7:1 “Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged.

7:2 For whatever judgment you make may be used to judge you, and whatever measurement you use will be used to measure you.

7:3 Why do you take note of the splinter in your brother or sister’s eye, while there is a whole plank of wood in your own eye?

7:4 How can you say to your sister or brother, ‘Here, let me get that splinter out of your eye’ while there’s a plank in your own eye?

7:5 Pedant! First get that plank out of your own eye so you can clearly see how to get the splinter out of your brother or sister’s eye.

7:6 “Don’t give what is holy to those dogs; stop throwing your pearls in front of hogs, who will just trample on them and then turn and attack you.

7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.

7:8 For all those who ask, receive; those who seek, find; to those who knock, the door will be opened.

7:9 After all, which of you would give your child a rock if they asked for bread?

7:10 Who would give them a snake if they asked for fish?

7:11 Now if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in the heavens give good things to those who ask him!

7:12 So to sum up, treat people the way you’d like them to treat you; this is what the Law and the Prophets are all about.

7:13 “Go in through the narrow gate. There are many who go through the wide gate and travel the multi-lane highway to ruin.

7:14 But the difficult road to life is through the narrow gate, and few find it.

7:15 “Beware of false prophets; they appear to be sheep, but on the inside they are ravenous wolves.

7:16 You can identify them by what they do: you don’t pick grapes from thorn bushes, and you don’t pick figs from thistles.

7:17 A good tree gives appealing fruit, but a rotten tree gives disgusting fruit,

7:18 and neither can produce the other’s fruit.

7:19 Trees that don’t make good fruit are chopped down and thrown into the fire.

7:20 So you can identify them by what they do.

7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Master, Master!’ will be admitted into the kingdom of the heavens, but only those who do what my Father in the heavens wants.

7:22 In that day, many will say to me, ‘Master, Master! Didn’t we prophesy in your name, and didn’t we throw out demons and perform many powerful deeds in your name?’

7:23 And I will have to reply, ‘I never knew you; get away from me, all you lawless people!’

7:24 “So then, everyone who hears what I say and does it, is like a wise man who built his house on rock.

7:25 The rain came down on it, the water rushed toward it, and the wind blew against it, but it could not be knocked over since it was founded on rock.

7:26 But the one who hears what I say yet doesn’t do it, is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.

7:27 The rain came, the water rushed, and the wind blew, pounding against that house. It fell, and what a huge crash it was!”

7:28 Now when Jesus had finished saying all these things, the crowd was awestruck by his teachings.

7:29 He taught with authority, not like their scripture scholars.