Matthew 5:21-37 “You have heard what was said to the people in time’s past : Exodus, ‘You must not murder,’ and whoever does will be subject to judgment.

AUV⁽ⁱ⁾ ²¹ “You have heard what was said to the people in time’s past [Exodus 20:13], ‘You must not murder,’ and whoever does will be subject to judgment. ²² But I say to you that every person who is angry toward his brother will be subject to judgment; and whoever calls his brother ‘stupid idiot’ is subject to [being sentenced by] the [Jewish] Council, and whoever says, ‘go to hell’ is subject to going to the fire of hell [himself]. ²³ Therefore, if you are offering your [sacrificial] gift on the Altar and [just then] you remember that your brother has a grievance against you, ²⁴ [stop right there]; leave your gift at the Altar and [immediately] go to that brother and settle the matter first, before returning to offer your gift. ²⁵ [In another case], come to terms with the person suing you as soon as possible, [even] on your way [to court], so he does not take you before the judge, and then the judge turn you over to the officer and you be sent to prison. ²⁶ It is true when I say to you, you will not be released from there until you have paid the last coin. [Note: The coin mentioned here amounted to about ten minutes’ worth of a farm laborer’s pay, or a little over one dollar in 1994]. ²⁷ “You have heard what was said [Exodus 20:14], ‘You must not be sexually unfaithful to your mate.’ ²⁸ But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with an improper sexual desire for her [body], has already been sexually unfaithful to his mate in his heart. ²⁹ And if your right eye is what ensnares you into falling away [from God], gouge it out and throw it away from you. For it would be better for you to lose a part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. [Note: This is the word “Gehenna,” and because of its Old Testament connotation of burning bodies, II Chron. 33:6, it is used figuratively here, and elsewhere, to describe the place of future, final punishment of the wicked]. ³⁰ And if your right hand is what ensnares you into falling away [from God], cut it off and throw it away from you. For it would be better for you to lose a part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. ³¹ It was also said [Deut. 24:1-3], ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let it be done with a [legally binding] divorce decree, which he must give her.’ ³² But I say to you, every person who divorces his wife makes her become sexually unfaithful to him [i.e., since she will probably marry someone else], unless the reason for the divorce is that she had [already] become sexually unfaithful to him. And whoever marries a woman who has been divorced commits sexual sin with her [i.e., because she is still rightfully married to her first husband]. ³³ “Again, you have heard what was said to people in time’s past [Lev. 19:12], ‘You must not go back on your oaths, but [rather] fulfill the oaths you take to the Lord.’ ³⁴ But I say to you, do not take any oath, [saying] ‘by heaven,’ for it is God’s throne; ³⁵ nor ‘by earth,’ for it is the footstool for His feet; nor ‘by Jerusalem,’ for it is the city of the great King [i.e., God]. ³⁶ You should not take an oath, [saying] ‘by my head,’ for you cannot make a single hair white or black. ³⁷ But you should just say ‘yes’ [when you mean] yes, and ‘no’ [when you mean] no. Whatever you say beyond these [i.e., enforcing them by oaths] is of the evil one [i.e., the devil].