Matthew 5:29

And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
if	εἰ ei	G1487	if · conditional particle
thy	σοῦ soû	G4675	of thee
right	δεξιὸς dexios	G1188	the right side or (feminine) hand (as that which usuall… · adjective — nominative singular masculine
eye	ὀφθαλμός ophthalmos	G3788	the eye (literally or figuratively) · noun — nominative singular masculine
offend	σκανδαλίζει skandalizei	G4624	to entrap · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person singular
thee	σέ sé	G4571	thee
pluck	ἔξελε exele	G1807	actively · verb — second aorist active imperative, 2nd person singular
it	αὐτὸν auton	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine
out	ἐξαιρέω exairéō	G1807	actively
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
cast	βάλε bale	G906	to throw (in various applications · verb — second aorist active imperative, 2nd person singular
from	ἀπὸ apo	G575	"off · preposition
thee	σοῦ soû	G4675	of thee
for	γάρ gar	G1063	properly · conjunction
it is profitable	συμφέρει sumpherei	G4851	to bear together (contribute) · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person singular
for thee	σοί soí	G4671	to thee
that	ἵνα ina	G2443	compare G3588 (ὁ)) · conjunction
one	ἓν hen	G1520	one · adjective — nominative singular neuter
of	μελῶν melōn	G3196	a limb or part of the body · noun — genitive plural neuter
thy	σοῦ soû	G4675	of thee
members	μέλος mélos	G3196	a limb or part of the body
should perish	ἀπόληται apolētai	G622	to destroy fully (reflexively · verb — second aorist middle subjunctive, 3rd person singular
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
not	μὴ mē	G3361	(adverb) not · particle — negative
thy	σοῦ soû	G4675	of thee
whole	ὅλον holon	G3650	"whole" or "all" · adjective — nominative singular neuter
body	σῶμά sōma	G4983	the body (as a sound whole) · noun — nominative singular neuter
should be cast	βληθῇ blēthēa	G906	to throw (in various applications · verb — aorist passive subjunctive, 3rd person singular
into	εἰς eis	G1519	to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
hell	γέενναν.¶ geennan	G1067	valley of (the son of) Hinnom · noun — accusative singular feminine, a title

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Mark 9:43-48 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fi…
Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Colossians 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousnes…
Romans 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
1 Peter 4:1-3 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the fle…
1 Corinthians 9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castawa…
Galatians 5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Matthew 18:8-9 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maime…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 5:27-32

We have here an exposition of the seventh commandment, given us by the same hand that made the law, and therefore was fittest to be the interpreter of it: it is the law against uncleanness, which fitly follows upon the former; that laid a restraint upon sinful passions, this upon sinful appetites, both which ought always to be under the government of reason and conscience, and if indulged, are equally pernicious. I. The command is here laid down (Mat 5:27), Thou shalt not commit adultery; which includes a prohibition of all other acts of uncleanness, and the desire of them: but the Pharisees, in their expositions of this command, made it to extend no further than the act of adultery, suggest…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 5:29

And if thy right eye--the readier and the dearer of the two. offend thee--be a "trap spring," or as in the New Testament, be "an occasion of stumbling" to thee. pluck it out and cast it from thee--implying a certain indignant promptitude, heedless of whatever cost to feeling the act may involve. Of course, it is not the eye simply of which our Lord speaks--as if execution were to be done upon the bodily organ--though there have been fanatical ascetics who have both advocated and practiced this, showing a very low apprehension of spiritual things--but the offending eye, or the eye considered as the occasion of sin; and consequently, only the sinful exercise of the organ which is meant. Fo…

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John Gill on Matthew 5:29

And if thy right eye offend thee,.... Or "cause thee to offend", to stumble, and fall into sin. Our Lord has no regard here to near and dear relations seeking to alienate us from God and Christ, and hinder us in the pursuit of divine things; whose solicitations are to be rejected with the utmost indignation, and they themselves to be parted with, and forsaken, rather than complied with; which is the sense some give of the words: for both in this, and the following verse, respect is had only to the law of adultery; and to such members of the body, which often are the means of leading persons on to the breach of it; particularly the eye and hand. The eye is often the instrument of ensnaring th…

The Church Fathers

The reason why the right eye and the right hand are to be cast away is subjoined in that, For it is better, &c.
— Remigius of Rheims ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Thus a more lofty step of innocence is appointed us, in that we are admonished to keep free, not only from sin ourselves, but from such as might touch as from without.
— Hilary of Poitiers ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

He speaks about the numbers of the body but employs hyperbole. It is not that one should literally "cut off one's members." Rather, one is called to mortify them and render them useless for sin, as the apostle has said. One should not spare even things thought most necessary, if through them any bad activity threatens to occur.
— Apollinaris of Laodicea, FRAGMENT 23.11

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Gehenna — (originally Ge bene Hinnom; i.e., “the valley of the sons of Hinnom”), a deep, narrow glen to the south of Jerusalem, where the idolatrous Jews offered their children in sacrifice to Molech (2 Chr.…
Hinnom — A deep, narrow ravine separating Mount Zion from the so-called “Hill of Evil Counsel.” It took its name from “some ancient hero, the son of Hinnom.” It is first mentioned in Josh. 15:8. It had been…
Sermon on the mount — After spending a night in solemn meditation and prayer in the lonely mountain-range to the west of the Lake of Galilee (Luke 6:12), on the following morning our Lord called to him his disciples, and…
Commandments · DISCOURSE — DISCOURSE
Eye · .The offending — .The offending
Hell · the following scriptures — the following scriptures
Holiness · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Judaism · .To make room for the Gospel — .To make room for the Gospel
Offence · Saints should: Cut off what causes, to themselves — Saints should: Cut off what causes, to themselves
Punishment Of The Wicked, The · Future described as: Hell — Future described as: Hell
Religion · TRUE — TRUE
Self-Denial · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning

Matthew 5:29

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 5:27-32

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 5:29

John Gill on Matthew 5:29

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Matthew 5:29

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 5:27-32

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 5:29

John Gill on Matthew 5:29

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Matthew 5:27-30

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Matthew 5:29-30