The scriptures of the world's religions, with a guide to every chapter

Judaism

Genesis 1

Light, Order and the Seventh Day

Genesis 1, the opening of Bereshit, tells of God creating heaven and earth through speech across six days, moving from light and sky to land, plants, creatures, and finally humankind, made in the divine image. Each stage is called good, and the seventh day is set apart. Jewish tradition treats this chapter as the foundation for Shabbat and for human dignity, and the opening of the weekly Torah cycle begins with the parashah Bereshit.

Christianity

Matthew 5

The Beatitudes and Love of Enemies

Matthew 5 begins the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes, blessings on the poor in spirit, mourners, the meek, peacemakers and the persecuted. Jesus calls his followers salt and light and says he came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. In a series of contrasts he deepens commands on murder, adultery, divorce, oaths and retaliation, teaching anger's danger, turning the other cheek, and love for enemies. Christians differ on how literally these demands apply.

Islam

Quran 1

The Opening Prayer

Al-Fatiha is a seven-verse Meccan prayer that opens the Quran: it praises God as Lord of the Worlds, the Merciful and the Master of the Day of Judgment, then asks to be guided on the straight path. Muslims recite it in every unit (rak'ah) of each daily prayer, so an observant Muslim says it at least seventeen times a day. It is also recited at weddings, funerals, and when beginning important undertakings.

Hinduism

Bhagavad Gita 2

The Deathless Self and Steady Wisdom

Chapter 2, Sankhya Yoga, is where Krishna's teaching begins, and it is often called a summary of the whole Gita. After Arjuna asks to be taught (2.7), Krishna says the true self is never born and never dies, passing from body to body as a person changes worn clothes (2.22). He urges Arjuna to do his duty as a warrior, to act without attachment to results (2.47), and closes with a portrait of the person of steady wisdom (2.55-72).

Taoism

Tao Te Ching 1

The Nameless Way

Chapter 1 opens the Tao Te Ching by warning that the Tao which can be spoken of or followed as a path is not the eternal Tao, and that any name given to it falls short. Nameless, it is the origin of heaven and earth; named, it is the mother of all things. The chapter links seeing its depths to freedom from desire and calls the shared source of both aspects the Mystery, the gateway to everything subtle.

Judaism

Psalm 23

The Shepherd and the Table

Psalm 23 is the best known of all the psalms, a song of trust in the LORD as shepherd. The shepherd leads the speaker to green pastures and still waters, restores the soul and guides in straight paths. Even in the valley of deepest shadow, the speaker fears no evil because God is present with rod and staff. The psalm ends with a table prepared before enemies and with goodness and mercy following all the days of life, dwelling in the house of the LORD.

Christianity

1 Corinthians 13

The Way of Love

1 Corinthians 13 is Paul's hymn to love, called charity in the KJV. Without love, he says, tongues of men and angels, prophecy, knowledge, faith that moves mountains and even giving one's body to be burned amount to nothing. Love is patient and kind, not envious, proud or self-seeking, and it bears, believes, hopes and endures all things. Prophecy and knowledge will pass, since now we see through a glass darkly, but faith, hope and love remain, and love is the greatest.

Islam

Quran 112

The Declaration of God's Oneness

Al-Ikhlas is a four-verse surah that states the Islamic doctrine of God's absolute oneness (tawhid): God is One, the eternal refuge of all, neither begetting nor begotten, with nothing comparable to Him. Most scholars count it as Meccan, though some reports place it in Medina. Muslims recite it often in daily prayers and, together with the two surahs of refuge, in morning and evening remembrance and before sleep.