Personal Relationships

21 (A)You have heard that [a]the ancients were told, ‘(B)You shall not murder,’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be answerable to (C)the court.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be answerable to (D)the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘[b]You good-for-nothing,’ shall be answerable to [c](E)the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the [d](F)fiery hell. 23 Therefore, if you are (G)presenting your [e]offering at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your [f]offering there before the altar and go; first be (H)reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your [g]offering. 25 (I)[h]Come to good terms with your accuser quickly, while you are with him on the way to court, so that your accuser will not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you will not be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I say to you, (J)you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last [i]quadrans.

27 (K)You have heard that it was said, ‘(L)You shall not commit adultery’; 28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman (M)with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 Now (N)if your right eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, [j]than for your whole body to be thrown into [k](O)hell. 30 And (P)if your right hand is causing you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you; for it is better for you [l]to lose one of the parts of your body, [m]than for your whole body to go into [n](Q)hell.

31 “Now it was said, ‘(R)Whoever sends his wife away is to give her a certificate of divorce’; 32 (S)but I say to you that everyone who [o]divorces his wife, except for the reason of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a [p]divorced woman commits adultery.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 5:21 Lit it was said to the ancients
  2. Matthew 5:22 Or You empty-head; Gr Raka (Raca) from Aramaic reqa
  3. Matthew 5:22 Lit the Sanhedrin; i.e., Jewish High Court
  4. Matthew 5:22 Lit Gehenna of fire
  5. Matthew 5:23 Or gift
  6. Matthew 5:24 Or gift
  7. Matthew 5:24 Or gift
  8. Matthew 5:25 I.e., settle the case
  9. Matthew 5:26 A small Roman copper coin, worth about 1/64 of a laborer’s daily wage
  10. Matthew 5:29 Lit and that your whole body not be
  11. Matthew 5:29 Gr Gehenna
  12. Matthew 5:30 Lit that one...be lost
  13. Matthew 5:30 Lit and not your whole body
  14. Matthew 5:30 Gr Gehenna
  15. Matthew 5:32 Lit sends away, the Heb term for divorce
  16. Matthew 5:32 Lit woman sent away

Murder(A)

21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder,[a](B) and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry(C) with a brother or sister[b][c] will be subject to judgment.(D) Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’[d] is answerable to the court.(E) And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.(F)

23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

Adultery

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’[e](G) 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.(H) 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble,(I) gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble,(J) cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Divorce

31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’[f](K) 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.(L)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 5:21 Exodus 20:13
  2. Matthew 5:22 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a fellow disciple, whether man or woman; also in verse 23.
  3. Matthew 5:22 Some manuscripts brother or sister without cause
  4. Matthew 5:22 An Aramaic term of contempt
  5. Matthew 5:27 Exodus 20:14
  6. Matthew 5:31 Deut. 24:1