Matthew 5:17-48

Christ Came to Fulfill the Law

17 ¹"Do not think that I have come to abolish ²the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but ³to fulfill them.

18 For truly, I say to you, ⁴until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

19 ⁵Therefore whoever relaxes ⁶one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least ⁷in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great ⁸in the kingdom of heaven.

20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds ⁹that of the scribes and Pharisees, you ¹⁰will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Anger

21 ¹¹"You have heard that it was said to those of old, ¹²'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable ¹³to judgment.'

22 But I say to you that ¹⁴everyone who is angry with his brother^[a] will be liable ¹⁵to judgment; whoever insults^[b] his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to ¹⁶the hell^[c] of fire.

23 ¹⁷So if ¹⁸you 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 ¹⁹Come to terms 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, ²⁰you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.^[d]

Lust

27 ²¹"You have heard that it was said, ²²'You shall not commit adultery.'

28 But I say to you that ²³everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

29 ²⁴If your right eye ²⁵causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into ²⁶hell.

30 ²⁷And if your right hand ²⁸causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into ²⁹hell.

Divorce

31 ³⁰"It was also said, ³¹'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'

32 ³²But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and ³³whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Oaths

33 "Again ³⁴you have heard that it was said to those of old, ³⁵'You shall not swear falsely, but ³⁶shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.'

34 But I say to you, ³⁷Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for ³⁸it is the throne of God,

35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is ³⁹the city of the great King.

36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.

37 Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; ⁴⁰anything more than this comes from evil.^[e]

Retaliation

38 ⁴¹"You have heard that it was said, ⁴²'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'

39 But I say to you, ⁴³Do not resist the one who is evil. But ⁴⁴if anyone ⁴⁵slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

40 And ⁴⁶if anyone would sue you and take your tunic,^[f] let him have your cloak as well.

41 And if anyone ⁴⁷forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.

42 ⁴⁸Give to the one who begs from you, and ⁴⁹do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Love Your Enemies

43 ⁵⁰"You have heard that it was said, ⁵¹'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'

44 But I say to you, ⁵²Love your enemies and ⁵³pray for those who persecute you,

45 ⁵⁴so 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 ⁵⁵sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

46 ⁵⁶For 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,^[g] what more are you doing than others? Do not even ⁵⁷the Gentiles do the same?

48 ⁵⁸You therefore must be ⁵⁹perfect, ⁶⁰as your heavenly Father is perfect.

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Cross References 60

1. Romans 3:31
2. Matthew 7:12
3. [Romans 10:4; Romans 13:8; Galatians 3:24]
4. Luke 16:17; [Matthew 24:35]
5. [1 Corinthians 3:12-15]
6. [Galatians 3:10; James 2:10]
7. Matthew 11:11; Matthew 18:1-4
8. Matthew 11:11; Matthew 18:1-4
9. [Romans 10:3; Philippians 3:9]
10. John 3:5
11. ver. 33; [ver. 27, 31, 38, 43]
12. Cited from Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17; [Matthew 19:18; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20; Romans 13:9; James 2:11]
13. [Deuteronomy 16:18]
14. 1 John 3:15
15. [See ver. 21 above]
16. Matthew 18:9; Mark 9:43; James 3:6; [ver. 29]
17. [Matthew 6:15; Mark 11:25]
18. Matthew 8:4; Matthew 23:18
19. Luke 12:58, 59
20. [Matthew 18:34, 35]
21. See ver. 21
22. Cited from Exodus 20:14; Deuteronomy 5:18
23. Job 31:1; Proverbs 6:25; [2 Samuel 11:2]
24. Matthew 18:8, 9; Mark 9:43-48
25. [Matthew 13:41; Luke 17:1]
26. Matthew 10:28; Matthew 23:15, 33; Luke 12:5; [ver. 22]
27. [See ver. 29 above]
28. [See ver. 29 above]
29. [See ver. 29 above]
30. [See ver. 27 above]
31. Matthew 19:7; Jeremiah 3:1; Cited from Deuteronomy 24:1
32. Matthew 19:9; Mark 10:11, 12; Luke 16:18; [1 Corinthians 7:10, 11]
33. Romans 7:3
34. [See ver. 27 above]
35. Leviticus 19:12; 1 Timothy 1:10
36. Numbers 30:2; Deuteronomy 23:21; Ecclesiastes 5:4
37. James 5:12
38. Matthew 23:22; Isaiah 66:1; Acts 7:49; See Revelation 4:2
39. Psalms 48:2
40. [Proverbs 10:19]
41. [See ver. 27 above]
42. Cited from Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21
43. 1 Peter 2:23
44. For ver. 39-42, see Luke 6:29, 30; [Romans 12:17]
45. Matthew 26:67; Isaiah 50:6; Lamentations 3:30
46. [See ver. 39 above]
47. Matthew 27:32
48. Psalms 37:21; Proverbs 21:26
49. Deuteronomy 15:8; Psalms 37:26; Psalms 112:5; Luke 6:34, 35
50. See ver. 21
51. Cited from Leviticus 19:18; See Matthew 19:19
52. Luke 6:27, 28; Romans 12:20; [Exodus 23:4; Job 31:29, 30; Psalms 7:4]
53. Luke 23:34; Acts 7:60; 2 Timothy 4:16; 1 Peter 3:9
54. Luke 6:35; [Ephesians 5:1; Philippians 2:15]
55. Acts 14:17
56. Luke 6:32
57. Matthew 6:7, 32
58. [Luke 6:36]
59. Matthew 19:21; 1 Corinthians 2:6(Gk.); Philippians 3:15(Gk.); Colossians 1:28; Colossians 4:12(Gk.); James 1:4; James 3:2; See Genesis 17:1
60. [Leviticus 19:2; 1 Peter 1:15]

Footnotes 7

[a]. Some manuscripts insert without cause
[b]. Greek says Raca to (a term of abuse)
[c]. Greek Gehenna; also verses 29, 30
[d]. Greek kodrantes, Roman copper coin (Latin quadrans) worth about 1/64 of a denarius (which was a day's wage for a laborer)
[e]. Or the evil one
[f]. Greek chiton, a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin
[g]. Or brothers and sisters. The plural Greek word adelphoi (translated "brothers") refers to siblings in a family. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, adelphoi may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.