NIV Archaeological Study Bible

¹An oracle:^† The word^† of the LORD to Israel through Malachi.^[1]

Jacob Loved, Esau Hated

²“I have loved^† you,” says the LORD.

“But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’

“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” the LORD says. “Yet I have loved Jacob,^† ³but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland ^† and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.^†”

⁴Edom may say, “Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild^† the ruins.”

But this is what the LORD Almighty says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the LORD.^† ⁵You will see it with your own eyes and say, ‘Great ^† is the LORD—even beyond the borders of Israel!’^†

Blemished Sacrifices

⁶“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect^† due me?” says the LORD Almighty.^† “It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name.

“But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’

⁷“You place defiled food^† on my altar.

“But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’

“By saying that the LORD’s table is contemptible. ⁸When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals,^† is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the LORD Almighty.^†

⁹“Now implore God to be gracious to us. With such offerings^† from your hands, will he accept you?”—says the LORD Almighty.

¹⁰“Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased^† with you,” says the LORD Almighty, “and I will accept no offering^† from your hands. ¹¹My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense^† and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD Almighty.

¹²“But you profane it by saying of the Lord’s table, ‘It is defiled,’ and of its food,^† ‘It is contemptible.’ ¹³And you say, ‘What a burden!’^† and you sniff at it contemptuously,” says the LORD Almighty.

“When you bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?” says the LORD. ¹⁴“Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal^† to the Lord. For I am a great king,^†” says the LORD Almighty, “and my name is to be feared among the nations.

Malachi 2

Admonition for the Priests

¹“And now this admonition is for you, O priests.^† ²If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honor my name,” says the LORD Almighty, “I will send a curse ^† upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not set your heart to honor me.

Marriage and Divorce in Ancient Israel

Malachi 2 At the heart of the Hebrew concept of marriage is the notion of covenant—a legally binding agreement with spiritual and emotional ramifications (Pr 2:17). God serves as witness to the marriage covenant, blessing its faithfulness but hating its betrayal (Mal 2:14–16). The Lord’s intimate involvement renders this legal commitment a spiritual union, “so they are no longer two, but one” (Mt 19:6). The purpose of marriage as articulated in the Bible is to find true companionship (Ge 2:18; Pr 18:22), produce godly offspring (Mal 2:15; 1Co 7:14) and fulfill God’s calling upon an individual’s life (Ge 1:28).

It was customary in ancient Israel for parents to arrange a marriage (Ge 24:47–53; 38:6; 1Sa 18:17), although marrying for love was not uncommon (Jdg 14:2). Arranged marriages highlight the nature of the marriage covenant as a commitment intended to outlast youthful infatuation. The declaration at the first marriage, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Ge 2:23), is a kinship formula (Ge 29:14; 2Sa 5:1; 19:12–13). Marriage binds husband and wife together into an entity greater than either partner as an individual, and it does so in order to assure continuity of the family lineage. Marriage within the kinship group was encouraged so as not to alienate family land holdings (Ge 24:4; Nu 36:6–9),¹ and in the event that a woman’s husband died and left her childless, the law provided for the husband’s brother to act as a levirate in order to raise up offspring for the deceased (Ge 38:8; Dt 25: 5–6).²

An engagement period preceded the wedding celebration and the consummation of the marriage union. The pledge of engagement was regarded as being as binding as the marriage itself, and a betrothed woman was considered legally married (Dt 22:23–29). The engagement was concluded by the payment of a bride-price to the woman’s father (Ge 29:18; Jdg 1:12). This may be understood as a compensation given to the family for the loss of their daughter. The father enjoyed its usage temporarily, but the money reverted to the daughter at the father’s death or in the event she were widowed. In addition, gifts were given to the bride and her family at the acceptance of a marriage proposal (Ge 24:53). Thus, marriage and its attendant economic investment brought the bride and groom’s families into legal relationship with one another (Ge 31:50).

Israelite law included a provision for divorce—initiated by the husband only. Marriages were dissolved contractually with a certificate of divorce (Dt 24:1). This divorce document most likely recorded a formula of repudiation declared orally before witnesses: “She is not my wife, and I am not her husband” (Hos 2:2). The declaration might have been accompanied by a sign, the act of removing the woman’s outer garment as an annulment of the promise made at the time of the wedding to protect and provide for her (Ru 3:9; Eze 16:8, 37; Hos 2:3, 9).³ A man was not permitted to divorce his wife if he had forcefully violated her while she was yet unbetrothed (Dt 22:28–29) or if he had falsely accused her of nonvirginal status at the time they had wed (Dt 22:13–19).⁴

1. See “Inheritance in the Ancient Near East.”

2. See “Levirate Marriage.”

3. See “Weddings in Ancient Israel.”

³“Because of you I will rebuke^[2] your descendants^[3]; I will spread on your faces the offal^† from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it.^† ⁴And you will know that I have sent you this admonition so that my covenant with Levi^† may continue,” says the LORD Almighty. ⁵“My covenant was with him, a covenant ^† of life and peace,^† and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. ⁶True instruction^† was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin.^†

⁷“For the lips of a priest^† ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction^†—because he is the messenger^† of the LORD Almighty. ⁸But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble;^† you have violated the covenant with Levi,” says the LORD Almighty. ⁹“So I have caused you to be despised ^† and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law.”

Judah Unfaithful

¹⁰Have we not all one Father^[4]? ^† Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant^† of our fathers by breaking faith with one another?

¹¹Judah has broken faith. A detestable thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the LORD loves, by marrying^† the daughter of a foreign god.^† ¹²As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the LORD cut him off ^† from the tents of Jacob^[5]—even though he brings offerings^† to the LORD Almighty.

¹³Another thing you do: You flood the LORD’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention^† to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. ¹⁴You ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth,^† because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.

¹⁵Has not [the LORD] made them one?^† In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring.^[6] ^† So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.

¹⁶“I hate divorce,^†” says the LORD God of Israel, “and I hate a man’s covering himself^[7] with violence as well as with his garment,” says the LORD Almighty.

So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith.

The Day of Judgment

¹⁷You have wearied^† the LORD with your words.

“How have we wearied him?” you ask.

By saying, “All who do evil are good in the eyes of the LORD, and he is pleased with them” or “Where is the God of justice?”

Malachi 3

¹“See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me.^† Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty.

The Intertestamental Period

Malachi 3 The intertestamental period¹ designates the time between Malachi (c. 400 B.C.), and the birth of Jesus. This was also part of the Second Temple period—the time between construction of the postexilic temple in 515 B.C. and destruction of the Herodian temple by the Romans in A.D. 70.²

Israel’s historical experience changed rapidly during successive periods of Persian, Greek and Roman sovereignty. After defeating the Babylonians, the Persian king Cyrus II issued an edict in 538 B.C. allowing some Jews to return to Israel and authorizing temple reconstruction (Ezr 1:2–4).³ Israel, a satrapy, or province, of the Persian Empire, was ruled by governors and priests. In 332 B.C. Alexander the Great overtook Judah. After his death in 323 B.C. his generals competed for control of the vast Greek Empire. Israel existed under Egyptian Ptolemaic sovereignty from 302 to 200 B.C. and under Syrian Seleucid control from 200 to 152 B.C.⁴

Antiochus III, the first Seleucid king, allowed Israel to live under the high priests’ jurisdiction. Antiochus IV Epiphanes, however, sought to reorganize Jerusalem as a Greek city in 174 B.C. In 168 B.C., Antiochus IV issued an edict prohibiting Jewish observance of the Sabbath, circumcision, dietary laws and temple sacrifices (1Mc 1:41–64),⁵ and he desecrated the temple by erecting an altar to Zeus (see Da 11:31).⁶

Macherus: a site occupied by Jews during the Hasmonean period, rebuilt as an outpost by Herod the Great against Nabatea and occupied by Jews in their war against the Romans until A.D. 72

Photograph: © Todd Bolen/Bible Places.com

This edict incited the Maccabean revolt, which began in 167 B.C. when an aged priest, Mattathias, defied it by killing a Syrian official and a Jew who was preparing to sacrifice to Zeus. After Mattathias’s death his five sons, and especially Judas Maccabeus, assumed leadership. The temple was cleansed and rededicated, an event still commemorated as Hanukkah. Maccabean success led Israel to independent statehood in 142 B.C. The Maccabean priest-kings (the Hasmoneans) ruled Israel from 135 to 63 B.C., until the Roman general Pompey incorporated Judea into the Roman Empire.⁷

The Romans conferred the status of client king (a king who rules in submission to a foreign ruler and with his support) to Herod the Great, who ruled from 37 to 4 B.C.⁸ Herod’s vast building programs and lavish expansion of the Jerusalem temple endeared him to some, although his willingness to slaughter all opposition sealed his memory as a cruel tyrant (Mt 2:1–20). His son Archelaus slaughtered 3,000 Jews during Passover. After his banishment in A.D. 6 Judea was reduced to a Roman province, governed by prefects and procurators from A.D. 6 to 66 (the most famous being Pontius Pilate).⁹ The insensitivity of Roman leadership and the memory of Maccabean success led Judea to revolt. The four-year rebellion, though bitterly fought, ended with the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70.¹⁰ A second revolt flared from 132 to 135 under Bar Kokhba and Rabbi Akiba. After massive losses on both sides, Jerusalem was converted into a pagan city, Aelia Capitolina, to which Jews were denied access.

The intertestamental period brought significant religious developments, attesting to the developing diversity within Judaism and providing the context for the New Testament:

• The closure of the Hebrew Scripture gave the Jews an authoritative canon.¹¹

• The translation of the Old Testament into Greek (the Septuagint) produced a Bible that would supply the linguistic background for many New Testament concepts.¹²

• The progression of foreign nations ruling the Jewish homeland recalled Daniel’s prophecies and heightened Messianic expectation.

• Israel’s tumultuous leadership changes contributed to the formation of diverse sects, including the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Samaritans, Zealots and Messianic pretenders.¹³

• The literary efforts of Palestinian and Babylonian Jews, together with those of Hellenistic Jewish communities, created a large corpus of writings, including the Dead Sea Scrolls,¹⁴ the works of Philo and Josephus,¹⁵ the Apocrypha,¹⁶ the pseudepigrapha and the earliest rabbinic sayings.

1. See Glossary for definitions of bolded words.

2. See “Herod’s Temple.”

3. See “Cyrus the Great.”

4. See “The Ptolemies” and “The Seleucids.”

5. First Maccabees is an Apocryphal book (see Glossary).

6. See “Antiochus IV Epiphanes.”

7. See “The Roman Empire.”

8. See “Herod the Great.”

9. See “Pontius Pilate.”

10.See “Josephus and the Fall of Jerusalem.”

11.See “The Old Testament Canon.”

12.See “The Ancient Translations.”

13.See “The Pharisees”, “The Sadducees”, “The Zealots and the Essenes” and “The Samaritans.”

14.See, for example, “The Great Isaiah Scroll” and “The Temple Scroll.”

15.See “Historians in the Ancient World.”

16.See “The Apocrypha.”

²But who can endure^† the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire^† or a launderer’s soap. ³He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver;^† he will purify^† the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, ⁴and the offerings ^† of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.^†

⁵“So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers,^† against those who defraud laborers of their wages,^† who oppress the widows^† and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me,” says the LORD Almighty.

Robbing God

⁶“I the LORD do not change.^† So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. ⁷Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away ^† from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,”^† says the LORD Almighty.

“But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’

⁸“Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.

“But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’

“In tithes^† and offerings. ⁹You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. ¹⁰Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse,^† that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates^† of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. ¹¹I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the LORD Almighty. ¹²“Then all the nations will call you blessed,^† for yours will be a delightful land,”^† says the LORD Almighty.

¹³“You have said harsh things^† against me,” says the LORD.

“Yet you ask, ‘What have we said against you?’

¹⁴“You have said, ‘It is futile^† to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners^† before the LORD Almighty? ¹⁵But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers ^† prosper, and even those who challenge God escape.’ ”

¹⁶Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard.^† A scroll^† of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name.

¹⁷“They will be mine,” says the LORD Almighty, “in the day when I make up my treasured possession.^[8] ^† I will spare^† them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. ¹⁸And you will again see the distinction between the righteous ^† and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.

Malachi 4

The Day of the LORD

¹“Surely the day is coming;^† it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble,^† and that day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the LORD Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. ²But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness ^† will rise with healing^† in its wings. And you will go out and leap^† like calves released from the stall. ³Then you will trample^† down the wicked; they will be ashes^† under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things,” says the LORD Almighty.

The Old Testament Canon

Malachi 4 Canon (from Greek kanon: “rule; standard of measure”) refers to writings that are authoritative for faith and religious practice by virtue of their divine inspiration. Secondarily, it designates a listing of such authoritative books.

Canonical writings were known in the ancient Near East in extrabiblical contexts. The Pyramid Texts profess to incorporate direct quotations from Egyptian gods. Mesopotamian seers recorded revelations they claimed to have received from the gods in dreams and visions. These compositions were deposited in temples to be preserved by priests. Important religious and secular documents were copied with meticulous care and often contained curses against anyone who would alter their contents. In particular, treaties were preserved in duplicate, with a copy deposited in the temple of each king, to be carefully guarded and periodically reread.

These practices find parallels in the treatment of Biblical writings. As a covenant or treaty document,¹ early Mosaic legislation was preserved in the ark of the covenant (Dt 31:9),² first within the tabernacle and later in the temple; faithfully copied without alteration (Dt 4:2; 12:32); and publicly read every seven years (Dt 31:10–13).

The author of a canonical writing was to be an Israelite prophet who spoke in the Lord’s name. Fulfillment of short-range prophecies authenticated the prophet in the eyes of his countrymen (e.g., Jer 28:15–17), after which his prophetic messages were to be held in reverence and obeyed.

The intrinsic authority of canonical books was recognized from the date of their composition, with later prophets at times citing the works of their predecessors as authoritative Scripture (e.g., Jer 26:18 cites Mic 3:12, and Da 9:2 refers to Jer 25:11–12). Rabbinical writings and the ancient Jewish historian Josephus³ bear witness that prophetic authorship was essential for a book to be included in the canon. The closing of the Old Testament canon coincided with the cessation of this prophetic activity.

Early witnesses number the books of the Old Testament canon at 24. This total actually corresponds to our 39 books, with the 12 minor prophets counted as one book and the books of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles and Ezra—Nehemiah as one apiece. Some lists join Lamentations to Jeremiah and Ruth to Judges in order to force the total to correspond to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. All told, these books were often referred to under three different categories: the Law, the Prophets and the Writings. The 39 books of our Old Testament already appear as such in the Septuagint,⁴ and fragments of all of them except for Esther⁵ have been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls (dated 150 B.C.–A.D. 150). Jesus and the apostles acknowledged the same canon by their Old Testament quotations and use of such phrases as “the Law and the Prophets.”

The status of some books was debated by Jewish scholars at Jamnia in A.D. 90—under the assumption that they were already accepted as canonical. The deliberations resolved difficulties of interpretation in light of other canonical books, such as apparent contradictions (e.g., the differences between Eze 40–48 and Lev), apparent skepticism (in Ecc), eroticism (in SS), and the lack of any direct reference to God (in Est).

Rendition of Qumran jars

Preserving Bible Times; © Dr. James C. Martin

Some scholars argue that the Jewish canon of Alexandria, Egypt, included Apocryphal books.⁶ However, Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 B.C.–A.D. 50) never alluded to any of them as Scripture, and many early church fathers (e.g., Origen, Athanasius, Chrysostom and Jerome) were either openly uncomfortable treating them as canonical or only rarely quoted them. The earliest manuscripts of the Septuagint (fourth—fifth centuries A.D.) include some of the Apocryphal books, probably as supplementary religious literature, but the list does not correspond to the 14 Apocryphal books designated as such at the Council of Trent in 1546. Many additional noncanonical works were cited by Jews in pre-Christian times, as is evident from the large amount of religious literature discovered at Qumran. But the 39 Old Testament canonical books correspond to those Israel has regarded as Scripture from ancient times.⁷

1. See “Deuteronomy and the Covenant Treaty Form.”

2. See “The Tabernacle and the Ark.”

3. See “Historians in the Ancient World.”

4. See “The Ancient Translations.”

5. See “The Canonicity of Esther.”

6. See “The Apocrypha.”

7. See also “The Old Testament of the Early Church” and “The New Testament Canon.”

⁴“Remember the law^† of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.

⁵“See, I will send you the prophet Elijah^† before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes.^† ⁶He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,^† and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike^† the land with a curse.”^†

Matthew 1

The Genealogy of Jesus

¹A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David,^† the son of Abraham:^†

Genealogies in Ancient Israel

Matthew 1 In societies organized around kinship, genealogies (lists of names tracing the ancestry of a given individual or group) serve as public records that document history, establish identity and/or legitimate office. The key to legitimacy and identity is a direct, irrefutable familial tie with the past. Such lists may ascend from the individual, using the formula “x the son of y, the son of z …” (1Ch 6:33–43; Ezr 7:1–5; Lk 3:23–38) or descend from a common ancestor, using the pattern “x was the father of y, y the father of z …” (Ge 5:1–32; Ru 4:18–23; Mt 1:1–17). These two basic types of genealogies can be combined (cf. v. 1 and vv. 2–17). In addition, genealogical rolls may either contain a simple succession of names or may be supplemented with expansive content pertaining to the deeds of certain prominent individuals on the list.¹

Genealogies feature prominently in both the early and later history of Israel. There are ten principal genealogical lists in Genesis alone, (e.g., “the written account of Adam’s line” in Ge 5). These records served to establish and protect identity in that they regulated a variety of social interactions, including marriage and land inheritance (Dt 25:5–10; Ezr 10:18–43).² Thus the registration of families who had returned from exile was a profound concern during the postexilic period³ (1Ch 1–9; Ezr 8:2–14; Ne 7:7–63).⁴ Genealogies were especially important in ancient Israel because the right to hold important offices was a hereditary privilege. For example, the priesthood was assured to the sons of Levi (Ex 6:16–26; Nu 3:10; 1Ch 6:1–53),⁵ while kingship was reserved for the descendants of Judah (Ge 49:10) and more specifically for the son of David (2Sa 7:12–16; Ps 89:29; Isa 9:7; 11:1–3).

The opening of the Gospel of Matthew in the Liesborn Gospels; Germany, tenth century A.D.

In the New Testament era certain genealogical records were stored in a public archive in the temple mount, while others were maintained by private families. Early Christian preaching radically redefined genealogical descent by considering all who identified with Jesus as true, legal descendants of Abraham, “heirs according to the promise” (Gal 3:29; cf. Mt 3:9; Jn 8:33, 39; Ro 4:16).⁶

The New Testament preserves two pertinent genealogical lists, both of which present the human ancestry of Jesus as the son of David (Mt 1:1–17; Lk 3:23–38). The two listings are different, and the reasons for this variation have been extensively debated. It may be that the register in Luke preserves the biological family tree of Joseph, while that in Matthew records the legal line of descent that authenticated Joseph’s (and Jesus’) claim to David’s throne. Others suggest that the genealogy in Matthew is Joseph’s, while the one in Luke is Mary’s.

1. See also “The Sumerian King List.”

2. See also “The Rights of the Firstborn” and “Levirate Marriage.”

3. See Glossary for definitions of bolded words.

4. See “The Postexilic Period of the Old Testament: The Persian Period.”

5. See “The Levites and the Priests.”

6. See “Adoption in the Roman World.”

²Abraham was the father of Isaac,^†

Isaac the father of Jacob,^†

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,^†

³Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,^†

Perez the father of Hezron,

Hezron the father of Ram,

⁴Ram the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,

⁵Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

Obed the father of Jesse,

⁶and Jesse the father of King David.^†

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,^†

⁷Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

Abijah the father of Asa,

⁸Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

⁹Uzziah the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

¹⁰Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,^†

Manasseh the father of Amon,

Amon the father of Josiah,

¹¹and Josiah the father of Jeconiah^[1] and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.^†

¹²After the exile to Babylon:

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,^†

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,^†

¹³Zerubbabel the father of Abiud,

Abiud the father of Eliakim,

Eliakim the father of Azor,

¹⁴Azor the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Akim,

Akim the father of Eliud,

¹⁵Eliud the father of Eleazar,

Eleazar the father of Matthan,

Matthan the father of Jacob,

¹⁶and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary,^† of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.^†

¹⁷Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.^[2]

The Birth of Jesus Christ

¹⁸This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.^† ¹⁹Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce^† her quietly.

²⁰But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,^[3] ^† because he will save his people from their sins.”^†

²²All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”^[4] ^†—which means, “God with us.”

²⁴When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.^†

Matthew 2

The Visit of the Magi

¹After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea,^† during the time of King Herod,^† Magi^[5] from the east came to Jerusalem ²and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?^† We saw his star^† in the east^[6] and have come to worship him.”

³When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ^[7] was to be born. ⁵“In Bethlehem ^† in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

⁶“ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for out of you will come a ruler

who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’^[8] ”^†

⁷Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

⁹After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east ^[9] went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.^† Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts^† of gold and of incense and of myrrh. ¹²And having been warned^† in a dream^† not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

The Escape to Egypt

¹³When they had gone, an angel^† of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.^† “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

¹⁴So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, ¹⁵where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”^[10] ^†

¹⁶When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. ¹⁷Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

¹⁸“A voice is heard in Ramah,

weeping and great mourning,

Rachel weeping for her children

and refusing to be comforted,

because they are no more.”^[11] ^†

The Return to Nazareth

¹⁹After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream^† to Joseph in Egypt ²⁰and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”

²¹So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. ²²But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream,^† he withdrew to the district of Galilee,^† ²³and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth.^† So was fulfilled^† what was said through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”^†

Matthew 3

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

¹In those days John the Baptist^† came, preaching in the Desert of Judea ²and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven ^† is near.” ³This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

Baptism in the Ancient World

Matthew 3 Ritual immersion in water, or baptism, represented a powerful and frequently used religious symbol in ancient Judaism.¹ This sacramental ceremony was enacted to symbolize purification and the removal of sin or was sometimes used as an initiation rite to consecrate a change of status or a conversion.

• In the Old Testament, rites of immersion were associated with maintaining ritual purity, especially for priests (Lev 15; 16:4, 24).²

• During the New Testament period, water itself and immersion in water functioned as the primary means by which ritual impurity was removed within Pharisaic Judaism (Mt 15:2; Jn 2:6).³

• Baptism was practiced by the Essene community at Qumran as a symbolic act by which one was “made holy by the waters of repentance” (1QS 3:9).⁴

• During the first century A.D. certain groups within Judaism began to practice proselyte baptism, a rite that required converts, in addition to male circumcision, to undergo immersion in a ritual bath prior to their full reception into the community.⁵

• Purification through immersion in ritual baths was required for all Jews in order to preserve that state of purity without which they could neither enter the temple nor participate in its services during major festivals (Nu 9:10; Jn 11:55; Ac 21:24–27; Josephus, Wars, 1.11.6).⁶

• A number of Jewish ritual baths, or miqvaot (singular mikveh), have been excavated in Jerusalem, Jericho and elsewhere. By rabbinical law these had to hold at least 60 gallons (227 l) of water and be deep enough to completely immerse the body.

Within emerging Christianity the rite of baptism acquired fundamental importance. Baptism in water defined the central symbolic act required by John in the course of his preparatory preaching in the wilderness (Mt 3; Mk 1:4). It is precisely this act for which he was divinely commissioned and later received the epithet “the Baptist” (Mt 3:1; Josephus, Antiquities, 18.5.2). John summoned his hearers to be baptized in light of the imminent advent of God’s judgment upon the earth (Mt 3:5–6; Lk 3:17). His baptism thus evoked prophetic images of cleansing with water for forgiveness, purification and the repentance that would characterize the Messianic age (Jer 31; Eze 36:25; Zec 13:1).

A Jewish ritual bath or “mikveh”

Preserving Bible Times; © Dr. James C. Martin

The Gospels present the baptism of John as a necessary precursor to the public ministry of Jesus, who would baptize “with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Mt 3:11; see Mk 1:8; Jn 1:33). The risen Jesus sanctioned this sacramental act as an important aspect of conversion, requiring baptism “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 28:19). Other New Testament texts record slight variations in the wording of the baptismal formula, such as “in the name of Jesus Christ” (Ac 2:38; 10:48), “into the name of the Lord Jesus” (Ac 8:16; 19:5) or simply “into Christ” (Gal 3:27). The place of baptism within early Christianity occasioned sustained reflection by various New Testament authors upon the meaning of this symbolic act. Within the New Testament canon baptism is viewed as the symbolic identification of the believer with the death and resurrection of Jesus (Ro 6; Col 2:12), through which the believer becomes “clothed … with Christ” (Gal 3:27), as well as a clear expression of repentance before God (1Pe 3:21).⁷

1. See “Bathing.”

2. See “Ritual Purity in Israel and the Ancient Near East.”

3. See “The Pharisees.”

5. See “Proselytes in Second Temple Judaism.”

7. See also “Baptism for the Dead.”

“A voice of one calling in the desert,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,

make straight paths for him.’ ”^[12] ^†

⁴John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist.^† His food was locusts^† and wild honey. ⁵People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. ⁶Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

⁷But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers!^† Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?^† ⁸Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.^† ⁹And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.^†

¹¹“I baptize you with^[13] water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit^† and with fire.^† ¹²His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”^†

The Baptism of Jesus

¹³Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.^† ¹⁴But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

¹⁵Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

¹⁶As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God^† descending like a dove and lighting on him. ¹⁷And a voice from heaven ^† said, “This is my Son,^† whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”^†

Matthew 4

The Temptation of Jesus

¹Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. ²After fasting forty days and forty nights,^† he was hungry. ³The tempter ^† came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God,^† tell these stones to become bread.”

⁴Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’^[14] ”^†

⁵Then the devil took him to the holy city^† and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ⁶“If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,

and they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’^[15] ”^†

⁷Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’^[16] ”^†

⁸Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹“All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

¹⁰Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan!^† For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’^[17] ”^†

¹¹Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.^†

Jesus Begins to Preach

¹²When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison,^† he returned to Galilee.^† ¹³Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum,^† which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— ¹⁴to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:

¹⁵“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,

the way to the sea, along the Jordan,

Galilee of the Gentiles—

¹⁶the people living in darkness

have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of the shadow of death

a light has dawned.”^[18] ^†

¹⁷From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven^† is near.”

The Calling of the First Disciples

¹⁸As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee,^† he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter^† and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ¹⁹“Come, follow me,”^† Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” ²⁰At once they left their nets and followed him.

²¹Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John.^† They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, ²²and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus Heals the Sick

²³Jesus went throughout Galilee,^† teaching in their synagogues,^† preaching the good news^† of the kingdom,^† and healing every disease and sickness among the people.^† ²⁴News about him spread all over Syria,^† and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed,^† those having seizures,^† and the paralyzed,^† and he healed them. ²⁵Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis,^[19] Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.^†

Matthew 5

The Beatitudes

¹Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ²and he began to teach them, saying:

The Pharisees

Matthew 5 The Pharisees were an influential political and religious sect during the Second Temple period.¹ During this time of increasing foreign influence, they promoted the faithful observance of Jewish law at both a national and an individual level. The exact meaning of the term Pharisee remains uncertain. The noun derives from the Hebrew verb meaning “to separate” or “to distinguish.” The title appears to have been applied originally in a negative sense when the Pharisees were expelled from membership in the Sanhedrin under John Hyrcanus (135–104 B.C.), though it was later understood in a positive sense either as “those who separated themselves” from all sources of ritual uncleanness (see Mk 7:1–23; Gal 2:12–13) or “those who interpreted the law precisely” (see Ac 22:3; 26:5; Josephus’s Antiquities, 17.2.4).

The Pharisees believed that God was the sovereign Creator, who expressed his will to humanity through Scripture. Moreover, he granted humanity the gifts of responsible moral choice and reason in order to apply the Scriptures to this life in preparation for the resurrection, judgment and the life to come (cf. Ac 23:6–8). Members of this sect carefully observed the Mosaic Law, systematically interpreting and adapting it to the conditions of their own time in order to maintain a sense of purity among the populace (Mt 23:2–3). This system of interpretation and way of life were transmitted by generations of teachers and became known variously as the oral law, the tradition of the elders (Mk 7:3–5; Gal 1:14), the works of the law (Ro 3:20–28; Gal 2:16–3:10) or simply the Halakhah (from a Hebrew word meaning “walk”; Halakhah is traditional Jewish teaching that governs behavior and religious practice).

The Pharisees saw themselves as the heirs of a vast body of interpretative tradition that enabled them to function as reliable guides for the Jewish people during a tumultuous era (Ro 2:17–20). Although some Pharisees came to believe in Jesus as the Christ (Ac 15:5; Php 3:4–11), the majority justified their opposition to him on the grounds that Jesus ostensibly taught on his own authority (Mt 7:29; Jn 3:1–3; 8:13), as well as on the basis of his interpretations of various issues that were of vital concern to them.

Jesus criticized the Pharisees on the grounds that, for all of their commendable observance of rules and traditions, they were fundamentally unrepentant, neither knowing God nor loving people (Mt 23).

1. See “The Intertestamental Period” and “The Jewish Priesthood and Religious Life in the First Century A.D..”

³“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.^†

⁴Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.^†

⁵Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.^†

⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.^†

⁷Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

⁸Blessed are the pure in heart,^†

for they will see God.^†

⁹Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called sons of God.^†

¹⁰Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,^†

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹“Blessed are you when people insult you,^† persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹²Rejoice and be glad,^† because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.^†

Salt and Light

¹³“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.^†

¹⁴“You are the light of the world.^† A city on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.^† ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise ^† your Father in heaven.

The Fulfillment of the Law

¹⁷“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.^† ¹⁸I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.^† ¹⁹Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments ^† and teaches others to do the same 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. ²⁰For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Murder

²¹“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder,^[20] ^† and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ ²²But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother^[21] will be subject to judgment.^† Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,^[22] ’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin.^† But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.^†

²³“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

²⁵“Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. ²⁶I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.^[23]

Adultery

²⁷“You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’^[24] ^† ²⁸But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.^† ²⁹If your right eye causes you to sin,^† gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Divorce

³¹“It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’^[25] ^† ³²But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.^†

Oaths

³³“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath,^† but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’^† ³⁴But I tell you, Do not swear at all:^† either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;^† ³⁵or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.^† ³⁶And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. ³⁷Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’;^† anything beyond this comes from the evil one.^†

An Eye for an Eye

³⁸“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’^[26] ^† ³⁹But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.^† ⁴⁰And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. ⁴¹If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. ⁴²Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.^†

Love for Enemies

⁴³“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor^[27] ^† and hate your enemy.’^† ⁴⁴But I tell you: Love your enemies ^[28] and pray for those who persecute you,^† ⁴⁵that you may be sons ^† of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.^† ⁴⁶If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?^† Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.^†

Matthew 6

Giving to the Needy

¹“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them.^† If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

Fasting in the Bible and the Ancient Near East

Matthew 6 Fasting in the Old Testament

While the Day of Atonement was the only required day of fasting in the Old Testament,¹ there were occasions throughout the year for voluntary fasting. Rather than avoiding specific foods, fasting usually involved abstinence from all food for a predetermined period of time. It was always accompanied by prayer and was used to express grief, penitence or humble devotion to God. Fasting was encouraged at times of national crisis as an indication that Israel or Judah was wholeheartedly dedicated to the Lord (Jdg 20:26; Joel 1:14). Individuals in particular distress also fasted (1Sa 1:7; 2Sa 12:22). The duration of a given fast ranged from several hours to as long as 40 days. After the exile there were at least four commonly practiced periods of fasting (Zec 8:19). For example, a tradition began of fasting on the ninth of Ab (the fifth month, spanning our July and August). This fast was intended to commemorate the destruction of the Jerusalem temple, and it became customary to read Lamentations on that day.²

Fasting in Pagan Religion

Fasting was also practiced in some forms of Greek pagan religion. One of the initiatory rites of the Eleusinian mystery religion involved a fast, and the cults of Isis and Cybele also entailed some fasting. Abstinence from food, as well as sexual abstinence, was often thought to be a necessary preparation before undergoing a ritual. The Greeks rarely practiced lengthy fasts, but many cults had a number of taboos involving food (the Pythagoreans, e.g., were vegetarian).³

Fasting in the New Testament and the Church

Fasting remained common throughout the New Testament era. The Pharisees fasted twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays (Lk 18:12).⁴ Jesus, the disciples of John the Baptist and Paul practiced substantial fasts as well. Matthew 6:16–18 indicates that fasting remains a legitimate form of worship for Christians. During the first few centuries of the Christian church a theology of asceticism with heroic acts of prolonged fasting arose. But Jesus’ words also provide a reminder that true fasting is directed toward God, not toward impressing others. Like the prophets before him (Isa 58:1–12; Jer 14:10–12; Zec 7), Jesus proclaimed that true fasting is an indication of the heart’s inclination toward God.

1. See “The Day of Atonement.”

3. For more information on pagan religion, see “The Gods of the Greeks and Romans” and “The Mystery Religions.”

4. See “The Pharisees.”

²“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. ³But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.^†

Prayer

⁵“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing^† in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. ⁶But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father,^† who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ⁷And when you pray, do not keep on babbling ^† like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.^† ⁸Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need ^† before you ask him.

⁹“This, then, is how you should pray:

“ ‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

¹⁰your kingdom^† come,

your will be done^†

on earth as it is in heaven.

¹¹Give us today our daily bread.^†

¹²Forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.^†

¹³And lead us not into temptation,^†

but deliver us from the evil one.^[29] ’^†

¹⁴For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.^† ¹⁵But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.^†

Fasting

¹⁶“When you fast, do not look somber^† as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. ¹⁷But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.^†

Treasures in Heaven

¹⁹“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,^† where moth and rust destroy,^† and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,^† where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.^† ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.^†

²²“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. ²³But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

²⁴“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.^†

Do Not Worry

²⁵“Therefore I tell you, do not worry^† about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.^† Are you not much more valuable than they?^† ²⁷Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life ^[30]? ^†

²⁸“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor ^† was dressed like one of these. ³⁰If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?^† ³¹So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³²For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.^† ³³But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.^† ³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 7

Judging Others

¹“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.^† ²For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.^†

³“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

⁶“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

Ask, Seek, Knock

⁷“Ask and it will be given to you;^† seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds;^† and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

⁹“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! ¹²So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you,^† for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.^†

The Narrow and Wide Gates

¹³“Enter through the narrow gate.^† For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

A Tree and Its Fruit

¹⁵“Watch out for false prophets.^† They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.^† ¹⁶By their fruit you will recognize them.^† Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?^† ¹⁷Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.^† ²⁰Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

²¹“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’^† will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.^† ²²Many will say to me on that day,^† ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’^† ²³Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’^†

The Wise and Foolish Builders

²⁴“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice^† is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

²⁸When Jesus had finished saying these things,^† the crowds were amazed at his teaching,^† ²⁹because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

Matthew 8

The Man With Leprosy

¹When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. ²A man with leprosy^[31] ^† came and knelt before him^† and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

Demons and the Bible

Matthew 8 Many readers assume that the belief in demons attested in the New Testament is simply a function of its authors’ sharing in the superstitious beliefs and practices of all ancient peoples. The question of the reality of demons, of course, cannot be settled by archaeology. Researchers can demonstrate, however, that the notion that the New Testament writers simply shared the prescientific views of their contemporaries is simplistic and misleading.

Demons in the Ancient Near East

Ancient Near Eastern society was awash in texts containing magical incantations and amulets intended to protect people from evil spirits (spells for defense against demons are called “apotropaic spells”). For example, one of the feared demons of Neo-Assyrian times was the lion-headed female figure Lamashtu, who was thought especially to attack pregnant women and babies. For protection women wore a necklace with a pendant of the god Pazuzu. An enormous number of apotropaic spells have survived from Babylonia, employing magical words and rituals involving plants, animal parts and other sacred objects.¹ Even today in the eastern Mediterranean it is not uncommon to see amulets intended to ward off the “evil eye.”

Demons in Nonbiblical Jewish Literature

Ancient Jewish literature was also fascinated with magic as a means of dealing with demons. The Apocryphal book of Tobit tells the story of one “Sarah, daughter of Raguel,” who had been married—and widowed on her wedding night through the intervention of the demon Asmodeus—seven times. Meanwhile Tobias, the son of the blind Tobit, journeyed to Media, where Sarah lived, traveling in the company of a man who turned out to be the angel Raphael. While Tobias was sitting by the Tigris River a fish tried to eat his foot. Raphael instructed Tobias to seize the fish and extract its gall, heart and liver. If he would burn the heart and liver in the presence of an individual afflicted by a demon, that person would be delivered. Arriving in Media, Raphael informed Tobias that he was to marry Sarah but that he could thwart the demon, Asmodeus, by burning the fish’s liver and heart when he went in to her. Tobias safely took Sarah as his wife, after which he used the fish gall to cure his father’s blindness.

The Testimony of Solomon further illustrates the widespread belief in apotropaic magic. This is a pseudepigraphical work (one that falsely claims to have been written by a famous person of the Old Testament) attributed to Solomon. In this work Solomon received a powerful ring from the angel Michael. With it he could imprison or control demons and deliver people from affliction. For example, Solomon forced the demon Lix Tetrax to help build the temple by hurling stones up to the workers.

Demons in the Old Testament

The Old Testament is remarkably reticent about evil spirits, so much so that it seems to have no developed demonology. Even so, three facts stand out:

• There are no incantations, rituals or amulets prescribed for giving an individual protection from spirits. Considering how much of the Torah is devoted to ritual and to sacred objects, this is a remarkable omission.

• God is said to have complete authority over the spirits, which cannot operate in the world without his approval. If a “lying spirit” goes out, it is only with divine consent (1Ki 22:23; cf. Job 1–2).

• The main concern of the Old Testament writers was that people avoid seeking to avail themselves of magical powers through contact with spirits (e.g., Dt 18:10–12).

Demons in the New Testament

The New Testament demonstrates two realities about evil spirits:

• Jesus alone (Lk 4:41) has absolute power over them, but this was a matter of divine authority, not magic or sorcery.

• The New Testament mocks the claims of magicians by describing their inability to deal with real spirits. The failed efforts of Simon the sorcerer (Ac 8:9–24) and the sons of Sceva (Ac 19:14–16) to obtain apostolic authority illustrates the point that the miracles of the New Testament had nothing in common with ancient magic.²

Jesus had no use for demonic spirits and did not seek to employ them to do his bidding.

Hand inscription as an amulet to ward off evil

1. For Ancient Near Eastern examples, see “A Hittite Ritual Against Plague” and “A Pagan’s Prayer of Thanks.”

2. See “Miracle Workers and Magicians in the First Century A.D.” and “Magic in the Greco-Roman World.”

³Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cured^[32] of his leprosy. ⁴Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone.^† But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded,^† as a testimony to them.”

The Faith of the Centurion

⁵When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. ⁶“Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.”

⁷Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.”

⁸The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.^† ⁹For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

¹⁰When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.^† ¹¹I say to you that many will come from the east and the west,^† and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.^† ¹²But the subjects of the kingdom^† will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”^†

¹³Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.”^† And his servant was healed at that very hour.

Jesus Heals Many

¹⁴When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. ¹⁵He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.

¹⁶When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.^† ¹⁷This was to fulfill ^† what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

“He took up our infirmities

and carried our diseases.”^[33] ^†

The Cost of Following Jesus

¹⁸When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.^† ¹⁹Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

²⁰Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man ^† has no place to lay his head.”

²¹Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

²²But Jesus told him, “Follow me,^† and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Jesus Calms the Storm

²³Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. ²⁴Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

²⁶He replied, “You of little faith,^† why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.^†

²⁷The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

The Healing of Two Demon-possessed Men

²⁸When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes,^[34] two demon-possessed^† men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. ²⁹“What do you want with us,^† Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”^†

³⁰Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. ³¹The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

³²He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. ³³Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. ³⁴Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.^†

Matthew 9

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

¹Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town.^† ²Some men brought to him a paralytic,^† lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith,^† he said to the paralytic, “Take heart,^† son; your sins are forgiven.”^†

Ancient Voices

And he explained the matter (of Tobias’ desire to marry Sarah)^* to Raguel, and Raguel said to Tobias, “Eat and drink, and be merry tonight. For it is fitting that you should marry my child. I must, however, explain to you the true situation. I have given her to seven men, and they died during the night when they went in to her. But for now, be merry.” But Tobias said, “I will not taste anything here until you settle matters with me.” And Raguel said, “Receive her from this moment in accordance with your decision. You are her relative, and she is yours. May God, the Merciful, guide and prosper you most wonderfully.” Then Raguel called for his daughter Sarah, and he took her hand and presented her to Tobias as his wife. And he said, “Now in accordance with the Law of Moses receive her, and go to your father.” And he blessed them. Then he called for Edna his wife; he then took a scroll and wrote out a marriage certificate and sealed it. Then they began their dinner. Raguel then addressed his wife Edna and said to her, “Dear, prepare the other room, and take her there.” And she did as he said and took her there; and she wept. Then she wiped away the tears of her daughter and said to her, “Take courage, child! May the Lord of heaven and earth give you joy instead of this grief. Take courage, child!” When they had finished dining they took Tobias to her. As he went in, Tobias remembered the words of Raphael, and he took some incense embers and placed the fish’s heart and liver on them so that it produced smoke. When the demon smelled the fragrance he fled to remotest Upper Egypt, and the angel Raphael tied him up.

* Words in parentheses added by translator where text has gaps

—Tobias Takes Sarah as His Wife and Thwarts a Demon, According to the Book of Tobit

From Tobit 7:10–8:3 (Rahlfs’ Septuagint), trans. by Duane Garrett

See “Demons and the Bible” article.

Jewish Meals and Meal Customs

Matthew 9

The Origin of New Testament Dietary Practices

The references to dining and meals in the New Testament, and especially in the Gospels, combine features of Greco-Roman practice with Jewish religious tradition. From Greco-Roman customs we see the following:

• Communal meals, or banquets, provided an important social and religious venue for defining and experiencing fellowship (Mt 9:10; 11:19).

• The meal was followed by a period of music or extended conversation.

• The normal posture for eating was reclining on one’s side (Lk 7:36; 22:14).

The majority of the dietary practices we see in the Gospels, however, were derived from Judaism. From Jewish religious teachings we see the following:

• The holiness of meals within Judaism was extended through interpretation to the complex system of the kosher laws.

Acceptable animals were those that both chewed the cud and had cloven hoofs.

Fish possessing scales and fins, as well as certain types of birds, were also permitted.

The Bible prohibited certain types of food deemed to be pagan or acquired by cruel means. This included the consumption of meat taken from a still living animal or from one found dead, the drinking of blood or the boiling of a kid in its mother’s milk.

• The Biblical injunction against fellowship with sinners (Ps 1:1; Pr 13:20; 14:7) was developed in Jewish tradition as a warning against improper or excessively intimate association with the wicked, especially at mealtimes (1Co 15:33; Sir 6:7–12; 12:13–18).¹

• The demands of the Levitical system of dietary purity greatly restricted the possibility of shared meals between Jews and Gentiles (Ac 10:28; Gal 2:12).

• The Pharisees, known for their exacting interpretation of Scripture, applied the even higher purity restrictions of the temple to their own table fellowship.² In this way they attempted to eat their meals in a state of ritual purity appropriate for priests as a way of sanctifying all of life to God.³

The Significance of the New Testament Dietary Practices

Interpreters have given a variety of explanations for Jewish dietary laws.⁴ Some contend that they were primarily intended for hygiene and good health, while others argue that the avoidance of idolatrous practices was the main reason for kosher laws. Still others simply suggest that these laws functioned as an artificial boundary to remind Jews that they were different from Gentiles. Most Jews seem to have believed these elaborate restrictions to have been a concrete, daily expression of holiness (Lev 11:44–45), which was also expressed in Jewish meals through the act of tithing all means of sustenance, the recitation of blessings before and after each meal (Dt 8:10; Jn 6:11; 1Co 11:24) and the marking of each festival on the liturgical calendar through the eating of distinctive foods prepared in a distinctive manner.⁵

The observance of the dietary laws acquired new significance during the Maccabean era when “many in Israel stood firm and were resolved in their hearts not to eat unclean food. They chose to die rather than to be defiled by food or to profane the holy covenant” (1Mc 1:62–63).⁶ This historical reality, together with inherited prophetic imagery, led to the notion of a great Messianic banquet in which the righteous would enjoy the hospitality of God in the age to come (Isa 25:6–8; Mt 22:1–10; Rev 19:9–17).

1. Sirach is an Apocryphal book.

2. See “The Pharisees.”

3. See “Ritual Purity in Israel and the Ancient Near East” and “The Jewish Priesthood and Religious Life in the First Century A.D..”

4. See “Clean and Unclean Foods in the Bible and the Ancient Near East.”

5. See “The Festivals of Israel.”

6. First Maccabees is an Apocryphal book.

Book	Reference	Subject or Message
Isaiah	55:6–7	Seek the Lord
Jeremiah	31:31–33	New covenant
Lamentations	3:22–23	God’s faithfulness
Ezekiel	36:22–23	Holiness of God
Daniel	4:34–35	Sovereignty of God
Hosea	10:1–2	Israel’s faithlessness
Joel	2:28–32	Day of the Lord
Amos	5:14–15	Call to return
Obadiah	v. 15	God’s judgment on nations
Jonah	3:10	God’s mercy
Micah	3:8–12	Role of the prophet
Nahum	1:15	Future deliverance
Habakkuk	3:16–18	Submission to God’s plan and timing
Zephaniah	3:11–13	Restoration of remnant
Haggai	1:8	Rebuild the temple
Zechariah	1:14–17	God’s continued concern for Jerusalem
Malachi	3:1–3	Purification to come