Matthew 5:38

Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Ye have heard	Ἠκούσατε Ēkousate	G191	to hear (in various senses) · verb — aorist active indicative, 2nd person plural
that	ὅτι hoti	G3754	demonstrative · conjunction
it hath been said	ῥέω rhéō	G4483	to utter
An eye	ὀφθαλμὸν ophthalmon	G3788	the eye (literally or figuratively) · noun — accusative singular masculine
for	ἀντὶ anti	G473	opposite · preposition
an eye	ὀφθαλμοῦ ophthalmou	G3788	the eye (literally or figuratively) · noun — genitive singular masculine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
a tooth	ὀδόντα odonta	G3599	a "tooth" · noun — accusative singular masculine
for	ἀντὶ anti	G473	opposite · preposition
a tooth	ὀδόντος. odontos	G3599	a "tooth" · noun — genitive singular masculine

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

Leviticus 24:19-20 And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him;
Deuteronomy 19:21 And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Exodus 21:22-27 If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, acco…
Deuteronomy 19:19 Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you.
Matthew 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 5:38-42

In these verses the law of retaliation is expounded, and in a manner repealed. Observe, I. What the Old Testament permission was, in case of injury; and here the expression is only, Ye have heard that is has been said; not, as before, concerning the commands of the decalogue, that it has been said by, or to, them of old time. It was a command, that every one should of necessity require such satisfaction; but they might lawfully insist upon it, if they pleased; an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. This we find, Exo 21:24; Lev 24:20; Deu 19:21; in all which places it is appointed to be done by the magistrate, who bears not the sword in vain, but is the minister of God, an avenger to exe…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 5:38

Ye have heard that it hath been said-- (Exo 21:23-25; Lev 24:19-20; Deu 19:21). An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth--that is, whatever penalty was regarded as a proper equivalent for these. This law of retribution--designed to take vengeance out of the hands of private persons, and commit it to the magistrate--was abused in the opposite way to the commandments of the Decalogue. While they were reduced to the level of civil enactments, this judicial regulation was held to be a warrant for taking redress into their own hands, contrary to the injunctions of the Old Testament itself (Pro 20:22; Pro 24:29).

John Gill on Matthew 5:38

Ye have heard that it hath been said,.... That is, to, or by them of old time, as is expressed in some of the foregoing instances, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, Exodus 21:24. This is "lex talionis", the "law of retaliation"; which, whether it is to be understood literally, or not, is a matter of question. The Baithuseans, or Sadducees, among the Jews, took it in a literal sense, and so does Josephus, who says (b), he that shall blind, i.e. put out a man's eyes, shall suffer the like. But the Jewish doctors generally understood it of paying a price equivalent to the damage done, except in case of life. R. Sol. Jarchi (c) explains the law thus: "He that puts out his neighbour's…

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The Church Fathers

So, too, "Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth," has now grown old, ever since "Let none render evil for evil" grew young.
— Tertullian, On Exhortation to Chastity

Thus our Lord by doing away all retaliation, cuts off the beginnings of sin. So the Law corrects faults, the Gospel removes their occasions.
— Jerome ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

(Verse 38.) You have heard that it was said: An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, do not resist evil. Whoever says an eye for an eye does not want to take away the other, but to preserve both. Our Lord, by taking away vengeance, cuts off the beginnings of sins. And in the Law there is retribution, in the Gospel there is grace. There, fault is corrected, here the beginnings of sins are taken away.
— Jerome, Commentary on Matthew

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

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…
Assault And Battery · LAWS CONCERNING — LAWS CONCERNING
Commandments · DISCOURSE — DISCOURSE
Eye, The · Punishment for injuring — Punishment for injuring
Judaism · .To make room for the Gospel — .To make room for the Gospel
Malice · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Meekness · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Quotations And Allusions · with — with
Religion · TRUE — TRUE
Retaliation · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Revenge · Instead of taking, we should: Exercise forbearance — Instead of taking, we should: Exercise forbearance

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Matthew 5:38

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 5:38-42

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 5:38

John Gill on Matthew 5:38

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Matthew 5:38

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 5:38-42

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 5:38

John Gill on Matthew 5:38

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Matthew 5:38-41

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Matthew 5:38-42