^5:17“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish these things but to fulfill them.¹⁷^5:18I¹⁸ tell you the truth,¹⁹ until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter²⁰ will pass from the law until everything takes place. ^5:19So anyone who breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others²¹ to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever obeys them and teaches others to do so will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ^5:20For I tell you, unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law²² and the Pharisees,²³ you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Anger and Murder

^5:21“You have heard that it was said to an older generation,²⁴ ‘Do not murder,’²⁵ and ‘whoever murders will be subjected to judgment.’ ^5:22But I say to you that anyone who is angry with a brother²⁶ will be subjected to judgment. And whoever insults²⁷ a brother will be brought before²⁸ the council,²⁹ and whoever says ‘Fool’³⁰ will be sent³¹ to fiery hell.³²^5:23So then, if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ^5:24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother and then come and present your gift. ^5:25Reach agreement³³ quickly with your accuser while on the way to court,³⁴ or he³⁵ may hand you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the warden, and you will be thrown into prison. ^5:26I tell you the truth,³⁶ you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny!³⁷

Adultery

^5:27“You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’³⁸^5:28But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ^5:29If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away! It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into hell.³⁹^5:30If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away! It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into hell.

Divorce

^5:31“It was said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a legal document.’⁴⁰^5:32But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Oaths

^5:33“Again, you have heard that it was said to an older generation,⁴¹ ‘Do not break an oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’⁴²^5:34But I say to you, do not take oaths at all—not by heaven, because it is the throne of God, ^5:35not by earth, because it is his footstool, and not by Jerusalem,⁴³ because it is the city of the great King. ^5:36Do not take an oath by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black. ^5:37Let your word be ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no.’ More than this is from the evil one.⁴⁴

Read in Logos

Matthew 5:17: Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Footnotes

17 Grk “not come to abolish but to fulfill.” Direct objects (“these things,” “them”) were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but have been supplied here to conform to contemporary English style.
18 Grk “For I tell.” Here an explanatory γάρ (gar) has not been translated.
19 Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
20 Grk “Not one iota or one serif.” The smallest letter refers to the smallest Hebrew letter (yod) and the stroke of a letter to a serif (a hook or projection on a Hebrew letter).
21 Grk “teaches men” (in a generic sense, people).
22 Or “that of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in .
23 See the note on Pharisees in .
24 Grk “to the ancient ones.”
25 A quotation from Exod 20:13; Deut 5:17.
26 The majority of read the word εἰκῇ (eikē, “without cause”) here after “brother.” This insertion has support from א2 D L W Θ 0233 f1, 13 33 𝔐 it sy co Irlat Ormss Cyp Cyr. Thus the Western, Caesarean, and Byzantine texttypes all include the word, while the best Alexandrian and some other witnesses (𝔓64 א* B 1424mg aur vg Or Hiermss) lack it. The evidence favors its exclusion, though there is a remote possibility that εἰκῇ could have been accidentally omitted from these witnesses by way of homoioarcton (the next word, ἔνοχος [enochos, “guilty“], begins with the same letter). An intentional change would likely arise from the desire to qualify “angry,” especially in light of the absolute tone of Jesus’ words. While “without cause” makes good practical sense in this context, and must surely be a true interpretation of Jesus’ meaning (cf. Mark 3:5), it does not commend itself as original.
27 Grk “whoever says to his brother ‘Raca,’ ” an Aramaic word of contempt or abuse meaning “fool” or “empty head.”
28 Grk “subjected,” “guilty,” “liable.”
29 Grk “the Sanhedrin.”
30 The meaning of the term μωρός (mōros) is somewhat disputed. Most take it to mean, following the versions, “you fool,” although some have argued that it represents a transliteration into Greek of the Hebrew term מוֹרֵה (moreh) “rebel” (Deut 21:18, 20; cf. μωρός c).
31 Grk “subjected,” “guilty,” “liable.”
32 Grk “the Gehenna of fire.” The word translated hell is “Gehenna” (γέεννα, geenna), a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew words ge hinnom (“Valley of Hinnom”). This was the valley along the south side of Jerusalem. In OT times it was used for human sacrifices to the pagan god Molech (cf. Jer 7:31; 19:5–6; 32:35), and it came to be used as a place where human excrement and rubbish were disposed of and burned. In the intertestamental period, it came to be used symbolically as the place of divine punishment (cf. 27:2, 90:26; 4 Ezra 7:36).
33 Grk “Make friends.”
34 The words “to court” are not in the Greek text but are implied.
35 Grk “the accuser.”
36 Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
37 Here the English word “penny” is used as opposed to the parallel in Luke 12:59 where “cent” appears since the Greek word there is different and refers to a different but similar coin. The penny here was a quadrans, a Roman copper coin worth 1/64 of a denarius (L&N 6.78). The parallel passage in Luke 12:59 mentions the lepton, equal to one-half of a quadrans and thus the smallest coin available.
38 A quotation from Exod 20:14; Deut 5:18.
39 On this word here and in the following verse, see the note on the word hell in .
40 A quotation from Deut 24:1.
41 Grk “the ancient ones.”
42 A quotation from Lev 19:12.
43 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
44 The term πονηροῦ (ponērou) may be understood as specific and personified, referring to the devil, or possibly as a general reference to evil. It is most likely personified, however, since it is articular (τοῦ πονηροῦ, tou ponērou). Cf. also “the evildoer” in v. 39, which is the same construction.