Matthew 5:21-37

New English Translation

Anger and Murder

²¹“You have heard that it was said to an older generation,^[a] ‘Do not murder,’^[b] and ‘whoever murders will be subjected to judgment.’^[c] ²²But I say to you that anyone who is angry with a brother^[d] will be subjected to judgment. And whoever insults^[e] a brother will be brought before^[f] the council,^[g] and whoever says ‘Fool’^[h] will be sent^[i] to fiery hell.^[j] ²³So then, if you bring your gift to the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother and then come and present your gift. ²⁵Reach agreement^[k] quickly with your accuser while on the way to court,^[l] or he^[m] may hand you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the warden, and you will be thrown into prison. ²⁶I tell you the truth,^[n] you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny!^[o]

Adultery

²⁷“You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’^[p] ²⁸But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away! It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into hell.^[q] ³⁰If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away! It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into hell.

Divorce

³¹“It was said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a legal document.’^[r] ³²But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for immorality,^[s] makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Oaths

³³“Again, you have heard that it was said to an older generation,^[t] ‘Do not break an oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’^[u] ³⁴But I say to you, do not take oaths at all—not by heaven, because it is the throne of God, ³⁵not by earth, because it is his footstool, and not by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King.^[v] ³⁶Do not take an oath by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black. ³⁷Let your word be ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no.’ More than this is from the evil one.^[w]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

Matthew 5:21 tn Grk “to the ancient ones.” sn The expression an older generation can be understood to refer to the Israelites at the time of the Exodus, the original audience for the ten commandments.
Matthew 5:21 sn A quotation from Exod 20:13; Deut 5:17.
Matthew 5:21 sn These additional words are not part of the commandment and are not directly quoted from the OT (and thus are not placed in bold italics), but they form an adequate summary of several OT passages dealing with legislation concerning murder (Exod 21:12; Lev 24:17; Num 35:12; Deut 17:8-13).
Matthew 5:22 tc The majority of mss read the word εἰκῇ (eikē, “without cause”) here after “brother.” This insertion has support from א² D L W Γ Δ Θ 0233 ƒ^{1, 13} 33 565 579 700 1241 1424 M it sy co Ir^lat Or^mss Cyp Cyr. Thus the Western and Byzantine groups, as well as several other witnesses, all include the word, while the best Alexandrian and some other witnesses (P⁶⁴ א* B aur vg Or Hier^mss) lack it. The ms evidence favors its exclusion, though there is a remote possibility that εἰκῇ could have been accidentally omitted from these witnesses by way of homoioarcton (the next word, ἔνοχος [enochos, “guilty”], begins with the same letter). An intentional change would likely arise from the desire to qualify “angry,” especially in light of the absolute tone of Jesus’ words. While “without cause” makes good practical sense in this context, and must surely be a true interpretation of Jesus’ meaning (cf. Mark 3:5), it does not commend itself as the original wording.
Matthew 5:22 tn Grk “whoever says to his brother ‘Raca,’” an Aramaic word of contempt or abuse meaning “fool” or “empty head.”
Matthew 5:22 tn Grk “subjected,” “guilty,” “liable.”
Matthew 5:22 tn Grk “the Sanhedrin.” sn The council refers to the Sanhedrin, the ruling council in Jerusalem that was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews.
Matthew 5:22 tn The meaning of the term μωρός (mōros) is somewhat disputed. Most take it to mean, following the Syriac versions, “you fool,” although some have argued that it represents a transliteration into Greek of the Hebrew term מוֹרֵה (moreh) “rebel” (Deut 21:18, 20; cf. BDAG 663 s.v. μωρός c).
Matthew 5:22 tn Grk “subjected,” “guilty,” “liable.”
Matthew 5:22 tn Grk “the Gehenna of fire.”sn The word translated hell is “Gehenna” (γέεννα, geenna), a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew words ge hinnom (“Valley of Hinnom”). This was the valley along the south side of Jerusalem. In OT times it was used for human sacrifices to the pagan god Molech (cf. Jer 7:31; 19:5-6; 32:35), and it came to be used as a place where human excrement and rubbish were disposed of and burned. In the intertestamental period, it came to be used symbolically as the place of divine punishment (cf. 1 En. 27:2; 90:26; 4 Ezra 7:36).
Matthew 5:25 tn Grk “Make friends.”
Matthew 5:25 tn The words “to court” are not in the Greek text but are implied.
Matthew 5:25 tn Grk “the accuser.”
Matthew 5:26 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
Matthew 5:26 tn Here the English word “penny” is used as opposed to the parallel in Luke 12:59 where “cent” appears since the Greek word there is different and refers to a different but similar coin.sn The penny here was a quadrans, a Roman copper coin worth 1/64 of a denarius (L&N 6.78). The parallel passage in Luke 12:59 mentions the lepton, equal to one-half of a quadrans and thus the smallest coin available.
Matthew 5:27 sn A quotation from Exod 20:14; Deut 5:18 (5:17 LXX).
Matthew 5:29 sn On this word here and in the following verse, see the note on the word hell in 5:22.
Matthew 5:31 tn Or “a written notice of divorce.”sn A quotation from Deut 24:1.
Matthew 5:32 sn The phrase except for immorality (often referred to as the “exception clause”) has been the subject of much debate. One of the best and most comprehensive recent studies which pays particular attention to historical background material, especially Jewish material, is that of D. Instone-Brewer, Divorce and Remarriage in the Bible: The Social and Literary Context (Eerdmans, 2002).
Matthew 5:33 tn Grk “the ancient ones.”
Matthew 5:33 sn A quotation from Lev 19:12.
Matthew 5:35 sn The final clause is an allusion to Ps 48:2. In light of Ps 48:1-2 most understand the great King as a reference to God in this context (thus the capitalization).
Matthew 5:37 tn The term πονηροῦ (ponērou) may be understood as specific and personified, referring to the devil, or possibly as a general reference to evil. It is most likely personified, however, since it is articular and how it fits into the surrounding context (τοῦ πονηροῦ, tou ponērou). Cf. also “the evildoer” in v. 39, which is the same construction.