the grain. BSB BSB: One Sabbath Jesus was passing through the grainfields, and His disciples began to pick the heads of grain, rub them in their hands, and eat them.
2 UDB Some Pharisees who were watching this said to them, "You should not be doing work; our laws forbid us to do work on the Sabbath day!" BSB BSB: But some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
4 UDB As you know, David entered the tabernacle and asked for some food. The priest gave him the bread that had been on display before God. In one of Moses's laws, God had said that only the priests were permitted to eat that bread. But even though David and his men were not priests, he ate some of the bread and also gave some to the men who were with him!" BSB BSB: He entered the house of God, took the consecrated bread and gave it to his companions, and ate what is lawful only for the priests to eat.”
5 UDB Jesus also said to them, "In the same way, the Son of Man has the authority to determine what is right for people to do on the Sabbath!" BSB BSB: Then Jesus declared, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Jesus Heals on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:9–14; Mark 3:1–6)
6 UDB On another Sabbath day Jesus was teaching the people in the synagogue and a man was there whose right hand was withered. BSB BSB: On another Sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered.
7 UDB The men who taught the Jewish laws and the Pharisees who were there were watching Jesus closely. They wanted to see if he would heal the man, and then they would accuse him of disobeying their laws about not working on the Sabbath. BSB BSB: Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He would heal on the Sabbath.
8 UDB But Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said to the man with the withered hand, "Come and stand here in front of everyone!" So the man got up and stood there. BSB BSB: But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and stand among us.” So he got up and stood there.
9 UDB Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you this: Do the laws that God gave Moses command people to do good on the Sabbath, or to do harm? To save a life on the Sabbath, or destroy it?" BSB BSB: Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”
10 UDB No one answered him, so he looked around at them all and then said to the man, "Stretch out your withered hand!" The man did that, and his hand became completely well again! BSB BSB: And after looking around at all of them, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and it was restored.
11 UDB But the religious leaders were very angry, and they discussed with one another about what they could do to get rid of Jesus. BSB BSB: But the scribes and Pharisees were filled with rage and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.
The Twelve Apostles (Matthew 10:1–4; Mark 3:13–19)
12 UDB One day, some time after that, Jesus went up into the hills to pray. He prayed to God all night there. BSB BSB: In those days Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and He spent the night in prayer to God.
13 UDB The next day he summoned all his disciples to come near him. From them he chose twelve men whom he also called apostles. BSB BSB: When daylight came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also designated as apostles:
14 UDB These men were: Simon, to whom he gave the new name Peter; Andrew, Peter's younger brother; James and his younger brother John; Philip; Bartholomew; BSB BSB: Simon, whom He named Peter, and his brother Andrew; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew;
15 UDB Matthew, whose other name was Levi; Thomas; another James, the son of Alphaeus; Simon the Zealot; BSB BSB: Matthew and Thomas; James son of Alphaeus and Simon called the Zealot;
16 UDB Judas, the son of a different man named James; and Judas Iscariot, who later betrayed Jesus. BSB BSB: Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Jesus Heals the Multitudes (Matthew 4:23–25; Mark 3:7–12)
17 UDB Jesus came down from the hills with his disciples and stood on a level area. There was a great crowd of his disciples there. There was also a large group of people who had come from Jerusalem and from many other places in the region of Judea, and from the coastal areas near the cities of Tyre and Sidon. BSB BSB: Then Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of His disciples was there, along with a great number of people from all over Judea, Jerusalem, and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon.
18 UDB They came to hear Jesus teach them and to be healed from their diseases. He also healed those whom evil spirits had troubled. BSB BSB: They had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases, and those troubled by unclean spirits were healed.
19 UDB Everyone in the crowd tried to touch him because he was healing everyone by his power. BSB BSB: The entire crowd was trying to touch Him, because power was coming from Him and healing them all.
The Beatitudes (Psalm 1:1–6; Matthew 5:3–12)
20 UDB Then he looked at his disciples and said, "It is very good for you who are poor because God is ruling you. BSB BSB: Looking up at His disciples, Jesus said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 UDB It is very good for you who are hungry now because God will give you everything you need. "It is very good for you who are grieving now because God will someday make you laugh with joy. BSB BSB: Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
22 UDB "It is very good when other people hate you, when they reject you, and when they insult you and say that you are evil because you follow me, the Son of Man. BSB BSB: Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man.
23 UDB When that happens, rejoice! Jump up and down because you are so happy! God will give you a great reward in heaven! Do not forget that their ancestors did similar things to God's prophets long ago! BSB BSB: Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For their fathers treated the prophets in the same way.
Woes to the Satisfied (Amos 6:1–7)
24 UDB "But how sad for you who are rich; your riches have already given you all the comfort you will get. BSB BSB: But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.
25 UDB "How sad for you who think that you have everything that you need now; you will realize that these things will not satisfy you. How sad for you who are joyful now; later you will grieve and be very sad. BSB BSB: Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.
26 UDB How sad it is when everyone says good things about you. In the same way, their ancestors used to say good things about men who falsely claimed to be God's prophets. BSB BSB: Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers treated the false prophets in the same way.
Love Your Enemies (Matthew 5:38–48)
27 UDB "But I say this to each of you who are listening to what I say: Love your enemies, not only your friends! Do good things for those who hate you! BSB BSB: But to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
28 UDB Ask God to bless those who curse you! Pray for those who treat you badly! BSB BSB: bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
29 UDB If someone insults you by striking you on one of your cheeks, turn your face so that he can strike the other cheek also. If someone wants to take away your coat, let him also have your shirt. BSB BSB: If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone takes your cloak, do not withhold your tunic as well.
30 UDB Give something to everyone who asks you. If someone asks you to give him things that belong to you, do not ask him to return them. BSB BSB: Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what is yours, do not demand it back.
31 UDB In whatever way you want others to act toward you, that is the way that you should act toward them. BSB BSB: Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 UDB "If you love only those who love you, do not expect God to praise you for doing that because even sinners love those who love them. BSB BSB: If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.
33 UDB If you do good things only for those who do good things for you, do not expect God to reward you for doing that because even sinners do that. BSB BSB: If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same.
34 UDB If you lend money or property only to those who will give it back to you, do not expect that God will reward you for doing that! Even sinners lend to other sinners because they expect them to pay everything back. BSB BSB: And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.
35 UDB Instead, love your enemies! Do good things for them! Lend to them, and do not expect them to pay anything back! Then God will give you a great reward. And you will be children of God the Most High, since God is kind even to people who are unthankful and wicked. BSB BSB: But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
36 UDB So you should act mercifully toward other people, just like your Father in heaven acts mercifully toward people. BSB BSB: Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Judging Others (Matthew 7:1–6; Romans 14:1–12)
37 UDB "Do not harshly criticize people, and then God will not harshly criticize you. Do not condemn other people, and then he will not condemn you. Forgive others for the evil things that they have done, and then God will forgive you. BSB BSB: Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
38 UDB Give good things to others, and then God will give good things to you. It will be like he is giving you a generous amount of grain, pressing it down in a basket and shaking the basket to make sure it is completely full, to the point that some of the grain even spills over the sides! Remember that the standard you use to judge or bless others will be the standard God uses to judge or bless you!" BSB BSB: Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
39 UDB He also gave his disciples this parable: "A blind man should not try to lead another blind man. If he did, they both would fall into a hole! BSB BSB: Jesus also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?
40 UDB A disciple is not greater than his teacher. But when he is fully trained, he will become like his teacher. So you should become like me. BSB BSB: A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.
41 UDB "None of you should be concerned about someone else's small faults. That is like noticing a speck of straw in that person's eye while not noticing a huge wooden plank in your own eye. BSB BSB: Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye but fail to notice the beam in your own eye?
42 UDB If you do that, you are a hypocrite! You should first remove the plank out of your own eye before trying to get the speck out of someone else's eye. When you have stopped sinning, then you will have the spiritual insight to help others get rid of their sins. BSB BSB: How can you say, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while you yourself fail to see the beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
A Tree and Its Fruit (Matthew 7:15–23; Matthew 12:33–37)
43 UDB "Everyone knows that healthy trees do not produce bad fruit and unhealthy trees do not produce good fruit. BSB BSB: No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.
44 UDB And anyone can tell what kind of tree it is by looking at the kind of fruit it has. For example, a thornbush does not produce figs and a bramble bush does not produce grapes. In the same way it is easy to know what a person is like inside by looking at what that person does. BSB BSB: For each tree is known by its own fruit. Indeed, figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor grapes from brambles.
45 UDB Good people do good things which show that they think good thoughts, and evil people do evil things which show that they think evil thoughts. People will speak and act according to what they think about in their minds." BSB BSB: The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
The House on the Rock (Matthew 7:24–27)
46 UDB Jesus said to the people, "Why do you call me 'Lord' when you do not even obey what I say to do? BSB BSB: Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ but do not do what I say?
47 UDB Let me tell you what people are like who come to me, hear my teachings, and obey them. BSB BSB: I will show you what he is like who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them:
48 UDB They are like a man who dug deep into the ground to prepare to build his house. He made sure that the foundation for the house was built on solid rock. Then there was a flood and a torrent of water was beating against the house. But the torrent could not even shake the house because the house was built on a solid foundation. BSB BSB: He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid his foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the torrent crashed against that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.
49 UDB But some people who hear my teachings do not obey them. They are like a man who built a house on top of the ground without building a foundation. When the river flooded, the house collapsed immediately and was completely ruined." BSB BSB: But the one who hears My words and does not act on them is like a man who built his house on ground without a foundation. The torrent crashed against that house, and immediately it fell—and great was its destruction!”