Matthew 5:21-48

Anger

21 ¹"You have heard that it was said to those of old, ²'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable ³to judgment.'

22 But I say to you that ⁴everyone who is angry with his brother^[a] will be liable ⁵to judgment; whoever insults^[b] his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to ⁶the hell^[c] of fire.

23 ⁷So if ⁸you 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 ⁹Come 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, ¹⁰you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.^[d]

Lust

27 ¹¹"You have heard that it was said, ¹²'You shall not commit adultery.'

28 But I say to you that ¹³everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

29 ¹⁴If your right eye ¹⁵causes 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 ¹⁶hell.

30 ¹⁷And if your right hand ¹⁸causes 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 ¹⁹hell.

Divorce

31 ²⁰"It was also said, ²¹'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'

32 ²²But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and ²³whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Oaths

33 "Again ²⁴you have heard that it was said to those of old, ²⁵'You shall not swear falsely, but ²⁶shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.'

34 But I say to you, ²⁷Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for ²⁸it is the throne of God,

35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is ²⁹the 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'; ³⁰anything more than this comes from evil.^[e]

Retaliation

38 ³¹"You have heard that it was said, ³²'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'

39 But I say to you, ³³Do not resist the one who is evil. But ³⁴if anyone ³⁵slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

40 And ³⁶if anyone would sue you and take your tunic,^[f] let him have your cloak as well.

41 And if anyone ³⁷forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.

42 ³⁸Give to the one who begs from you, and ³⁹do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Love Your Enemies

43 ⁴⁰"You have heard that it was said, ⁴¹'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'

44 But I say to you, ⁴²Love your enemies and ⁴³pray for those who persecute you,

45 ⁴⁴so 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 ⁴⁵sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

46 ⁴⁶For 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 ⁴⁷the Gentiles do the same?

48 ⁴⁸You therefore must be ⁴⁹perfect, ⁵⁰as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Read Chapter Compare

Images for Matthew 5:21-48

Cross References 50

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