World English Bible · Under Rome
Matthew 7
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"Don't judge, so that you won't be judged. For with whatever you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but don't consider the beam that is in your own eye? 4Or how will you tell your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye,' and behold, the beam is in your own eye? You ! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother's eye. "Don't give that which is to the dogs, neither throw your pearls before the pigs, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. "Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened. Or who is there among you who, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, who will give him a ? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your who is in give good things to those who ask him! Therefore, whatever you for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is and . "Enter in by the narrow ; for the is wide and is broad that leads to , and there are many who enter in by it. How narrow is the and is restricted that leads to life! There are few who find it. "Beware of false , who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do you gather grapes from or figs from ? Even so, every good tree produces good fruit, but the corrupt tree produces evil fruit. A good tree can't produce evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree produce good fruit. Every tree that doesn't grow good fruit is cut down and thrown into the . Therefore by their fruits you will know them. "Not everyone who says to me, ', ,' will enter into of , but he who does the will of who is in . Many will tell me in that day, ', , didn't we in your name, in your name , and in your name do many mighty works?' Then I will tell them, 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work .' "Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine and does them, I will liken him to a man who built his house on . The came down, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it didn't fall, for it was founded on . Everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn't do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The came down, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell—and its fall was great." When had finished saying these things, the were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them with , and not like the .
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
Christians read this chapter differently
- Can you know you are saved? · Matthew 7:21-23
Every view at its strongest, with who holds it and what it has to answer for.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.