Matthew 5:20-48

20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds ¹that of the scribes and Pharisees, you ²will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Anger

21 ³“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ⁴‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable ⁵to judgment. ’

22 But I say to you that ⁶everyone who is angry with his brother^[a] will be liable ⁷to judgment; whoever insults^[b] his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool! ’ will be liable to ⁸the hell^[c] of fire.

23 ⁹So if ¹⁰you 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 ¹¹Come 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, ¹²you will never get out until you have paid the last penny. ^[d]

Lust

27 ¹³“You have heard that it was said, ¹⁴‘You shall not commit adultery. ’

28 But I say to you that ¹⁵everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

29 ¹⁶If your right eye ¹⁷causes 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 ¹⁸hell.

30 ¹⁹And if your right hand ²⁰causes 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 ²¹hell.

Divorce

31 ²²“It was also said, ²³‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce. ’

32 ²⁴But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and ²⁵whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Oaths

33 “Again ²⁶you have heard that it was said to those of old, ²⁷‘You shall not swear falsely, but ²⁸shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn. ’

34 But I say to you, ²⁹Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for ³⁰it is the throne of God,

35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is ³¹the 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’; ³²anything more than this comes from evil. ^[e]

Retaliation

38 ³³“You have heard that it was said, ³⁴‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. ’

39 But I say to you, ³⁵Do not resist the one who is evil. But ³⁶if anyone ³⁷slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

40 And ³⁸if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, ^[f] let him have your cloak as well.

41 And if anyone ³⁹forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.

42 ⁴⁰Give to the one who begs from you, and ⁴¹do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Love Your Enemies

43 ⁴²“You have heard that it was said, ⁴³‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. ’

44 But I say to you, ⁴⁴Love your enemies and ⁴⁵pray for those who persecute you,

45 ⁴⁶so 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 ⁴⁷sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

46 ⁴⁸For 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 ⁴⁹the Gentiles do the same?

48 ⁵⁰You therefore must be ⁵¹perfect, ⁵²as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Cross References

• 1. 5:20 [Rom. 10:3; Phil. 3:9]
• 2. 5:20 John 3:5
• 3. 5:21 ver. 33; [ver. 27, 31, 38, 43]
• 4. 5:21 Cited from Ex. 20:13; Deut. 5:17; [ch. 19:18; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20; Rom. 13:9; James 2:11]
• 5. 5:21 [Deut. 16:18]
• 6. 5:22 1 John 3:15
• 7. 5:22 [See ver. 21 above]
• 8. 5:22 ch. 18:9; Mark 9:43; James 3:6; [ver. 29]
• 9. 5:23 [ch. 6:15; Mark 11:25]
• 10. 5:23 ch. 8:4; 23:18
• 11. 5:25 Luke 12:58, 59
• 12. 5:26 [ch. 18:34, 35]
• 13. 5:27 See ver. 21
• 14. 5:27 Cited from Ex. 20:14; Deut. 5:18
• 15. 5:28 Job 31:1; Prov. 6:25; [2 Sam. 11:2]
• 16. 5:29 ch. 18:8, 9; Mark 9:43-48
• 17. 5:29 [ch. 13:41; Luke 17:1]
• 18. 5:29 ch. 10:28; 23:15, 33; Luke 12:5; [ver. 22]
• 19. 5:30 [See ver. 29 above]
• 20. 5:30 [See ver. 29 above]
• 21. 5:30 [See ver. 29 above]
• 22. 5:31 [See ver. 27 above]
• 23. 5:31 ch. 19:7; Jer. 3:1; Cited from Deut. 24:1
• 24. 5:32 ch. 19:9; Mark 10:11, 12; Luke 16:18; [1 Cor. 7:10, 11]
• 25. 5:32 Rom. 7:3
• 26. 5:33 [See ver. 27 above]
• 27. 5:33 Lev. 19:12; 1 Tim. 1:10
• 28. 5:33 Num. 30:2; Deut. 23:21; Eccles. 5:4
• 29. 5:34 James 5:12
• 30. 5:34 ch. 23:22; Isa. 66:1; Acts 7:49; See Rev. 4:2
• 31. 5:35 Ps. 48:2
• 32. 5:37 [Prov. 10:19]
• 33. 5:38 [See ver. 27 above]
• 34. 5:38 Cited from Ex. 21:24; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21
• 35. 5:39 1 Pet. 2:23
• 36. 5:39 For ver. 39-42, see Luke 6:29, 30; [Rom. 12:17]
• 37. 5:39 ch. 26:67; Isa. 50:6; Lam. 3:30
• 38. 5:40 [See ver. 39 above]
• 39. 5:41 ch. 27:32
• 40. 5:42 Ps. 37:21; Prov. 21:26
• 41. 5:42 Deut. 15:8; Ps. 37:26; 112:5; Luke 6:34, 35
• 42. 5:43 See ver. 21
• 43. 5:43 Cited from Lev. 19:18; See ch. 19:19
• 44. 5:44 Luke 6:27, 28; Rom. 12:20; [Ex. 23:4; Job 31:29, 30; Ps. 7:4]
• 45. 5:44 Luke 23:34; Acts 7:60; 2 Tim. 4:16; 1 Pet. 3:9
• 46. 5:45 Luke 6:35; [Eph. 5:1; Phil. 2:15]
• 47. 5:45 Acts 14:17
• 48. 5:46 Luke 6:32
• 49. 5:47 ch. 6:7, 32
• 50. 5:48 [Luke 6:36]
• 51. 5:48 ch. 19:21; 1 Cor. 2:6 (Gk.); Phil. 3:15 (Gk.); Col. 1:28; 4:12 (Gk.); James 1:4; 3:2; See Gen. 17:1
• 52. 5:48 [Lev. 19:2; 1 Pet. 1:15]

Footnotes

• [a] 5:22 Some manuscripts insert 'without cause'
• [b] 5:22 Greek 'says Raca to' (a term of abuse)
• [c] 5:22 Greek 'Gehenna'; also verses 29, 30
• [d] 5:26 Greek 'kodrantes', Roman copper coin (Latin 'quadrans') worth about 1/64 of a 'denarius' (which was a day’s wage for a laborer)
• [e] 5:37 Or 'the evil one'
• [f] 5:40 Greek 'chiton', a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin
• [g] 5:47 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'