And He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,
Parallel translations
- WEB He opened his mouth and taught them, saying,
- KJV And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
- BSB and He began to teach them, saying:
- NKJV Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
- NLT and he began to teach them.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus opens His mouth and begins to teach. It solemnly introduces the words of the great sermon to follow.
Overview
The phrase marks the deliberate, weighty beginning of Jesus' formal instruction. As the divine Teacher, He speaks with an authority unlike the scribes. What follows describes the character, righteousness, and blessedness of those who belong to His kingdom.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Acts 8:35Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture, preached to him about Jesus.
- Luke 6:20–26He lifted up his eyes to his disciples, and said, “Blessed are you who are poor, God’s Kingdom is yours.
- Acts 10:34Peter opened his mouth and said, “Truly I perceive that God doesn’t show favoritism;
- Matt 13:35that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.”
- Prov 31:8–9Open your mouth for the mute, in the cause of all who are left desolate.
- Eph 6:19on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in opening my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the Good News,
- Prov 8:6Hear, for I will speak excellent things. The opening of my lips is for right things.
- Acts 18:14But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If indeed it were a matter of wrong or of wicked crime, you Jews, it would be reasonable that I should bear with you;
- Ps 78:1–2A contemplation by Asaph. Hear my teaching, my people. Turn your ears to the words of my mouth.
- Job 3:1After this Job opened his mouth, and cursed the day of his birth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 5:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.