1148 | Matthew 5:23 any one who is an gry with a broth er or sis ter a , b will be sub ject to judg ment . Again , any one who says to a broth er or sis ter , ‘ Raca ,’ c is an swer able to the court . And any one who says , ‘ You fool !’ will be in dan ger of the fire of hell .
23
“ There fore , if you are of fer ing your gift at the al tar and there re mem ber that your broth er or sis ter has some thing against you , 24 leave your gift there in front of the al tar . First go and be rec on ciled to them ; then come and of fer your gift .
25
“ Set tle mat ters quick ly with your ad ver sary who is tak ing you to court . Do it while you are still to geth er on the way , or your ad ver sary may hand you over to the judge , and the judge may hand you over to the of fi cer , and you may be thrown into pris on .
26
Tru ly I tell you , you will not get out un til you have paid the last pen ny .
Adultery
27
“ You have heard that it was said , ‘ You shall not com mit adul tery .’ d 28 But I tell you that any one who looks at a wom an lust ful ly has al ready com mit ted adul tery with her in his heart . 29 If your right eye caus es you to stum ble , gouge it out and throw it away . It is bet ter for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell . 30 And if your right hand caus es you to stum ble , cut it off and throw it away . It is bet ter for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell .
Divorce
31
“ It has been said , ‘ Any one who di vorc es his wife must give her a cer tif i cate of divorce .’ e 32 But I tell you that any one who di vorc es his wife , ex cept for sex u al immo ral i ty , makes her the vic tim of adul tery , and any one who mar ries a di vorced wom an com mits adul tery .
Oaths 33
“ Again , you have heard that it was said to the peo ple long ago , ‘ Do not break your oath , but ful fill to the Lord the vows you have made .’ 34 But I tell you , do not swear an oath at all : ei ther by heav en , for it is God ’ s throne ; 35 or by the earth , for it is his foot stool ; or by Je ru sa lem , for it is the city of the Great King . 36 And do not swear by your head , for you can not make even one hair white or black . 37 All you need to say is sim ply ‘ Yes ’ or ‘ No ’; any thing be yond this comes from the evil one . f
Eye for Eye
38
“ You have heard that it was said , ‘ Eye for eye , and tooth for tooth .’ g 39 But I tell you , do not re sist an evil per son . If any one slaps you on the right cheek , turn to them the oth er cheek also . 40 And if any one wants to sue you and take your shirt , hand over your coat as well . 41 If any one forc es you to go one mile , go with them two miles .
42
Give to the one who asks you , and do not turn away from the one who wants to bor row from you .
Love for Enemies
43
“ You have heard that it was said , ‘ Love your neigh bor h and hate your en e my .’
44
But I tell you , love your en e mies and pray for those who per se cute you , 45 that you may be chil dren of your Fa ther in heav en . He caus es his sun to rise on the evil and the good , and sends rain on the righ teous and the un righ teous . 46 If you love those who love you , what re ward will you get ? Are not even the tax col lec tors do ing that ?
47
And if you greet only your own peo ple , what are you do ing more than oth ers ? Do not even pa gans do that ? 48 Be per fect , there fore , as your heavenly Father is perfect .
a 22 The Greek word for brother or sister ( adelphos ) refers here to a fellow disciple , whether
man or woman ; also in verse 23 . b 22 Some manuscripts brother or sister without cause c 22 An Aramaic term of contempt d 27 Exodus 20:14 e 31 Deut . 24:1 f 37 Or from
evil g 38 Exodus 21:24 ; Lev . 24:20 ; Deut . 19:21 h 43 Lev . 19:18