Murder Begins in the Heart(A)

21 “You have heard that it was said to those [a]of old, (B)‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that (C)whoever is angry with his brother [b]without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, (D)‘Raca!’[c] shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, [d]‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of [e]hell fire. 23 Therefore (E)if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 (F)leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 (G)Agree with your adversary quickly, (H)while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.

Adultery in the Heart

27 “You have heard that it was said [f]to those of old, (I)‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever (J)looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 (K)If your right eye causes you to [g]sin, (L)pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to [h]sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 5:21 in ancient times
  2. Matthew 5:22 NU omits without a cause
  3. Matthew 5:22 Lit., in Aram., Empty head
  4. Matthew 5:22 Gr. More
  5. Matthew 5:22 Gr. Gehenna
  6. Matthew 5:27 NU, M omit to those of old
  7. Matthew 5:29 Lit. stumble or offend
  8. Matthew 5:30 Lit. stumble or offend

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.

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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

Personal Relationships

21 “You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not murder,’ and ‘Whoever murders shall be [a]guilty before the court.’(A) 22 But I say to you that everyone who continues to be angry with his brother or harbors malice against him shall be guilty before the court; and whoever speaks [contemptuously and insultingly] to his brother, [b]‘Raca (You empty-headed idiot)!’ shall be guilty before the supreme court (Sanhedrin); and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of the [c]fiery hell. 23 So if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and while there you remember that your brother has something [such as a grievance or legitimate complaint] against you, 24 leave your offering there at the altar and go. First make peace with your brother, and then come and present your offering. 25 Come to terms quickly [at the earliest opportunity] with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way [to court], so that your opponent does not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you are thrown into prison.(B) 26 I assure you and most solemnly say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid the last [d]cent.

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’;(C) 28 but I say to you that everyone who [so much as] looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye makes you stumble and leads you to sin, tear it out and throw it away [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 If your right hand makes you stumble and leads you to sin, cut it off and throw it away [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 5:21 Or liable to.
  2. Matthew 5:22 A severe Aramaic insult.
  3. Matthew 5:22 Gr Gehenna, a Greek version of the Hebrew for Valley of Hinnom, a ravine where garbage was burned continuously, located just south of Jerusalem. Often regarded in ancient times as symbolic of hell (the lake of fire), a realm reserved for the wicked. Mentioned in Matt 5:22, 29, 30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33; Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Luke 12:5; James 3:6.
  4. Matthew 5:26 Gr kodrantes, from the Lat quadrans, which was the smallest Roman bronze coin.

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.

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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

21 Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:

22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;

24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:

28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

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