The Fallible Study Bible

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Matthew5:38–48

Love Your Enemies

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Matthew 5:38–48 — Love Your Enemies. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

38

You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.’

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Ēkousate hoti errethē Ophthalmon anti ophthalmou kai odonta anti odontos

Word by word10 · parsed
ἨκούσατεĒkousateYou have heardG191
√ ἀκούω — to hear (in various senses)VerbAorist Indicative Active2nd Person Plural
akouō: to hear (aorist, 2nd plural) The formula that opens each antithesis of this chapter. The plural is a crowd who have heard, not a scholar who has read: the Law reached most of them as recitation plus commentary, indistinguishably. Ellicott's charge is exactly this, that the scribes first took their stand on the letter and then expanded it in a wrong direction, and the hearers could not tell where the one stopped.
ὅτιhotithatG3754
√ ὅτι — demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant)Conjunction
ἐρρέθηerrethēit was saidG2046
√ ἐρέω — an alternate for G2036 (ἔπω) in certain tensesVerbAorist Indicative Passive3rd Person Singular
ereō: to say (aorist passive) A passive with no stated speaker. Christ's quarrel in this verse is never named as a quarrel with Moses; Barnes insists he finds no fault with the rule as applied to magistrates and does not take upon himself to repeal it, and Cambridge agrees the retribution was exacted by judicial sentence, not to gratify personal vengeance. The unnamed agent is the tradition that moved the rule from the bench to the street.
ὈφθαλμὸνOphthalmonEyeG3788
√ ὀφθαλμός — the eye (literally or figuratively)NounAccusative Masculine Singular
ἀντὶantiforG473
√ ἀντί — opposite, iPreposition
anti: over against, in place of The preposition of equivalence and exchange. It is the same preposition the New Testament later uses for a life given in the place of many (Matthew 20:28), so the word that here fixes a ceiling on vengeance is elsewhere the word for substitution that ends vengeance. That resonance is real in the lexicon; the unit's Verifier candidates do not list Matthew 20:28, so the link is offered here as observation, not as a computed thread.
ὀφθαλμοῦophthalmoueyeG3788
√ ὀφθαλμός — the eye (literally or figuratively)NounGenitive Masculine Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὀδόνταodontatoothG3599
√ ὀδούς — a "tooth"NounAccusative Masculine Singular
odous: a tooth Eye and tooth are chosen because they cannot be given back. That is the point of the statute, and the point of the Jewish tradition Gill reports at length, in which R. Sandish argues against Ben Zeta that a blow cannot be measured out precisely enough to satisfy the letter, so the rule must mean money. Gill's own verdict is that Christ faults the gloss, not the law.
ἀντὶantiforG473
√ ἀντί — opposite, iPreposition
ὀδόντοςodontostoothG3599
√ ὀδούς — a "tooth"NounGenitive Masculine Singular
Genitive after anti, closing the formula.
39

But I tell you not to resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also;

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de egō legō hymin mē antistēnai tō ponērō all’ hostis rhapizei se eis tēn sou dexian siagona strepson autō tēn allēn kai

Word by word22 · parsed
δὲdeButG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ἐγὼegōIG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounNominative 1st Person Singular
egō: I (emphatic) The pronoun that needs no place in the sentence and takes the highest one. Five times in this chapter the unnamed “it was said” is answered by a named, present, first-person “I.” JFB's judgement is that in doing so our Lord is not overturning the Law but standing as its incomparable Interpreter, in force from the beginning.
λέγωlegōtellG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
ὑμῖνhyminyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounDative 2nd Person Plural
μὴmēnotG3361
√ μή — (adverb) not, (conjunction) lestAdverb
ἀντιστῆναιantistēnaito resistG436
√ ἀνθίστημι — to stand against, iVerbAorist Infinitive Active
anthistēmi: to stand against (aorist infinitive) Not passivity but the refusal of a posture. Ellicott's rule is that the disciple, once wronged, must eliminate from his motives the natural desire to retaliate or accuse, while still owing duties to the law, to society and to the offender. Gill likewise allows lawful self-defence and appeal to the magistrate while forbidding private revenge.
τῷtōanG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Neuter Singular
πονηρῷponērōevil [person]G4190
√ πονηρός — hurtful, iAdjectiveDative Neuter Singular
ponēros: hurtful, evil The word returns in v. 45, where God makes his sun rise on the ponērous. Whatever the disciple is forbidden to stand against in v. 39, God is shown warming in v. 45: the unit builds its argument on one adjective used twice.
ἀλλ’all’G235
√ ἀλλά — properly, other things, iConjunction
ὅστιςhostis[If] someoneG3748
√ ὅστις — which some, iPersonal / Relative PronounNominative Masculine Singular
ῥαπίζειrhapizeislapsG4474
√ ῥαπίζω — to slapVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
rhapizō: to slap A rare verb, in the whole New Testament only here and at Matthew 26:67, where the council strikes Jesus. That is the unit's sharpest verbal link and the Verifier confirms it. The command and the obedience share a word.
σεseyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative 2nd Person Singular
εἰςeisonG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
τὴνtēnG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
σουsouyourG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Singular
δεξιὰνdexianrightG1188
√ δεξιός — the right side or (feminine) hand (as that which usually takes)AdjectiveAccusative Feminine Singular
dexios: right Matthew alone specifies the side, and Pulpit reasons that the left cheek is the more natural target of a straight blow, so naming the right marks both the worthier side and, by implication, a backhanded stroke. That matters for the whole paragraph: Gill's Mishnaic scale fixed a shekel for a closed-fist blow and four hundred zuzim for one with the back of the hand, so the case Christ chooses is the one carrying the heaviest collectable claim, and the disciple is told to waive the largest sum.
σιαγόναsiagonacheekG4600
√ σιαγών — the jaw-bone, iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
στρέψονstrepsonturnG4762
√ στρέφω — to twist, iVerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
strephō: to twist, turn (aorist imperative) Luke's parallel says “offer”; Matthew's verb is the physical turning. Pulpit puts it exactly: Matthew shows the action, Luke regards the mental condition necessary for it.
αὐτῷautōto himG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
τὴνtēntheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
ἄλληνallēnotherG243
√ ἄλλος — "else," iAdjectiveAccusative Feminine Singular
καὶkaialsoG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
40

if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well;

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai tō thelonti krithēnai soi kai labein ton sou chitōna aphes autō to himation kai

Word by word15 · parsed
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
τῷtōif someoneG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Singular
θέλοντίthelontiwantsG2309
√ θέλω — to determine (as an active option from subjective impulseVerbPresent Participle ActiveDative Masculine Singular
thelō: to will, want (present participle) The participle is in the dative, governed by aphes: the cloak is released to that man, the one still forming the intention to sue. The command is therefore pre-emptive, which is why Ellicott can align it with Paul at 1 Corinthians 6:7, why not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded.
κριθῆναιkrithēnaito sueG2919
√ κρίνω — by implication, to try, condemn, punishVerbAorist Infinitive Passive
krinō: to judge, try, condemn (aorist passive infinitive) The passive keeps the disciple from being the plaintiff of his own cause. Poole's summary of vv. 39 to 41 is that no injury can deserve a private revenge and that light injuries are not of such a nature that we should contend for a public revenge of them.
σοιsoiyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounDative 2nd Person Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
λαβεῖνlabeintakeG2983
√ λαμβάνω — while G138 (αἱρέομαι) is more violent, to seize or remove))VerbAorist Infinitive Active
τὸνtonG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
σουsouyourG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Singular
χιτῶνάchitōnatunicG5509
√ χιτών — a tunic or shirtNounAccusative Masculine Singular
chitōn: tunic The inner garment, sleeved and reaching below the knee (Cambridge), made commonly of linen and encircling the whole body (Barnes). It is the cheaper of the two, and the one actually being sued for, so the command to add the cloak is a step up in value rather than a repetition. Cambridge adds that the poorest people wore a tunic only, which quietly marks who is being addressed: a man with something left to give.
ἄφεςapheslet him haveG863
√ ἀφίημι — an intensive form of , to go)VerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
aphiēmi: to send away, release, forgive (aorist imperative) One of the most theologically loaded verbs in the Gospels, used here of a coat. In the next chapter the same verb carries the petition about debts in the Lord's Prayer. Matthew's readers are being trained in one word before they are asked to pray it.
αὐτῷautō. . .G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
τὸto[your]G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Singular
ἱμάτιονhimationcloakG2440
√ ἱμάτιον — a dress (inner or outer)NounAccusative Neuter Singular
himation: outer garment, cloak The bed-covering of a poor man, which Exodus 22:26 forbids holding overnight as a pledge. JFB and Pulpit both name that protection. The disciple is told to hand over the very thing the Law had reserved to him, which is the sharpest form of the principle in this paragraph: the yielding goes past what the statute required of the other man.
καὶkaias wellG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
41

and if someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai hostis angareusei se hen milion hypage met’ autou dyo

Word by word10 · parsed
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὅστιςhostisif someoneG3748
√ ὅστις — which some, iPersonal / Relative PronounNominative Masculine Singular
ἀγγαρεύσειangareuseiforces you to goG29
√ ἀγγαρεύω — properly, to be a courier, iVerbFuture Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
angareuō: to press into service as a courier The same rare verb (three verses in the New Testament) is used at Matthew 27:32 and Mark 15:21 of Simon of Cyrene, impressed to carry the cross. Cambridge itself points the reader to Matthew 27:32 for an instance of this forced service. The precept and the passion share a word, and the Verifier confirms the lexeme.
σεse. . .G4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative 2nd Person Singular
ἕνhenoneG1520
√ εἷς — oneAdjectiveAccusative Neuter Singular
μίλιονmilionmileG3400
√ μίλιον — a thousand paces, iNounAccusative Neuter Singular
milion: a Roman mile A unit of Roman road measurement in the mouth of a Jewish teacher: the illustration is drawn from the humiliation his hearers actually knew.
ὕπαγεhypagegoG5217
√ ὑπάγω — to lead (oneself) under, iVerbPresent Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
hypagō: to go, withdraw (present imperative) The second mile is not owed, cannot be demanded, and cannot be measured by any statute. It is the first thing in the paragraph the disciple does freely; up to this point he has only yielded.
μετ’met’withG3326
√ μετά — properly, denoting accompanimentPreposition
αὐτοῦautouhimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
δύοdyotwo [miles]G1417
√ δύο — "two"AdjectiveAccusative Neuter Plural
dyo: two The doubling is the pattern of the whole paragraph: the other cheek, the further garment, the second mile. Maclaren's reading is that such yielding without resistance is not to be all, and that the disposition behind the doubling is the thing commanded.
42

Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

dos tō aitounti se kai apostraphēs mē ton thelonta danisasthai apo sou

Word by word12 · parsed
δόςdosGiveG1325
√ δίδωμι — to give (used in a very wide application, properly, or by implication, literally or figurativelyVerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
didōmi: to give (aorist imperative) The hinge of the unit. Verses 39 to 41 govern what is taken from you; from here the subject turns to what is asked of you, and Pulpit marks this as the easy transition to the command of love in v. 43. Non-resistance was never the goal; it was the clearing of the ground.
τῷtōto the [one]G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Singular
αἰτοῦντίaitountiwho asksG154
√ αἰτέω — to ask (in genitive case)VerbPresent Participle ActiveDative Masculine Singular
aiteō: to ask The participle is open: no worthiness test is written into the Greek. Gill states the principle in the widest form, whether Jew or Gentile, friend or foe, worthy or unworthy, and then immediately adds that the circumstances of persons are to be considered. The commentators uniformly read a principle here, not a procedure.
σεseyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative 2nd Person Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἀποστραφῇςapostraphēsdo not turn away fromG654
√ ἀποστρέφω — to turn away or back (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Subjunctive Passive2nd Person Singular
apostrephō: to turn away (aorist subjunctive passive) The passive voice locates the danger inside the disciple, not in the borrower. Note the mirror with v. 39: there he is commanded to turn (strephō) toward the man who struck him; here he is forbidden to be turned away from the man who asks. Same root, opposite prefix, one posture of the body.
μὴmē. . .G3361
√ μή — (adverb) not, (conjunction) lestAdverb
τὸνtonthe [one]G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
θέλονταthelontawho wantsG2309
√ θέλω — to determine (as an active option from subjective impulseVerbPresent Participle ActiveAccusative Masculine Singular
δανίσασθαιdanisasthaito borrowG1155
√ δανείζω — to loan on interestVerbAorist Infinitive Middle
daneizō: to lend on interest (aorist middle: to borrow) A rare verb, three verses in the New Testament, and the other two are Luke 6:34 and 6:35, the Lukan form of this same saying, where the demand is to lend hoping for nothing again. The Verifier confirms the lexeme; this is the tightest verbal link the verse has.
ἀπὸapofromG575
√ ἀπό — "off," iPreposition
σοῦsouyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Singular
Genitive of source after apo: the loan is to come out of what is yours.
43

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Ēkousate hoti errethē Agapēseis ton sou plēsion kai misēseis ton sou echthron

Word by word12 · parsed
ἨκούσατεĒkousateYou have heardG191
√ ἀκούω — to hear (in various senses)VerbAorist Indicative Active2nd Person Plural
akouō: to hear (aorist) The fifth and last of the antitheses, and Maclaren calls it the climax of them, whether we name it the highest or the deepest.
ὅτιhotithatG3754
√ ὅτι — demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant)Conjunction
ἐρρέθηerrethēit was saidG2046
√ ἐρέω — an alternate for G2036 (ἔπω) in certain tensesVerbAorist Indicative Passive3rd Person Singular
ἈγαπήσειςAgapēseisLoveG25
√ ἀγαπάω — to love (in a social or moral sense)VerbFuture Indicative Active2nd Person Singular
agapaō: to love (future as imperative) Leviticus 19:18 in its Greek dress. In that verse “neighbour” is set parallel to “the children of thy people,” which is the foothold Maclaren says the later contempt for outsiders found there. The command was never wrong; its circumference was drawn in.
τὸνtonG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
σουsouyourG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Singular
πλησίονplēsionneighborG4139
√ πλησίον — (adverbially) close byAdverb
plēsion: close by, the one near An adverb doing the work of a noun, and therefore infinitely negotiable. Poole traces the negotiation: they could not be so blind as to exclude their own countrymen, but the uncircumcised they generally treated as enemies whom the precept did not oblige them to love.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
μισήσειςmisēseisHateG3404
√ μισέω — to detest (especially to persecute)VerbFuture Indicative Active2nd Person Singular
miseō: to detest, persecute The one word in this unit whose provenance the sources cannot supply. Every commentator in this brief who addresses it says it is not in the Law; they differ over whether it is an addition, an inference, or a deduction the Law made available. We have tiered the corresponding thread as flagged for that reason.
τὸνtonG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
σουsouyourG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Singular
ἐχθρόνechthronenemyG2190
√ ἐχθρός — hateful (passively, odious, or actively, hostile)AdjectiveAccusative Masculine Singular
echthros: hateful, hostile The word returns in v. 44 in the plural and possessive, “your enemies.” Between v. 43 and v. 44 nothing about the enemy changes; only the verb governing him does.
44

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de egō legō hymin agapate tous hymōn echthrous kai proseuchesthe hyper tōn diōkontōn hymas

Word by word14 · parsed
δὲdeButG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ἐγὼegōIG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounNominative 1st Person Singular
egō: I (emphatic) The second emphatic “I” of the unit, answering the second agentless “it was said.” The rhetorical structure of the whole chapter rests on this one unnecessary pronoun.
λέγωlegōtellG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
ὑμῖνhyminyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounDative 2nd Person Plural
ἀγαπᾶτεagapateloveG25
√ ἀγαπάω — to love (in a social or moral sense)VerbPresent Imperative Active2nd Person Plural
agapaō: to love (present imperative) Not the future-as-imperative of Leviticus 19:18 LXX but a durative command. Benson lays out the three grounds our Lord attaches to it: that the narrow charity of the Jews made them no better than those they despised; that those who boast of being sons of God should show it by imitating his goodness to the unthankful and evil; and that this completes the duty of love. All three are in the following four verses.
τοὺςtousG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Plural
ὑμῶνhymōnyourG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Plural
ἐχθροὺςechthrousenemiesG2190
√ ἐχθρός — hateful (passively, odious, or actively, hostile)AdjectiveAccusative Masculine Plural
echthros: hostile one, enemy Barnes's caution is worth keeping: it is impossible to approve the conduct of a man who curses and injures you, and the command is not to approve it but to will his good, return good for evil, and seek his eternal welfare (Romans 12:17-20).
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
προσεύχεσθεproseuchestheprayG4336
√ προσεύχομαι — to pray to God, iVerbPresent Imperative Middle or Passive2nd Person Plural
proseuchomai: to pray (present imperative middle) The highest of Cambridge's four degrees of response to hatred, and the one Ellicott says remains possible when every act and word would be rejected with scorn: in praying for them we are drawing near to the mind of God, and asking that our wills may be as His.
ὑπὲρhyperforG5228
√ ὑπέρ — "over", iPreposition
hyper: over, on behalf of Intercession, not mention.
τῶνtōnthose whoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Plural
διωκόντωνdiōkontōnpersecuteG1377
√ διώκω — compare the base of G1169 (δειλός) and G1249 (διάκονος))VerbPresent Participle ActiveGenitive Masculine Plural
diōkō: to pursue, persecute (present participle) The same root stood in the last beatitude of this chapter, where those persecuted for righteousness are called blessed. The Sermon asks its hearers to pray for the people who make them blessed.
ὑμᾶςhymasyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative 2nd Person Plural
45

that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

hopōs genēsthe huioi tou hymōn Patros tou en ouranois hoti anatellei ton autou hēlion epi ponērous kai agathous kai brechei epi dikaious kai adikous

Word by word24 · parsed
ὅπωςhopōsthatG3704
√ ὅπως — what(-ever) how, iConjunction
γένησθεgenēstheyou may beG1096
√ γίνομαι — to cause to be ("gen"-erate), iVerbAorist Subjunctive Middle2nd Person Plural
ginomai: to come to be (aorist subjunctive middle) Pulpit sets out the two readings honestly: either love to enemies is the means by which the full privileges of sonship are entered, or the sense is nearer “show yourselves sons,” a becoming in fact on each occasion. The brief does not decide between them and neither do we.
υἱοὶhuioisonsG5207
√ υἱός — a "son" (sometimes of animals), used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinshipNounNominative Masculine Plural
huios: son Not children but sons, the term of inheritance and likeness. Barnes lists the senses in which believers are called sons and says the word is used here because in doing good to enemies they resemble God.
τοῦtouofG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ὑμῶνhymōnyourG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Plural
ΠατρὸςPatrosFatherG3962
√ πατήρ — a "father" (literally or figuratively, near or more remote)NounGenitive Masculine Singular
τοῦtouG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
οὐρανοῖςouranoisheavenG3772
√ οὐρανός — the skyNounDative Masculine Plural
ὅτιhotiG3754
√ ὅτι — demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant)Conjunction
ἀνατέλλειanatelleiHe causesG393
√ ἀνατέλλω — to (cause to) ariseVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
anatellō: to cause to arise A nine-verse word. Gill presses the possessive that follows it: his sun, his own and not another's, which he made and commands to rise morning by morning, and which he commands over the fields of the bad as of the good.
τὸνtonG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
αὐτοῦautouHisG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ἥλιονhēlionsun {to rise}G2246
√ ἥλιος — perhaps akin to the alternate of G138 (αἱρέομαι))NounAccusative Masculine Singular
hēlios: the sun The first of the two great sources of maintenance, as Pulpit calls them. Ellicott records the near-verbal Stoic parallel in Seneca, that if you would imitate the gods, do good even to the unthankful, for the sun rises even on the wicked; he offers it as a parallel, not a source.
ἐπὶepionG1909
√ ἐπί — properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etcPreposition
πονηροὺςponērous[the] evilG4190
√ πονηρός — hurtful, iAdjectiveAccusative Masculine Plural
ponēros: evil The same adjective as v. 39. The man the disciple is forbidden to stand against is the man God is warming. That is the argument of the paragraph in a single repeated word.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἀγαθοὺςagathous[the] goodG18
√ ἀγαθός — "good" (in any sense, often as noun)AdjectiveAccusative Masculine Plural
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
βρέχειbrecheisends rainG1026
√ βρέχω — to moisten (especially by a shower)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
brechō: to rain, wet with a shower Gill's rabbinic parallel is the strongest evidence in this brief that the premise was conceded by Christ's hearers: their own saying that the day of rain is greater than the resurrection of the dead, because the resurrection is for the just, but rain is for the just and the wicked alike. Christ argues from a proverb they already owned.
ἐπὶepionG1909
√ ἐπί — properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etcPreposition
δικαίουςdikaious[the] righteousG1342
√ δίκαιος — equitable (in character or act)AdjectiveAccusative Masculine Plural
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἀδίκουςadikous[the] unrighteousG94
√ ἄδικος — unjustAdjectiveAccusative Masculine Plural
adikos: unjust The last word of the sentence, and by Pulpit's chiasm the emphatic one: the paragraph begins with the evil and ends with the unjust, and God's gifts bracket both.
46

If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even tax collectors do the same?

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

gar ean agapēsēte tous agapōntas hymas tina misthon echete ouchi kai hoi telōnai poiousin to auto

Word by word16 · parsed
γὰρgarG1063
√ γάρ — properly, assigning a reason (used in argument, explanation or intensificationConjunction
gar: for The connective that makes vv. 46 and 47 the proof of v. 45, not a new topic.
ἐὰνeanIfG1437
√ ἐάν — a conditional particleConjunction
ἀγαπήσητεagapēsēteyou loveG25
√ ἀγαπάω — to love (in a social or moral sense)VerbAorist Subjunctive Active2nd Person Plural
agapaō: to love (aorist subjunctive) The same verb as v. 44, now inside a conditional: the vocabulary of the command is turned back on the hearer to show how cheaply it can be satisfied.
τοὺςtousthoseG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Plural
ἀγαπῶνταςagapōntaswho loveG25
√ ἀγαπάω — to love (in a social or moral sense)VerbPresent Participle ActiveAccusative Masculine Plural
ὑμᾶςhymasyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative 2nd Person Plural
τίναtinawhatG5101
√ τίς — an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions)Interrogative / Indefinite PronounAccusative Masculine Singular
μισθὸνmisthonrewardG3408
√ μισθός — pay for service (literally or figuratively), good or badNounAccusative Masculine Singular
misthos: pay for service The word already used in the last beatitude of this chapter, of the great reward in heaven. Here the ledger runs the other way: reciprocal love is a transaction that settles itself, leaving nothing outstanding on God's side.
ἔχετεechetewill you getG2192
√ ἔχω — to hold (used in very various applications, literally or figuratively, direct or remoteVerbPresent Indicative Active2nd Person Plural
echō: to hold, have (present) Present, not future: the account is closed already.
οὐχὶouchiDo notG3780
√ οὐχί — not indeedIntPrtcl
ouchi: not indeed (interrogative) A particle demanding assent. Ellicott notes that our Lord puts himself on the level of his hearers here, borrowing their own contempt for the tax-farmer and turning it into a measurement of their righteousness.
καὶkaievenG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
οἱhoiG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
τελῶναιtelōnaitax collectorsG5057
√ τελώνης — a tax-farmer, iNounNominative Masculine Plural
telōnēs: a tax-farmer Not a salaried official. Cambridge and Pulpit describe the Roman system of auctioning the revenue and subletting the collection, so the men at the bottom repaid themselves by exaction. Gill adds that in rabbinic law they were classed with thieves, barred as witnesses, and shunned in private houses. Pulpit's observation closes the circle: one of these was chosen to be among the twelve and to write this Gospel.
ποιοῦσινpoiousindoG4160
√ ποιέω — to make or do (in a very wide application, more or less direct)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
τὸtotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Singular
αὐτὸautosameG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Neuter 3rd Person Singular
47

And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even Gentiles do the same?

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai ean aspasēsthe monon tous hymōn adelphous ti poieite perisson ouchi kai hoi ethnikoi poiousin to auto

Word by word17 · parsed
καὶkaiAndG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἐὰνeanifG1437
√ ἐάν — a conditional particleConjunction
ἀσπάσησθεaspasēstheyou greetG782
√ ἀσπάζομαι — to enfold in the arms, iVerbAorist Subjunctive Middle2nd Person Plural
aspazomai: to enfold in the arms, greet Gill preserves the formulae: a good day to my lord, answered by a good and long day to my lord, the reply always doubling the salutation. He also cites the rabbinic counsel to be first in greeting every man, even a stranger in the street, and judges that where it was kept it proceeded from policy and fear rather than from cordial respect.
μόνονmonononlyG3440
√ μόνον — merelyAdverb
monon: merely, only The single word that turns an innocent act into the verse's charge.
τοὺςtousG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Plural
ὑμῶνhymōnyourG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Plural
ἀδελφοὺςadelphousbrothersG80
√ ἀδελφός — a brother (literally or figuratively) near or remote (much like G1 (Α))NounAccusative Masculine Plural
adelphos: brother Pulpit takes the fellow-feeling here as spiritual rather than national, Gill and Poole as kindred and countrymen. Either way the circle is one the greeter drew himself, which is the same fault v. 43 found in the word neighbour.
τίtiwhatG5101
√ τίς — an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions)Interrogative / Indefinite PronounAccusative Neuter Singular
ποιεῖτεpoieiteare you doingG4160
√ ποιέω — to make or do (in a very wide application, more or less direct)VerbPresent Indicative Active2nd Person Plural
περισσὸνperissonmore than othersG4053
√ περισσός — superabundant (in quantity) or superior (in quality)AdjectiveAccusative Neuter Singular
perissos: superabundant, surplus The unit's key measure, and the word that makes sense of the doublings in vv. 39 to 41. The other cheek, the outer cloak and the second mile are each exactly this: perisson, the part of the transaction no one can require and no ledger can explain.
οὐχὶouchiDo notG3780
√ οὐχί — not indeedIntPrtcl
καὶkaievenG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
οἱhoiG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
ἐθνικοὶethnikoiGentilesG1482
√ ἐθνικός — national ("ethnic"), iAdjectiveNominative Masculine Plural
ethnikos: national, ethnic A four-verse word in the New Testament; the Verifier places Matthew 6:7 and 3 John 1:7 among the others, so the vocabulary of outsiderhood is nearly Matthew's own. Ellicott's question is the verse in one line: were the followers of Christ to be content with copying heathen customs?
ποιοῦσινpoiousindoG4160
√ ποιέω — to make or do (in a very wide application, more or less direct)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
τὸtotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Singular
αὐτὸautosameG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Neuter 3rd Person Singular
48

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Esesthe hymeis teleioi oun hōs ho hymōn ho ouranios Patēr estin teleios

Word by word12 · parsed
ἜσεσθεEsestheBeG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbFuture Indicative Middle2nd Person Plural
eimi: to be (future indicative middle) The verse most often read as the Sermon's crushing demand is not grammatically a demand at all. Whether the future is imperatival, predictive, or both is genuinely disputed in this brief, and the difference between “you must” and “you shall” is the difference between a law and a promise.
ὑμεῖςhymeisG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounNominative 2nd Person Plural
hymeis: you (emphatic) The third emphatic pronoun structurally placed in this unit, after the two occurrences of egō. The speaker who twice set his own “I” against the tradition now sets his hearers' “you” against it.
τέλειοιteleioiperfectG5046
√ τέλειος — complete (in various applications of labor, growth, mental and moral character, etcAdjectiveNominative Masculine Plural
teleios: complete, brought to its end Pulpit's exegesis is the most careful here: the word cannot govern every example since v. 21, because vers. 31 and 32 are excluded by the comparison with God that follows, so it must govern vv. 44 to 47, love to others even when they have wronged you. He adds, with Weiss, that Leviticus 11:44's “ye shall be holy, for I am holy” was the negative form of this, separation from impurity, and this verse its positive form, an all-embracing self-sacrificing love.
οὖνounthereforeG3767
√ οὖν — (adverbially) certainly, or (conjunctionally) accordinglyConjunction
oun: therefore The inference from vv. 44 to 47, not from the whole chapter.
ὡςhōsasG5613
√ ὡς — which how, iAdverb
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ὑμῶνhymōnyourG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Plural
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
οὐράνιοςouraniosheavenlyG3770
√ οὐράνιος — celestial, iAdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
ouranios: heavenly An adjective for what v. 45 gave as a place.
ΠατὴρPatērFatherG3962
√ πατήρ — a "father" (literally or figuratively, near or more remote)NounNominative Masculine Singular
ἐστινestinisG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
τέλειόςteleiosperfectG5046
√ τέλειος — complete (in various applications of labor, growth, mental and moral character, etcAdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
teleios: complete (of the Father) Gill's grammatical note carries the pastoral weight of the verse: the as here is not a note of equality but of likeness, so the comparison is of kind and of objects loved, not of degree. Pulpit reaches the same place from the other side, that man will never have the Father's fulness of love but may fully attain the measure he was created for.

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. The limit that became a licence — 5:38

The quotation in v. 38 has no verb: Ὀφθαλμὸν ἀντὶ ὀφθαλμοῦ, accusative against genitive, a legal tag rather than a sentence. Pulpit observes that the LXX puts the accusative in all three Pentateuch passages although only the first has a verb before it, and concludes the phrase had already become proverbial in Greek; he adds that our Lord was probably not thinking of any one of Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20 or Deuteronomy 19:21 in particular, but using the words as a summary of the Law on this head. Ellicott's account of what went wrong is the sharpest in the brief: the rule was in its essence a limit in both directions, not less than an eye for an eye lest guilt be winked at, not more lest a fresh score of wrong be opened, and the scribes made it a rule of private retaliation. Cambridge and Barnes agree that as a judicial rule it was just, Barnes adding that Christ neither faults it nor repeals it for magistrates. Maclaren dissents: Jesus, he says, sweeps it away entirely and goes further than its abrogation. ⚙ We record the disagreement rather than resolve it. What the Greek shows is only this, that the saying is quoted with an agentless passive, ἐρρέθη, which is wide enough to include both the statute and the gloss laid over it, and that the answering clause in v. 39 is not agentless at all.

ii. Three pictures, and a doubling in each — 5:39-5:41

Maclaren reads the three illustrations as insult, property and forced labour: the blow on the cheek, the legal seizure of the undergarment, the impressment known too well under Roman rule. The tenses do the arguing. ῥαπίζει is a vivid present, the blow still landing, and στρέψον an aorist, one decisive turning; ἀγγαρεύσει is a future indicative, the requisition treated as certain, and ὕπαγε a present imperative, a sustained walk. Each case is then doubled: the other cheek, the further garment, the second mile. Ellicott insists the Sermon is not a code of laws but the assertion of principles, and grounds that on Christ's own conduct when struck (John 18:22-23), which JFB calls the best comment on these words and Cambridge makes the express limitation on them. Barnes goes furthest in qualifying, arguing that the law of nature and all laws human and divine justify self-defence when life is in danger, and that Christ deliberately confined himself to smaller matters. Gill, from the Jewish side, shows what the doubling cost: the Mishnaic scale he cites fixed a shekel for one kind of blow and four hundred zuzim for a backhanded one, so the man who turns the other cheek is waiving a quantified, collectable claim.

iii. The clause with nothing behind it — 5:42-5:43

Verse 42 turns the subject from what is taken to what is asked, and Pulpit marks it as the easy transition into v. 43. Then comes the one place in the unit where the quotation formula covers something unquotable. Ἀγαπήσεις is the future-as-imperative of Leviticus 19:18 LXX; μισήσεις is the identical form with no text behind it. Maclaren says plainly that it comes not from Scripture, though the Leviticus context, where neighbour runs parallel to the children of thy people, gave the contempt for outsiders a foothold. Ellicott and Cambridge call it a Rabbinic addition; Benson says the scribes added it, abusing the commands for destroying the Canaanites; JFB, quoting Bengel, calls it a detestable gloss; Gill produces the actual maxims, including the ruling that after repeated unheeded reproof it is lawful to hate him, and Maimonides on the scholar who must keep the grudge as a serpent. Pulpit alone defends it as a legitimate deduction and a fair summary of the Law's own practice, citing Deuteronomy 25:17-19, while conceding Exodus 23:4 cuts the other way. ⚙ This is the unit's contested seam, and we have tiered its cross-reference as flagged rather than pretend the provenance is settled.

iv. Sons by resemblance: sun, rain, and teleios — 5:44-5:48

The answer in v. 44 changes the verb form as well as the object: against the future indicative Ἀγαπήσεις stands the present imperative ἀγαπᾶτε, a standing habit rather than a statute. JFB notes that the verb is the word for moral love, and that here it denotes the benignant, compassionate outgoings of desire for another's good, not complacency in character; Barnes makes the same distinction between the love of complacency and the love of benevolence. Cambridge finds four ascending degrees in the longer Byzantine form of the verse and holds that dropping the clauses breaks the gradation, while Ellicott, Cambridge and Pulpit all record that the best manuscripts lack them; BSB follows the shorter text. Then the ground: ὅπως γένησθε, that you may become, which Ellicott says is literally and with far fuller meaning the point, and Gill guards at once, no man becomes a child of God by imitation, but by adoption and regenerating grace, so that the imitation shows what birth has already done. The evidence is meteorological. God ἀνατέλλει his sun, a transitive causative, and βρέχει, he rains, on evil and good, just and unjust, and JFB notices that the Greek drops the articles, making the four terms qualities rather than parties. Gill's rabbinic parallel is remarkable and he uses it against his sources: their own saying that rain is greater than the resurrection, because the resurrection is for the just but rain is for the just and the wicked alike. The unit closes on τέλειοι. Ellicott reads the future Ἔσεσθε as the ideal future that implies an imperative; Pulpit shows it is modelled on Deuteronomy 18:13 LXX with the word order reversed so that the perfection, not the being, takes the stress; Barnes glosses it complete, proportionate, regular, and Gill restrains it to the subject in hand, love, sincerity, the whole compass of objects. Poole alone presses it to absolute perfection, not attainable here but to be laboured for.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

⚙ Offered as this tool's own fallible reading, under Scripture and open to correction. The paragraph is usually cut in half, non-resistance in vv. 38 to 42 and love of enemies in vv. 43 to 48, and Pulpit rightly says the subjects are distinct: the first treats the reception of injuries, the second the treatment of those who do them. But the Greek stitches them. πονηρός is the man the disciple may not stand against in v. 39 and the man God warms in v. 45. στρέφω turns the face toward the striker in v. 39 and ἀποστρέφω is forbidden to turn it from the borrower in v. 42: one posture of the body, twice commanded. And every command in vv. 39 to 42 is a doubling that no statute could require, the second cheek, the outer cloak, the second mile, the loan without interest, exactly as v. 45 shows a God who gives sun and rain to those who have earned nothing by them. So our reading is that non-resistance here is not a political theory and not passivity; it is the first half of an argument about parentage. The question the passage puts is not how much a Christian may defend himself, but whether anything in his conduct is περισσόν, surplus, unaccountable by reciprocity. Tax-farmers manage reciprocity; so do outsiders; so, the text implies, does the religion that quotes Leviticus 19:18 and then supplies its own second clause. What cannot be managed by reciprocity is a resemblance, and τέλειος names not a moral score but a thing brought to the end it was made for. On that reading v. 48 is not the crushing demand it sounds; it is the paragraph's only promise, stated as a future indicative, that the family likeness will be complete.

The second mile is the only part of the walk that is yours, and it is the part that looks like your Father. (This line is the tool's own synthesis, not a verse of Scripture.)

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The slap of v. 39 and the slap in the council chamber verbal / quotation: confirmed

The verb ῥαπίζω is almost unique in the New Testament: it stands in Matthew 5:39 and in Matthew 26:67, where the council spits in Jesus' face and strikes him, and nowhere else. Pulpit notes the restriction of the word to these two places and adds that it is properly used of a stroke with a rod. ⚙ The link is lexical before it is theological: the command and the Lord's own hour share one rare Greek verb, so the obedience Matthew records at 26:67 is verbally the obedience commanded at 5:39. JFB, Cambridge and Pulpit all send the reader to John 18:22-23 for the manner of it, where Jesus protests without retaliating, which they take as the limit on a literal reading of the precept.

Matthew 26:67

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G4474 rhapizō (in 2 vv), the whole New Testament occurrence of the word; Greek to Greek within Matthew, so a genuine verbal link, though neither verse quotes the other

Impressed for one mile, impressed to carry a cross verbal / quotation: confirmed

ἀγγαρεύω occurs in only three verses of the New Testament: here, and at Matthew 27:32 and Mark 15:21, where Simon of Cyrene is pressed into service to carry the cross. Cambridge sends the reader to Matthew 27:32 for an instance of the forced service, and Pulpit, following Hatch, shows the post-classical use is the forced transport of military baggage, so that Simon was compelled not merely to accompany the soldiers but to carry a load. ⚙ The same technical verb governs the precept and the only narrative instance Matthew reports.

Matthew 27:32 · Mark 15:21

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G29 angareuō (in 3 vv), a rare technical loanword; all three refs are New Testament Greek, so the verbal link is real; it is lexical recurrence, not citation

Luke's shorter form of the cheek and the tunic verbal / quotation: confirmed

Luke 6:29 carries the same two illustrations with the garments in the reverse order, a difference Pulpit notes and explains by the absence of a law court in Luke, where the thought is of violent removal, the garments taken as they came. The verbal overlap is strong: σιαγών stands in only two verses of the New Testament, this one and Luke 6:29. ⚙ Where Matthew writes στρέψον, turn, Luke writes offer; Pulpit's formulation is that Matthew shows the action and Luke the mental condition necessary for it.

Luke 6:29

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G4600 siagōn (in 2 vv, effectively unique to this pair) and G5509 chitōn (in 10 vv); Greek to Greek, parallel tradition of one saying

Lend, hoping for nothing again verbal / quotation: confirmed

δανείζω appears in three verses only, Matthew 5:42 and Luke 6:34-35, all three in this one saying. Cambridge notes at v. 42 that Luke has lend, hoping for nothing again, and JFB argues that although the verb classically means to have money lent on security or at interest, simple borrowing must be meant, since usury among Israelites was forbidden (Exodus 22:25). ⚙ The Lukan form supplies the motive clause Matthew leaves implicit, and it is the same clause Matthew supplies differently in v. 45: God gives where nothing returns.

Luke 6:34 · Luke 6:35

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G1155 daneizō (in 3 vv, rare) with G25 agapaō and G4190 ponēros at Luke 6:35; Greek to Greek across parallel accounts of one discourse

The ethnikos: Matthew's word for the one outside verbal / quotation: confirmed

ἐθνικός stands in only four verses of the New Testament, and the Verifier places two of the others here: Matthew 6:7, on the heaped-up prayer of the ethnikoi, and 3 John 1:7. Matthew 18:17 enters this group on a different lexeme, tax-farmer, but JFB explicitly links it, noting that there the excommunicated person is said to be as a heathen man and a publican, the same pairing v. 46 and v. 47 use. Ellicott records that the heathen, not the publicans, is the true reading in v. 47; Pulpit quotes Westcott that the adjectival form describes character rather than mere position. ⚙ So Matthew 18:17 is the hard counterweight to 5:47: the same Gospel that forbids limiting greeting to brothers also provides for a man to be treated as an outsider. The tension is in the book, not imported.

Matthew 6:7 · Matthew 18:17 · 3 John 1:7

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G1482 ethnikos (in 4 vv, rare) at Matthew 6:7 and at 3 John 1:7, and separately G5057 telōnēs (in 20 vv) at Matthew 18:17, which the Verifier links on the tax-farmer lexeme and not on ethnikos; JFB supplies the heathen-and-publican pairing there. All refs are New Testament Greek, so the tier is verbal, though none of these verses quotes another

Eye for eye: the three Pentateuch statutes quoted in v. 38 structural / thematic: confirmed

Barnes, JFB, Gill, Cambridge and Pulpit all name Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20 and Deuteronomy 19:21 as the source of the quoted words, and Poole distinguishes their three settings: the woman struck while with child, damage done to a neighbour, and the false witness. Pulpit adds two cautions we keep: the Hebrew preposition at Deuteronomy 19:21 differs from the other two and is less naturally rendered by ἀντί, and Jesus was probably not thinking of any one passage but using the phrase as a summary. ⚙ Matthew quotes in Greek what the Torah says in Hebrew, so no shared Strong's number can exist across the pair; the link is a citation established by the named commentators, not by lexical computation, and we tier it accordingly.

Exodus 21:24 · Leviticus 24:20 · Deuteronomy 19:21

basis: Cross-Testament, Greek quoting Hebrew: shared Strong's numbers are impossible in principle, so no verbal tier is available even though v. 38 plainly cites the lex talionis; basis is the citation as identified by Barnes, JFB, Gill, Cambridge, Poole and Pulpit, with Pulpit's caveat that no single one of the three passages need be in view

Love your neighbour: Leviticus 19:18 under the same formula structural / thematic: confirmed

The first clause of v. 43 is Leviticus 19:18, and Maclaren, Benson, Barnes, JFB, Poole, Gill and Cambridge all say so. Maclaren adds the structural point that matters: in Leviticus the neighbour stands parallel to the children of thy people, so the circumference of the command was national, and the question who is my neighbour (Luke 10:29) was a live one in the schools. ⚙ Matthew's Greek reproduces the LXX's future-as-imperative, which is why the quotation feels seamless even where the second half is not scriptural.

Leviticus 19:18

basis: Cross-Testament, Greek to Hebrew: no shared Strong's lexeme is possible, so the link cannot be tiered verbal despite being an express quotation; basis is the source identification made by Maclaren, Benson, Barnes, JFB, Poole, Gill and Cambridge, plus the shared future-as-imperative form of the LXX

And hate your enemy: a quotation with no text flagged: verify source

No Old Testament passage commands hatred of an enemy, and the brief's commentators do not agree on where the clause came from. Maclaren says it is not from Scripture at all; Ellicott and Cambridge call it a Rabbinic addition or inference; Benson says the scribes added it, abusing the commands for destroying the Canaanites; JFB, citing Bengel, calls it a detestable gloss; Gill treats it as handed down traditionally and supplies actual maxims permitting hatred after unheeded reproof; Pulpit defends it as a legitimate deduction and a fair summary of the Law's practice, pointing to Deuteronomy 25:17-19 while conceding Exodus 23:4 tells against it. ⚙ We flag rather than adjudicate. Exodus 23:4, the command to return an enemy's straying ox, is listed here as the counter-text Pulpit says is too little weighed, not as a source for the clause.

Leviticus 19:18 · Exodus 23:4

basis: Provenance disputed and unlocatable: the clause quoted under Matthew's citation formula has no Old Testament text; the named voices divide between rabbinic addition (Ellicott, Cambridge, JFB, Benson), oral tradition (Gill) and legitimate deduction from the Law (Pulpit). Cross-Testament in any case, so no verbal tier is possible

Given to the smiters: the Servant's cheek typological

Pulpit, annotating the smiting of v. 39, points the reader to the LXX of Hosea 11:4 and to Isaiah 50:6, where the Servant says he gave his back to the smiters and his cheeks to them that plucked off the hair, and hid not his face from shame and spitting. ⚙ The figural reading we offer is that Matthew 5:39 and Matthew 26:67 together enact Isaiah 50:6: the disciple is commanded what the Servant volunteers, and the Lord who commands it is the one struck. This is a long-standing Christian reading of Isaiah 50, but the brief's voices connect Isaiah 50:6 only to the vocabulary of smiting, not to this synthesis, so the figural step is ours.

Isaiah 50:6

basis: Cross-Testament, Greek to Hebrew: no shared Strong's lexeme is possible and none is claimed. Lexical footing is only Pulpit's cross-reference from rhapizō to the smiting of Isaiah 50:6; the Servant-to-Christ reading is ancient and widely held, the specific joining of 5:39 to 26:67 through it is this tool's own

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The one who was struck had said, turn the other ancient/widely-held

⚙ The rarest word in this unit ties the command to its keeper. ῥαπίζω occurs in the New Testament only at Matthew 5:39 and Matthew 26:67, so the Gospel that records the precept records exactly one man keeping it, and it is the speaker. JFB says that our Lord's own meek yet dignified bearing when smitten rudely on the cheek is the best comment on these words; Cambridge makes John 18:22-23 the express limitation on any literal reading; Gill, at v. 44, observes that what Christ commands he himself did, praying for his crucifiers, and that Stephen followed him in it. The reading that Christ is the fulfiller of his own Sermon is ancient and widely held, and here it rests on a verifiable lexical fact rather than on sentiment.

Matthew 26:67 · John 18:22-23 · Luke 23:34

The second mile and the man pressed at the gate novel

⚙ ἀγγαρεύω is a three-verse word. Twice it describes Simon of Cyrene compelled to carry the cross (Matthew 27:32; Mark 15:21); once it is a command to go the second mile. Cambridge itself points from v. 41 to Matthew 27:32 for an instance of the forced service, and Pulpit establishes that the word means forced carrying, not merely forced attendance. The figural step, that the unrequired second mile finds its picture in a stranger impressed to carry the beam of a condemned man and walking it to Golgotha, is this tool's own; no voice in the brief draws it, and we mark it novel. What the sources do supply is the lexical identity and the fact that Matthew, alone of the evangelists, both preserves v. 41 and uses the verb again at the cross.

Matthew 27:32 · Mark 15:21

Sons by resemblance, and the Son who is the resemblance ancient/widely-held

⚙ The logic of vv. 45 to 48 is that the family is known by likeness: love enemies ὅπως γένησθε υἱοὶ, that you may become sons. Gill blocks the obvious misreading, that no man becomes a child of God by imitation, since sonship comes by adoption and regenerating grace, and that the imitation only makes the sonship visible, as the tree is known by its fruit. Barnes and Cambridge say the same more briefly, that to act thus is to act like God. Ellicott points the reader to Ephesians 5:1, be imitators of God, and warns that likeness in power or wisdom was the ruin of Adam, while likeness in love cannot err. JFB adds that the principle is not new, Leviticus 19:2 and 20:26 already holding up God's own procedure for imitation, but that the form of v. 45 is that of One who spake as never man spake. ⚙ Our addition is only this: the unit asks for a τέλειος likeness that no reader of it has ever produced, and Matthew's Gospel answers by narrating one life in which every clause of vv. 39 to 44 is kept, ending in a prayer for the executioners. This is the ancient apostolic reading, recorded here by JFB from 1 Peter 2:21-24 and by Gill from Luke 23:34.

Ephesians 5:1 · 1 Peter 2:21-24 · Leviticus 19:2

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

  • Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
  • Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (c. 1905)
  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
  • Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
  • Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
  • Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
  • John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
  • Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
  • Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
  • Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
  • The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

⚙ Honesty notes for this unit. Text. At v. 44 the longer Byzantine reading adds “bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you” and “despitefully use you and.” Ellicott reports that most recent editors judge these inserted in the fourth or fifth century to harmonise with Luke 6:27-28; Cambridge records the high manuscript authority for omitting them and argues the omission breaks the gradation and balance of the paragraph; Pulpit follows the Revised Version in omitting. The BSB text we gloss is the shorter one, so the four-step gradation Cambridge describes is not visible in the interlinear before us. At v. 47 the manuscripts read ἐθνικοί, Gentiles, where the received text had tax-farmers, and τὸ αὐτό where the received text had the commoner οὕτως; Ellicott, Cambridge, JFB and Pulpit all note this, and Gill's comment is written on the older reading. Parse. At v. 39 the Berean parse tags τῷ πονηρῷ as dative neuter singular, while Ellicott and Pulpit argue the masculine is preferable and Pulpit records Chrysostom's view that it means the devil; the English of every version before us decides a question the Greek leaves open. Sources. Gill's long rabbinic citations (the Mishnaic scale of fines for a blow, R. Sandish against Ben Zeta, Maimonides on the scholar's grudge) are reproduced from his eighteenth-century Latin and Hebrew sources; we have used them as he reports them and have not independently checked his references. His and JFB's characterisations of “the Jews” belong to their period and their polemic, and we have flagged that where it bears on a claim. Threads. Every verbal tier in this unit is Greek to Greek and rests on the Verifier's shared-lexeme computation, with frequencies stated. The three quotations from the Pentateuch and from Leviticus 19:18 are express citations, but because they cross from Greek into Hebrew no shared Strong's number can exist, so they are tiered structural, not verbal, and the basis says why. “And hate your enemy” is tiered flagged because it has no Old Testament text and our own sources disagree about where it came from. The Isaiah 50:6 thread and the Simon of Cyrene reading under Christ are figural steps this tool has taken beyond what the voices say, and both are labelled as such. Uncertain. Whether v. 38 abolishes the judicial rule or only its private misuse is not settled here: Maclaren says abolished, Barnes and Cambridge say the rule stands for magistrates, and we have left the disagreement on the page rather than choose for the reader.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)