Matius 5:17-24

Fulfillment of the Law and Prophets

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. ¹  5:18 I ²  tell you the truth, ³  until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter ⁴  will pass from the law until everything takes place. 5:19 So anyone who breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others ⁵  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. 5:20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law ⁶  and the Pharisees, ⁷  you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Anger and Murder

5:21 “You have heard that it was said to an older generation, ⁸  ‘Do not murder,’ ⁹  and ‘whoever murders will be subjected to judgment.’ 5:22 But I say to you that anyone who is angry with a brother ¹⁰  will be subjected to judgment. And whoever insults ¹¹  a brother will be brought before ¹²  the council, ¹³  and whoever says ‘Fool’ ¹⁴  will be sent ¹⁵  to fiery hell. ¹⁶  5:23 So then, if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 5:24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother and then come and present your gift.

[5:17]  ¹ tn 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.

[5:18]  ² tn Grk “For I tell.” Here an explanatory γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

[5:18]  ³ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[5:18]  ⁴ tn Grk “Not one iota or one serif.”

[5:18]  sn 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).

[5:19]  ⁵ tn Grk “teaches men” ( in a generic sense, people).

[5:20]  ⁶ tn Or “that of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[5:20]  ⁷ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[5:21]  ⁸ tn Grk “to the ancient ones.”

[5:21]  ⁹ sn A quotation from Exod 20:13; Deut 5:17.

[5:22]  ¹⁰ tc The majority of mss read the word εἰκῇ (eikh, “without cause”) here after “brother.” This insertion has support from א² D L W Θ 0233 Ë^1,13 33 Ï it sy co Ir^lat Or^mss Cyp Cyr. Thus the Western, Caesarean, and Byzantine texttypes all include the word, while the best Alexandrian and some other witnesses (Ì⁶⁴ א* B 1424^mg pc aur vg Or Hier^mss) lack it. The ms 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 [enocos, “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.

[5:22]  ¹¹ tn Grk “whoever says to his brother ‘Raca,’” an Aramaic word of contempt or abuse meaning “fool” or “empty head.”

[5:22]  ¹² tn Grk “subjected,” “guilty,” “liable.”

[5:22]  ¹³ tn Grk “the Sanhedrin.”

[5:22]  ¹⁴ tn The meaning of the term μωρός (mwros) is somewhat disputed. Most take it to mean, following the Syriac 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. BDAG 663 s.v. μωρός c).

[5:22]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “subjected,” “guilty,” “liable.”

[5:22]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “the Gehenna of fire.”

[5:22]  sn 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. 1 En. 27:2, 90:26; 4 Ezra 7:36).