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Matthew 5:21-48
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

Concerning Anger

21 “You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother[a] shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults[b] his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be liable to the hell[c] of fire. 23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; 26 truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny.

Concerning Adultery

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.[d][e] 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.[f]

Concerning Divorce

31 “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that every one who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity,[g] makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Concerning Oaths

33 “Again you have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34 But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.[h]

Concerning Retaliation

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; 40 and if any one would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; 41 and if any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to him who begs from you, and do not refuse him who would borrow from you.

Love for Enemies

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 5:22 Other ancient authorities insert without cause
  2. Matthew 5:22 Greek says Raca to (an obscure term of abuse)
  3. Matthew 5:22 Greek Gehenna
  4. Matthew 5:29 Greek Gehenna
  5. 5.29 An exaggeration to emphasize the need to avoid occasions of sin.
  6. Matthew 5:30 Greek Gehenna
  7. 5.32 unchastity: The Greek word used here appears to refer to marriages that were not legally marriages because they were either within the forbidden degrees of consanguinity (Lev 18.6-16) or contracted with a Gentile. The phrase except on the ground of unchastity does not occur in the parallel passage in Lk 16.18. See also Mt 19.9 (Mk 10.11-12), and especially 1 Cor 7.10-11 which shows that the prohibition is unconditional.
  8. Matthew 5:37 Or the evil one
Listen to Matthew 5:21-48
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Matthew 5:21-48
New International Version

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)

Oaths

33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath,(M) but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’(N) 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all:(O) either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;(P) 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.(Q) 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’;(R) anything beyond this comes from the evil one.[g](S)

Eye for Eye

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’[h](T) 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.(U) 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.(V)

Love for Enemies

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[i](W) and hate your enemy.’(X) 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,(Y) 45 that you may be children(Z) 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.(AA) 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?(AB) 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.(AC)

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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
  7. Matthew 5:37 Or from evil
  8. Matthew 5:38 Exodus 21:24; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21
  9. Matthew 5:43 Lev. 19:18
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