Matthew 5:26

26 I tell you the truth, you will not leave there until you have paid everything you owe.

Matthew 5:26 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 5:26

Verily, I say unto thee
This may be depended upon, you may assure yourself of it, that

thou shalt by no means come out thence,
from prison,

till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing,
or "last farthing"; or as the Ethiopic version reads it, "till thou hast exactly paid all"; which seems to express the inexorableness of the creditor, and the impossibility of the debtor's release.

Matthew 5:26 In-Context

24 leave your gift there at the altar. Go and make peace with that person, and then come and offer your gift.

25 "If your enemy is taking you to court, become friends quickly, before you go to court. Otherwise, your enemy might turn you over to the judge, and the judge might give you to a guard to put you in jail.

26 I tell you the truth, you will not leave there until you have paid everything you owe.

27 "You have heard that it was said, 'You must not be guilty of adultery.'

28 But I tell you that if anyone looks at a woman and wants to sin sexually with her, in his mind he has already done that sin with the woman.