Matthew 7

₁Don't condemn others, and God won't condemn you. ₂God will be as hard on you as you are on others! He will treat you exactly as you treat them.

₃You can see the speck in your friend's eye, but you don't notice the log in your own eye. ₄How can you say, “My friend, let me take the speck out of your eye,” when you don't see the log in your own eye? ₅You're nothing but show-offs! First, take the log out of your own eye. Then you can see how to take the speck out of your friend's eye.

₆Don't give to dogs what belongs to God. They will only turn and attack you. Don't throw pearls down in front of pigs. They will trample all over them.

₇Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you. ₈Everyone who asks will receive. Everyone who searches will find. And the door will be opened for everyone who knocks. ₉Would any of you give your hungry child a stone, if the child asked for some bread? ₁₀Would you give your child a snake if the child asked for a fish? ₁₁As bad as you are, you still know how to give good gifts to your children. But your heavenly Father is even more ready to give good things to people who ask.

₁₂Treat others as you want them to treat you. This is what the Law and the Prophets are all about.

₁₃Go in through the narrow gate. The gate to destruction is wide, and the road that leads there is easy to follow. A lot of people go through that gate. ₁₄But the gate to life is very narrow. The road that leads there is so hard to follow that only a few people find it.

₁₅Watch out for false prophets! They dress up like sheep, but inside they are wolves who have come to attack you. ₁₆You can tell what they are by what they do. No one picks grapes or figs from thorn bushes. ₁₇A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. ₁₈A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. ₁₉Every tree that produces bad fruit will be chopped down and burnt. ₂₀You can tell who the false prophets are by their deeds.

₂₁Not everyone who calls me their Lord will get into the kingdom of heaven. Only the ones who obey my Father in heaven will get in. ₂₂On the day of judgment many will call me their Lord. They will say, “We preached in your name, and in your name we forced out demons and performed many miracles.” ₂₃But I will tell them, “I will have nothing to do with you! Get out of my sight, you evil people!”

₂₄Anyone who hears and obeys these teachings of mine is like a wise person who built a house on solid rock. ₂₅Rain poured down, rivers flooded, and winds beat against that house. But it did not fall, because it was built on solid rock.

₂₆Anyone who hears my teachings and doesn't obey them is like a foolish person who built a house on sand. ₂₇The rain poured down, the rivers flooded, and the winds blew and beat against that house. Finally, it fell with a crash.