12 Rejoice and be glad,(A) because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.(B)

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46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?(A) Are not even the tax collectors doing that?

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Giving to the Needy

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.(A) If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

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“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 others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.

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so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.(A)

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But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father,(A) who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

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18 so that it will not be obvious to others 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.(A)

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40 “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me,(A) and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.(B) 41 Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”(C)

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Fasting

16 “When you fast,(A) do not look somber(B) as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.

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27 For the Son of Man(A) is going to come(B) in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.(C)

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The Parable of the Bags of Gold(A)

14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey,(B) who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,[a] each according to his ability.(C) Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.(D) 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.(E) Come and share your master’s happiness!’

22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.(F) Come and share your master’s happiness!’

24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.(G) 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’(H)

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 25:15 Greek five talents … two talents … one talent; also throughout this parable; a talent was worth about 20 years of a day laborer’s wage.

The Sheep and the Goats

31 “When the Son of Man comes(A) in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.(B) 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate(C) the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.(D) 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom(E) prepared for you since the creation of the world.(F) 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,(G) 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me,(H) I was sick and you looked after me,(I) I was in prison and you came to visit me.’(J)

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’(K)

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me,(L) you who are cursed, into the eternal fire(M) prepared for the devil and his angels.(N) 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’(O)

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.(P)(Q)

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41 Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.(A)

Causing to Stumble

42 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble,(B) it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.(C)

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20 Looking at his disciples, he said:

“Blessed are you who are poor,
    for yours is the kingdom of God.(A)
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
    for you will be satisfied.(B)
Blessed are you who weep now,
    for you will laugh.(C)
22 Blessed are you when people hate you,
    when they exclude you(D) and insult you(E)
    and reject your name as evil,
        because of the Son of Man.(F)

23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy,(G) because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.(H)

24 “But woe to you who are rich,(I)
    for you have already received your comfort.(J)
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
    for you will go hungry.(K)
Woe to you who laugh now,
    for you will mourn and weep.(L)
26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
    for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.(M)

Love for Enemies(N)

27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,(O) 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.(P) 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.(Q) 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.(R)

32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?(S) Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you?(T) Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them,(U) and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children(V) of the Most High,(W) because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful,(X) just as your Father(Y) is merciful.

Judging Others(Z)

37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged.(AA) Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.(AB) 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.(AC) For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”(AD)

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12 He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants(A) and gave them ten minas.[a] ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’

14 “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’

15 “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.

16 “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’

17 “‘Well done, my good servant!’(B) his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’(C)

18 “The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’

19 “His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’

20 “Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’(D)

22 “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words,(E) you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow?(F) 23 Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’

24 “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’

25 “‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’

26 “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away.(G) 27 But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 19:13 A mina was about three months’ wages.

For we are co-workers in God’s service;(A) you are God’s field,(B) God’s building.(C)

10 By the grace God has given me,(D) I laid a foundation(E) as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.(F) 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is,(G) because the Day(H) will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.(I) 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward.(J) 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.(K)

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10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us(A) for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

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because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do,(A) whether they are slave or free.

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23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance(A) from the Lord as a reward.(B) It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

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26 He regarded disgrace(A) for the sake of Christ(B) as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.(C)

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Epilogue: Invitation and Warning

12 “Look, I am coming soon!(A) My reward is with me,(B) and I will give to each person according to what they have done.(C)

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