Matthew 5:17-37

Contemporary English Version

The Law of Moses

¹⁷Don't suppose I came to do away with the Law and the Prophets.^[a] I did not come to do away with them, but to give them their full meaning. ¹⁸^(A) Heaven and earth may disappear. But I promise you not even a period or comma will ever disappear from the Law. Everything written in it must happen.

¹⁹If you reject even the least important command in the Law and teach others to do the same, you will be the least important person in the kingdom of heaven. But if you obey and teach others its commands, you will have an important place in the kingdom. ²⁰You must obey God's commands better than the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law obey them. If you don't, I promise you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.

Anger

²¹^(B) You know our ancestors were told, “Do not murder” and “A murderer must be brought to trial.” ²²But I promise you if you are angry with someone,^[b] you will have to stand trial. If you call someone a fool, you will be taken to court. And if you say that someone is worthless, you will be in danger of the fires of hell.

²³So if you are about to place your gift on the altar and remember that someone is angry with you, ²⁴leave your gift there in front of the altar. Make peace with that person, then come back and offer your gift to God.

²⁵Before you are dragged into court, make friends with the person who has accused you of doing wrong. If you don't, you will be handed over to the judge and then to the officer who will put you in jail. ²⁶I promise you will not get out until you have paid the last cent you owe.

Marriage

²⁷^(C) You know the commandment which says, “Be faithful in marriage.” ²⁸But I tell you if you look at another woman and want her, you are already unfaithful in your thoughts. ²⁹^(D) If your right eye causes you to sin, poke it out and throw it away. It is better to lose one part of your body, than for your whole body to end up in hell. ³⁰^(E) If your right hand causes you to sin, chop it off and throw it away! It is better to lose one part of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

Divorce

(Matthew 19.9; Mark 10.11,12; Luke 16.18)

³¹^(F) You have been taught that a man who divorces his wife must write out divorce papers for her.^[c] ³²^(G) But I tell you not to divorce your wife unless she has committed some terrible sexual sin.^[d] If you divorce her, you will cause her to be unfaithful, just as any man who marries her is guilty of taking another man's wife.

Promises

³³^(H) You know our ancestors were told, “Don't use the Lord's name to make a promise unless you are going to keep it.” ³⁴^(I) But I tell you not to swear by anything when you make a promise! Heaven is God's throne, so don't swear by heaven. ³⁵^(J) The earth is God's footstool, so don't swear by the earth. Jerusalem is the city of the great king, so don't swear by it. ³⁶Don't swear by your own head. You cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷When you make a promise, say only “Yes” or “No.” Anything else comes from the devil.

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Footnotes

5.17 the Law and the Prophets: The Jewish Scriptures, that is, the Old Testament.
5.22 someone: In verses 22-24 the Greek text has “brother,” which may refer to people in general or to other followers.
5.31 write out divorce papers for her: Jewish men could divorce their wives, but the women could not divorce their husbands. The purpose of writing these papers was to make it harder for a man to divorce his wife. Before this law was made, all a man had to do was to send his wife away and say that she was no longer his wife.
5.32 some terrible sexual sin: This probably refers to the laws about the wrong kinds of marriages that are forbidden in Leviticus 18.6-18 or to some serious sexual sin.