Luke 6:27-49 : Easy-to-Read Version
Love Your Enemies
27"I say to you people that are listening to me, love your enemies. Do good to those people that hate you. 28Ask God to bless those people that say bad things to you. Pray for those people that are mean to you. 29If a person hits you on the side of your face, let him hit the other side too. If a person takes your coat, don't stop him from taking your shirt too. 30Give to every person that asks you. When a person takes something that is yours, don't ask for it back. 31Do for other people what you want them to do for you. 32If you love only those people that love you, should you get some special praise for doing that? No! Even sinners love the people that love them! 33If you do good only to those people that do good to you, should you get some special praise for doing that? No! Even sinners do that! 34If you loan things to people, always hoping to get something back, should you get some special praise for that? No! Even sinners lend to other sinners so that they can get back the same amount! 35So love your enemies. Do good to them, and lend to them without hoping to get anything back. If you do these things, you will have a great reward. You will be children of the Most High (God). Yes, because God is good even to the people that are full of sin and not thankful. 36Give love and mercy the same as your Father gives love and mercy.
Look at Yourselves
37"Don't judge other people, and you will not be judged. Don't condemn (find guilty) other people, and you will not be condemned. Forgive other people, and you will be forgiven. 38Give to other people, and you will receive. You will be given much. It will be poured into your hands--more than you can hold. You will be given so much that it will spill into your lap. The way you give to other people is the way God will give to you." 39Jesus told them this story: "Can a blind man lead another blind man? No! Both of them will fall into a hole. 40A student is not better than his teacher. But when the student has fully learned, then he will be like his teacher. 41"Why do you notice the small piece of dust that is in your brother's eye, but you don't see the big piece of wood that is in your own eye? 42You say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take that little piece of dust out of your eye.' Why do you say this? You can't see that big piece of wood in your own eye! You are a hypocrite.* First, take the piece of wood out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly to take the dust out of your brother's eye.
Two Kinds of Fruit
43"A good tree does not give bad fruit. Also, a bad tree does not give good fruit. 44Each tree is known by the fruit it gives. People don't gather figs from thorny weeds. And they don't get grapes from bushes! 45A good person has good things saved in his heart. And so he brings good things out of his heart. But an evil person has evil things saved in his heart. So he brings out bad things. A person speaks the things that are in his heart.
Two Kinds of People
46"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' but you are not doing what I say? 47Every person that comes to me and listens to my words and obeys--I will show you what he is like: 48He is like a man building a house. He digs deep and builds his house on strong rock. The floods come, and the water tries to wash the house away. But the flood cannot move the house, because the house was built well (strong). 49But the person that hears my words and does not obey is like a man that does not build his house on strong rock. When the floods come, the house falls down easily. And the house is completely destroyed."
hypocrite A bad person that acts like he is good.