Book of Matthew (KJV)
The Gospel of Matthew opens the New Testament by presenting Jesus as the promised Messiah and King of Israel. Read all 28 chapters below in the King James Version, or jump straight to the Sermon on the Mount. Looking for a specific word or phrase? Search all three translations.
Read Matthew by Chapter
Key Verses in Matthew
Four verses carry the shape of the book: the blessing that opens the Sermon on the Mount, the call to seek the kingdom first, the Golden Rule, and the commission Jesus leaves with his disciples. Each links to its full chapter in the KJV.
The first of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12), which open the Sermon on the Mount by blessing the poor, the mourning, and the meek.
Matthew 5:3The heart of Jesus' teaching on anxiety and provision — put the kingdom first, and what you need will follow.
Matthew 6:33The Golden Rule, which Jesus calls a summary of the law and the prophets.
Matthew 7:12The Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20), the risen Christ's final charge, closing with the promise “lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
Matthew 28:19The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7)
The longest block of Jesus’ teaching in any gospel runs unbroken from Matthew 5:1 to Matthew 7:29. Read it in three sittings, one chapter at a time.
Matthew 5 — The Beatitudes and the law fulfilled
Jesus goes up into a mountain and blesses the poor in spirit, the meek, and the merciful. He calls his hearers salt and light, says he came not to destroy the law but to fulfil it, and presses each commandment inward — to anger, to lust, to the oath, to loving one's enemies.
Matthew 6 — The Lord's Prayer, giving, and worry
On alms, prayer, and fasting done in secret rather than to be seen of men. This chapter gives the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13), warns that no one can serve both God and mammon, and answers anxiety with the lilies of the field.
Matthew 7 — Judging, asking, and the two foundations
Judge not; ask, and it shall be given you; enter in at the strait gate. Jesus warns of false prophets known by their fruits and ends with the house built on rock and the house built on sand.
For the six lines of Matthew 6:9-13 on their own — with a verse-by-verse walkthrough and a printable copy — see the Lord’s Prayer.
About the Gospel of Matthew
Author.The gospel is traditionally attributed to Matthew, also called Levi — a tax collector at Capernaum whom Jesus called to follow him (Matthew 9:9) and who became one of the twelve apostles. The text never names its author outright.
Date. Matthew is most often dated to the second half of the first century, roughly AD 60 to 90. It stands first among the four gospels in the New Testament, though it was probably not the first to be written.
Themes. Matthew writes for readers who know the Hebrew scriptures, and his recurring note is fulfilment: the genealogy tracing Jesus to David and Abraham, the virgin birth of Matthew 1:23, and the phrase “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken.” The kingdom of heaven is his central subject. He gathers Jesus’ teaching into five great discourses — the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5–7), the mission of the twelve (10), the parables of the kingdom (13), life together in the church (18), and the last things (24–25) — before the passion narrative and the resurrection.
Recommended reading
Study Bibles & devotionals
Go deeper than a single verse. These study Bibles and daily devotionals pair well with the topics here — adding context, commentary, and a rhythm for daily reading.
ESV Study Bible
Crossway
Over 20,000 study notes, maps, and articles — the go-to one-volume study Bible for understanding scripture in context.
Life Application Study Bible (NIV)
Tyndale / Zondervan
Notes that connect each passage to everyday life — ideal alongside the topical verses on this page.
Jesus Calling
Sarah Young
A year of short daily devotions written as if Jesus is speaking — a gentle companion to daily scripture reading.
My Utmost for His Highest
Oswald Chambers
The classic daily devotional — 365 readings that have shaped Christian devotion for over a century.
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Keep Exploring
Explore the scriptures by subject on the Topics index, or keep reading the New Testament.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Gospel of Matthew about?
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised Messiah and King of Israel, the son of David and son of Abraham. It opens with his genealogy and birth, records his baptism and temptation, gathers his teaching into five great discourses — beginning with the Sermon on the Mount — and closes with his crucifixion, resurrection, and the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20. It is the first book of the New Testament and has 28 chapters.
Who wrote the Gospel of Matthew and when?
The gospel is traditionally attributed to Matthew, also called Levi, a tax collector whom Jesus called to be one of the twelve apostles (Matthew 9:9). The text itself does not name its author. Scholars commonly date its composition to the second half of the first century, roughly AD 60 to 90.
Where is the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew?
The Sermon on the Mount runs from Matthew 5:1 to Matthew 7:29 — three chapters of continuous teaching. It contains the Beatitudes (5:3-12), the salt and light sayings (5:13-16), the Lord's Prayer (6:9-13), the teaching on worry and the lilies of the field (6:25-34), the Golden Rule (7:12), and the parable of the wise and foolish builders (7:24-27).
Why does Matthew quote the Old Testament so often?
Matthew writes with a Jewish readership in view and repeatedly shows how events in Jesus' life fulfil what the prophets foretold, using a recurring formula — “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken.” The genealogy, the virgin birth (Matthew 1:23, citing Isaiah), the flight to Egypt, and the ministry in Galilee are all presented as the promised Messiah arriving exactly as Scripture said he would.