Matthew 5:17-48
Legacy Standard Bible
17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the (A)Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I say to you, (B)until heaven and earth pass away, not [a]the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches [b]others to do the same, shall be called least (C)in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 “For I say to you that unless your (D)righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Personal Relationships
21 “(E)You have heard that [c]the ancients were told, ‘(F)You shall not murder’ and ‘Whoever murders shall be guilty before (G)the court.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before (H)the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘[d]Raca,’ shall be guilty before the [e](I)Sanhedrin; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the [f](J)fiery hell. 23 Therefore if you are (K)presenting your [g]offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your [h]offering there before the altar and go; first be (L)reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your [i]offering. 25 (M)Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I say to you, (N)you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last [j]quadrans.
27 “(O)You have heard that it was said, ‘(P)You shall not commit adultery’; 28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman (Q)to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 (R)But if your right eye makes you [k]stumble, tear it out and throw it 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 be thrown into [n](S)hell. 30 (T)And if your right hand makes you [o]stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you [p]to lose one of the parts of your body, [q]than for your whole body to go into [r](U)hell.
31 “Now it was said, ‘(V)Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’; 32 (W)but I say to you that everyone who [s]divorces his wife, except for the reason of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a [t]divorced woman commits adultery.
33 “Again, (X)you have heard that [u]the ancients were told, ‘[v](Y)You shall not [w]make false vows, but shall fulfill your [x]vows to the [y]Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, (Z)make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is (AA)the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is the (AB)footstool of His feet, or [z]by Jerusalem, for it is (AC)the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is [aa]of (AD)the evil one.
38 “(AE)You have heard that it was said, ‘(AF)An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but (AG)whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your [ab]tunic, let him have your [ac]garment also. 41 And whoever [ad]forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 (AH)Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.
43 “(AI)You have heard that it was said, ‘(AJ)You shall love your neighbor (AK)and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, (AL)love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may [ae]be (AM)sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For (AN)if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Therefore [af](AO)you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 5:18 Or one projection of a letter (serif); lit one iota (Heb yodh)
- Matthew 5:19 Gr anthropoi
- Matthew 5:21 Lit it was said to the ancients
- Matthew 5:22 Or empty-head; from Aram reqa
- Matthew 5:22 Or Council
- Matthew 5:22 Lit Gehenna of fire
- Matthew 5:23 Or gift
- Matthew 5:24 Or gift
- Matthew 5:24 Or gift
- Matthew 5:26 A Roman copper coin, approx. 1/64 of a laborer’s daily wage
- Matthew 5:29 Sin
- Matthew 5:29 Lit that one...be lost
- Matthew 5:29 Lit not your whole body
- Matthew 5:29 Gr Gehenna
- Matthew 5:30 Sin
- Matthew 5:30 Lit that one...be lost
- Matthew 5:30 Lit not your whole body
- Matthew 5:30 Gr Gehenna
- Matthew 5:32 Or sends away
- Matthew 5:32 Or sent away
- Matthew 5:33 Lit it was said to the ancients
- Matthew 5:33 you and your are singular here
- Matthew 5:33 Or break your vows
- Matthew 5:33 Lit oaths
- Matthew 5:33 In OT, Yahweh, cf. Deut 23:21
- Matthew 5:35 Or toward
- Matthew 5:37 Or from evil
- Matthew 5:40 A garment worn next to the body
- Matthew 5:40 An outer garment
- Matthew 5:41 Lit will force
- Matthew 5:45 Or show yourselves to be
- Matthew 5:48 Lit you shall be
Matthew 5:17-48
New International Version
The Fulfillment of the Law
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.(A) 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.(B) 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands(C) and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.(D)
Murder(E)
21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder,[a](F) and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry(G) with a brother or sister[b][c] will be subject to judgment.(H) Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’[d] is answerable to the court.(I) And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.(J)
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](K) 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.(L) 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble,(M) 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,(N) 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](O) 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.(P)
Oaths
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath,(Q) but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’(R) 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all:(S) either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;(T) 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.(U) 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’;(V) anything beyond this comes from the evil one.[g](W)
Eye for Eye
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’[h](X) 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.(Y) 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.(Z)
Love for Enemies
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[i](AA) and hate your enemy.’(AB) 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,(AC) 45 that you may be children(AD) of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.(AE) 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?(AF) Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.(AG)
Footnotes
- Matthew 5:21 Exodus 20:13
- 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.
- Matthew 5:22 Some manuscripts brother or sister without cause
- Matthew 5:22 An Aramaic term of contempt
- Matthew 5:27 Exodus 20:14
- Matthew 5:31 Deut. 24:1
- Matthew 5:37 Or from evil
- Matthew 5:38 Exodus 21:24; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21
- Matthew 5:43 Lev. 19:18
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