1620 | Matthew 5:31
Divorce
31 “ It has been said , ‘ Any one who divorc es his wife must give her a cer tif i cate of di vorce .’ a h 32 But I tell you that any one who di vorc es his wife , ex cept for sex u al im mo ral i ty , makes her the vic tim of adultery , and any one who mar ries a di vorced woman commits adultery . i
Oaths
33 “ Again , you have heard that it was said
to the peo ple long ago , ‘ Do not break your oath , j but ful fill to the Lord the vows you have made .’ k 34 But I tell you , do not swear an oath at all : l ei ther by heav en , for it is God ’ s throne ; m 35 or by the earth , for it is his foot stool ; or by Je ru sa lem , for it is the city of the Great King . n 36 And do not swear by your head , for you can not make even one hair white or black . 37 All you need to say is sim ply ‘ Yes ’ or ‘ No ’; o any thing beyond this comes from the evil one . b p
5:31 h Dt 24:1‐4 5:32 i Lk 16:18 5:33 j Lev 19:12 k Nu 30:2 ;
Dt 23:21 ; Mt 23:16‐22 5:34 l Jas 5:12 m Isa 66:1 ;
Mt 23:22 5:35 n Ps 48:2 5:37 o Jas 5:12 p Mt 6:13 ; 13:19 ,
38 ; Jn 17:15 ; 2Th 3:3 ; 1Jn 2:13 , 14 ; 3:12 ; 5:18 , 19 5:38 q Ex 21:24 ; Lev 24:20 ; Dt 19:21
5:39 r Lk 6:29 ; Ro 12:17 , 19 ; 1Co 6:7 ; 1Pe 3:9 5:42 s Dt 15:8 ; Lk 6:30 5:43 t Lev 19:18 u Dt 23:6
5:44 v Lk 6:27 , 28 ; 23:34 ; Ac 7:60 ; Ro 12:14 ; 1Co 4:12 ; 1Pe 2:23 5:45 w ver 9 x Job 25:3
5:46 y Lk 6:32 5:48 z Lev 19:2 ; 1Pe 1:16 one slaps you on the right cheek , turn to them the oth er cheek also . r 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt , hand over your coat as well . 41 If any one forc es you to go one mile , go with them two miles . 42 Give to the one who asks you , and do not turn away from the one who wants to bor row from you . s
Love for Enemies
43 “ You have heard that it was said ,
‘ Love your neigh bor d t and hate your enemy .’ u 44 But I tell you , love your en e mies and pray for those who per se cute you , v
45 that you may be chil dren w of your Father in heav en . He caus es his sun to rise on the evil and the good , and sends rain on the righ teous and the un righ teous . x
46 If you love those who love you , what reward will you get ? y Are not even the tax col lec tors do ing that ? 47 And if you greet only your own peo ple , what are you do ing more than oth ers ? Do not even pa gans do that ? 48 Be per fect , there fore , as your heavenly Father is perfect . z
Eye for Eye
38 “ You have heard that it was said , ‘ Eye
for eye , and tooth for tooth .’ c q 39 But I tell you , do not re sist an evil per son . If anya 31 Deut . 24:1 b 37 Or from evil c 38 Exodus 21:24 ; Lev . 24:20 ; Deut . 19:21 d 43 Lev . 19:18 underline his point : one must do whatever is necessary to evade destruction . Jesus probably mentions the eye first ( v . 29 ) because of the sin just mentioned ( v . 28 ). 5:31 certificate of divorce . Cf . Dt 24:1 ; such a certificate allowed a wife to remarry ; the key element of such certificates was the phrase , “ You are now free to marry another man ” ( sometimes abbreviated , “ You are now free ”). 5:32 except for sexual immorality . One school of Pharisees ( the school of Hillel ) allowed divorce for any reason ; the other ( the school of Shammai ) allowed it only for “ sexual immorality ” ( as here ). A legal divorce permitted remarriage , but without a valid divorce , a wife ’ s new marriage was invalid , hence adulterous . ( In a Jewish legal setting the wife ’ s divorce was more at issue than the husband ’ s because Jewish law in principle permitted men to have multiple wives .) Jesus here depicts divorce as invalid , apart from the partner ’ s infidelity . Because Jesus often used graphic hyperbole ( see note on v . 30 ), offered general statements that might be qualified in some cases ( see note on 1Co 7:15 ), and elsewhere treated the dissolution of marriage as genuine ( though normally wrong ; cf . Mt 19:6 ; Jn 4:18 ), some view the present statement as hyperbole . Hyperbole was meant to graphically reinforce the point , here the warning against breaking one ’ s marriage . 5:33 Do not break your oath . An oath invoked a deity ’ s witness that one was telling the truth . Here Jesus alludes to texts such as Lev 19:12 ; Nu 30:2 ; Dt 23:21 – 22 . 5:34 – 35 do not swear an oath at all . A few radical sages and sects forbade oaths , demanding that one ’ s integrity be so great that oaths were unnecessary . Other Jewish people sometimes tried to evade the curse incurred in broken oaths by swearing by something less than God . heaven . “ Heaven ” is God ’ s throne and “ earth ” his footstool in Isa 66:1 ; “ Jerusalem ” is “ the city of the Great King ” in Ps 48:2 . 5:36 cannot make even one hair white or black . People could not control signs of aging . 5:38 Eye for eye , and tooth for tooth . The principle of equal justice enshrined in “ eye for eye ” appeared widely in ancient law ; although only in Israel did it apply across class lines ( see note on Lev 24:20 ). In a number of ancient legal collections , this rule appears beside rules pertaining to being struck on the cheek ( v . 39 ). 5:39 slaps you on the right cheek . The backhanded blow on the right cheek was meant primarily as an insult , a challenge to the honor of the person struck . The striker could be taken to court and fined for this offense . 5:40 hand over your coat . The coat was the one possession that a creditor could not legally seize from a debtor ( Ex 22:26 – 27 ; Dt 24:12 – 13 ). The very poor might have only a single coat ; in such cases , surrendering both the inner and outer garments might leave one naked . In this case , an element of hyperbole might be involved , and / or ( as some suggest ) it might include shaming one ’ s aggressor with such extensive cooperation . 5:41 forces you to go one mile . Roman soldiers , viewed as members of the hostile occupying army , sometimes forced civilians to carry gear for them . Jesus envisions shocking compliance , voluntary cooperation far beyond what the soldier demands . 5:43 hate your enemy . The command to love one ’ s neighbor is explicit in Lev 19:18 . The command to hate enemies , while emphasized by some contemporary Jewish sects , was not explicit in Scripture , but extrapolated from pious examples there ( Ps 31:6 ; 119:113 ; 139:21 ). 5:44 Some ancient thinkers advocated nonresistance , often on the grounds that anything that could be taken away did not really matter . Jesus ’ words go even deeper : to love one ’ s enemies . 5:45 that you may be children of your Father . Ancient moralists , not only Jews but also some Gentiles , often urged imitation of the perfect , divine example . 5:46 even the tax collectors . For mainstream Galileans and Judeans , tax collectors ( see note on 9:9 ) and Gentiles were negative examples . 5:47 greet . See note on 23:7,8 . 5:48 Be perfect . Ancient speakers and writers sometimes