Matthew 5:40

And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And if	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
any man will	θέλοντί thelonti	G2309	to determine (as an active option from subjective impul… · verb — present active participle, dative singular masculine
sue	κριθῆναι krithēnai	G2919	by implication · verb — aorist passive infinitive
thee	σοί soí	G4671	to thee
at the law	κρίνω krínō	G2919	by implication
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
take away	λαβεῖν, labein	G2983	while G138 (αἱρέομαι) is more violent · verb — second aorist active infinitive
thy	σοῦ soû	G4675	of thee
coat	χιτῶνά chitōna	G5509	a tunic or shirt · noun — accusative singular masculine
let	ἄφες aphes	G863	an intensive form of · verb — second aorist active imperative, 2nd person singular
him	αὐτῷ autō	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative singular masculine
have	ἀφίημι aphíēmi	G863	an intensive form of
cloke	ἱμάτιον· himation	G2440	a dress (inner or outer) · noun — accusative singular neuter
also	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction

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

Luke 6:29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.
1 Corinthians 6:7 Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rath…

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In these verses the law of retaliation is expounded, and in a manner repealed.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 5:40

And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take way thy coat--the inner garment; in pledge for a debt (Exo 22:26-27). let him have thy cloak also--the outer and more costly garment. This overcoat was not allowed to be retained over night as a pledge from the poor because they used it for a bed covering.

John Gill on Matthew 5:40

And if any man will sue thee at the law,.... Or "will contend with thee", or as the Syriac renders it, , "will strive", or "litigate with thee"; not contest the matter, or try the cause in an open court of judicature, a sense our version inclines to; but will wrangle and quarrel in a private way, in order to take away thy coat, by force and violence, let him have thy cloak also; do not forbid, or hinder him from taking it; see Luke 6:29. The "coat", is the same with "the upper garment": and what we render a "cloak", answers to "the inward garment"; by which words Sangari expresses the passage in the place before cited: and the sense is, if a wrangling, quarrelsome man, insists upon havin…

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John Calvin on Matthew 5:38-41

Matthew 5:38-41 Matthew 5:38-41 Luke 6:29-30 38. You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. 39. But I say to you, Do not resist evil: but whoever, shall inflict a blow on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also: 40. And to him who wishes to enter into a law-suit with thee, and to take away thy coat, allow him thy cloak also: 41. And whoever shall constrain thee to one mile, go with him two. 29. To him who striketh thee on one cheek offer also the other, and from him who taketh away thy cloak, do not forbid thy coat also. 30. And to every one that asketh from thee give; and from him who takes what are thine, do not ask them again. Matthew 5:38. An ey…

The Church Fathers

Else how will one, when he has two coats, give the one of them to the naked, unless he be a man likewise to offer to one who takes away his coat his cloak as well? How shall we fashion to us friends from mammon, if we love it so much as not to put up with its loss? We shall perish together with the lost mammon.
— Tertullian, Of Patience

Beyond the tolerance of physical injury, the Lord wants us also to have contempt for things of this world and to be so far removed from every lawsuit or contest of judgment. If by chance a slanderer or tempter comes forward to initiate a lawsuit for the sake of testing our faith and desires to rob us of the things which are ours, the Lord orders us to offer willingly not only the things that the person goes after unjustly but even those not demanded.
— Chromatius of Aquileia, TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 25.2.1

For it were an unworthy thing that a believer should stand in his cause before an unbelieving judge. Or if one who is a believer, though (as he must be) a worldly man, though he should have reverenced you for the worthiness of the faith, sues you because the cause is a necessary one, you will lose the worthiness of Christ for the business of the world. Further, every lawsuit irritates the heart and excites bad thoughts; for when you see dishonesty or bribery employed against you, you hasten to support your own cause by like means, though originally you might have intended nothing of the sort.
— Pseudo-Chrysostom ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

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

Cloak — An upper garment, “an exterior tunic, wide and long, reaching to the ankles, but without sleeves” (Isa. 59:17). The word so rendered is elsewhere rendered “robe” or “mantle.” It was worn by the high…
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…
Actions At Law · Duty of — Duty of
Commandments · DISCOURSE — DISCOURSE
Conduct, Christian · Submitting to injuries — Submitting to injuries
Debtor · LAWS CONCERNING — LAWS CONCERNING
Dress · Sleeveless shirt, — Sleeveless shirt,
Forgiveness · OF ENEMIES — OF ENEMIES
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
Religion · TRUE — TRUE
Retaliation · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 5:38-42

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 5:40

John Gill on Matthew 5:40

John Calvin on Matthew 5:38-41

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 5:38-42

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 5:40

John Gill on Matthew 5:40

John Calvin on Matthew 5:38-41

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Matthew 5:38-42