New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Matthew 7
2
You will be judged in the same way you judge others. You will be measured in the same way you measure others.
Reference
Judgment
James 2:13
Parallel theme
Mark 4:24
Luke 6:38
Obadiah 1:15
Revelation 18:6
Judges 1:7
2 Corinthians 9:6
3
"You look at the bit of sawdust in your friend's eye. But you pay no attention to the piece of wood in your own eye.
Reference
4
How can you say to your friend, 'Let me take the bit of sawdust out of your eye'? How can you say this while there is a piece of wood in your own eye?
5
"You pretender! First take the piece of wood out of your own eye. Then you will be able to see clearly to take the bit of sawdust out of your friend's eye.
Reference
6
"Do not give holy things to dogs. Do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they might walk all over them. Then they might turn around and tear you to pieces.
Reference
7
"Ask, and it will be given to you. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.
Reference
8
Everyone who asks will receive. He who searches will find. The door will be opened to the one who knocks.
Reference
9
"Suppose your son asks for bread. Which of you will give him a stone?
10
Or suppose he asks for a fish. Which of you will give him a snake?
11
Even though you are evil, you know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more will your Father who is in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Reference
Evil
Genesis 8:21
Good
James 1:17
Psalm 84:11
Psalm 86:5
Parallel theme
Romans 8:32
John 3:16
Isaiah 49:15
Psalm 86:15
1 John 4:10
1 John 3:1
12
"In everything, do to others what you would want them to do to you. This is what is written in the Law and in the Prophets.
Reference
13
"Enter God's kingdom through the narrow gate. The gate is large and the road is wide that lead to death and hell. Many people go that way.
Reference
14
But the gate is small and the road is narrow that lead to life. Only a few people find it.
Reference
15
"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you pretending to be sheep. But on the inside they are hungry wolves.
Reference
Parallel theme
Colossians 2:8
Jude 1:4
2 Peter 3:17
2 Timothy 3:13
Ephesians 4:14
Prophecy
1 John 4:1
Matthew 24:11
Revelation 19:20
Micah 3:11
Luke 6:26
16
You can tell what they really are by what they do. "Do people pick grapes from bushes? Do they pick figs from thorns?
Reference
17
In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit. But a bad tree bears bad fruit.
Reference
Good
Ephesians 5:9
Colossians 1:10
Parallel theme
Psalm 1:3
Jeremiah 17:8
Jeremiah 11:19
Jude 1:12
Philippians 1:11
Isaiah 61:3
18
A good tree can't bear bad fruit. And a bad tree can't bear good fruit.
Reference
Parallel theme
Galatians 5:17
20
You can tell each tree by its fruit.
Reference
Parallel theme
Matthew 7:16
21
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven. Only those who do what my Father in heaven wants will enter.
Reference
Kingdom
Hebrews 13:21
Parallel theme
Romans 2:13
James 1:22
Luke 11:28
Titus 1:16
Hebrews 4:6
John 6:40
Revelation 3:5
1 Peter 4:2
References Lord
Luke 6:46
22
"Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord! Lord! Didn't we prophesy in your name? Didn't we drive out demons in your name? Didn't we do many miracles in your name?'
Reference
Parallel theme
2 Timothy 1:12
John 11:51
Numbers 24:4
Matthew 24:36
1 Thessalonians 5:4
References Lord
2 Timothy 4:8
Isaiah 2:17
Isaiah 2:11
Matthew 7:21
Matthew 25:11
23
Then I will tell them clearly, 'I never knew you. Get away from me, you who do evil!'
Reference
Parallel theme
Matthew 25:41
Luke 13:25
Matthew 25:12
John 10:14
Revelation 22:15
Sin
Psalm 6:8
Luke 13:27
Psalm 5:5
2 Timothy 2:19
24
"So then, everyone who hears my words and puts them into practice is like a wise man. He builds his house on the rock.
Reference
25
The rain comes down. The water rises. The winds blow and beat against that house. But it does not fall. It is built on the rock.
Reference
26
"But everyone who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man. He builds his house on sand.
Reference
27
The rain comes down. The water rises. The winds blow and beat against that house. And it falls with a loud crash."
Reference
Parallel theme
1 Corinthians 3:13
Summary of Matthew 7
Matthew 7 concludes the Sermon on the Mount by turning Jesus' attention toward the practical consequences of everything He has taught, emphasizing that kingdom righteousness requires humble self-examination, wise relationships, persistent prayer, discernment, wholehearted commitment, and obedience rather than merely hearing religious instruction.
Jesus begins by warning against hypocritical judgment, not by prohibiting all moral discernment, but by requiring His followers to examine their own failures before attempting to correct someone else, using the exaggerated contrast between a tiny speck and a large piece of wood to make the point memorable.
He then teaches about discernment, warning that sacred truth should not be handled carelessly and that false prophets must be evaluated by their "fruit," meaning the character, behavior, teaching, and results that consistently emerge from their lives.
The chapter also contains one of Jesus' strongest teachings about prayer, encouraging His followers to ask, seek, and knock persistently while trusting that God, like a loving Father, knows how to give good things to His children.
Jesus summarizes His teaching about relationships with the Golden Rule, commanding His followers to treat other people as they would want to be treated and presenting this principle as a concise expression of the Law and the Prophets.
He then describes discipleship as a narrow road leading to life, warning that the easier and more popular path can lead toward destruction, while genuine kingdom living requires deliberate commitment and perseverance.
Jesus' warning about false disciples becomes even more serious when He explains that religious activity alone does not prove genuine faith, because people may prophesy, perform miracles, or claim to act in His name while still living in disobedience to God.
The chapter reaches its climax with the picture of two houses, one built on rock and one built on sand, where the difference is not whether the builders hear Jesus' words but whether they actually put those words into practice.
The house built on rock survives the storm because its foundation is secure, while the house built on sand collapses because hearing without obedience provides no lasting foundation.
The central message is that Matthew 7 calls people to move beyond religious appearance into genuine discipleship, where humility, discernment, prayer, love, obedience, and faithful action demonstrate that a person's life is truly built upon Jesus' teaching.
The chapter closes the Sermon on the Mount by making obedience the decisive test of discipleship, showing that the person who hears Jesus and puts His teaching into practice builds a life capable of standing firm when judgment, suffering, temptation, and the storms of life inevitably arrive.
Jesus begins by warning against hypocritical judgment, not by prohibiting all moral discernment, but by requiring His followers to examine their own failures before attempting to correct someone else, using the exaggerated contrast between a tiny speck and a large piece of wood to make the point memorable.
He then teaches about discernment, warning that sacred truth should not be handled carelessly and that false prophets must be evaluated by their "fruit," meaning the character, behavior, teaching, and results that consistently emerge from their lives.
The chapter also contains one of Jesus' strongest teachings about prayer, encouraging His followers to ask, seek, and knock persistently while trusting that God, like a loving Father, knows how to give good things to His children.
Jesus summarizes His teaching about relationships with the Golden Rule, commanding His followers to treat other people as they would want to be treated and presenting this principle as a concise expression of the Law and the Prophets.
He then describes discipleship as a narrow road leading to life, warning that the easier and more popular path can lead toward destruction, while genuine kingdom living requires deliberate commitment and perseverance.
Jesus' warning about false disciples becomes even more serious when He explains that religious activity alone does not prove genuine faith, because people may prophesy, perform miracles, or claim to act in His name while still living in disobedience to God.
The chapter reaches its climax with the picture of two houses, one built on rock and one built on sand, where the difference is not whether the builders hear Jesus' words but whether they actually put those words into practice.
The house built on rock survives the storm because its foundation is secure, while the house built on sand collapses because hearing without obedience provides no lasting foundation.
The central message is that Matthew 7 calls people to move beyond religious appearance into genuine discipleship, where humility, discernment, prayer, love, obedience, and faithful action demonstrate that a person's life is truly built upon Jesus' teaching.
The chapter closes the Sermon on the Mount by making obedience the decisive test of discipleship, showing that the person who hears Jesus and puts His teaching into practice builds a life capable of standing firm when judgment, suffering, temptation, and the storms of life inevitably arrive.