Matthew 5:22-28

5:22 But I say to you that anyone who is angry with a brother ¹  will be subjected to judgment. And whoever insults ²  a brother will be brought before ³  the council, ⁴  and whoever says ‘Fool’ ⁵  will be sent ⁶  to fiery hell. ⁷  5:23 So then, if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 5:24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother and then come and present your gift. 5:25 Reach agreement ⁸  quickly with your accuser while on the way to court, ⁹  or he ¹⁰  may hand you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the warden, and you will be thrown into prison. 5:26 I tell you the truth, ¹¹  you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny! ¹² 

Adultery

5:27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ ¹³  5:28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Luke 12:4-5

12:4 “I ¹⁴  tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, ¹⁵  and after that have nothing more they can do. 12:5 But I will warn ¹⁶  you whom you should fear: Fear the one who, after the killing, ¹⁷  has authority to throw you ¹⁸  into hell. ¹⁹  Yes, I tell you, fear him!

Luke 12:8-9

12:8 “I ²⁰  tell you, whoever acknowledges ²¹  me before men, ²²  the Son of Man will also acknowledge ²³  before God’s angels. 12:9 But the one who denies me before men will be denied before God’s angels.

Luke 12:22

Exhortation Not to Worry

12:22 Then ²⁴  Jesus ²⁵  said to his ²⁶  disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry ²⁷  about your ²⁸  life, what you will eat, or about your ²⁹  body, what you will wear.

[5:22]  ¹ tc The majority of mss read the word εἰκῇ (eikh, “without cause”) here after “brother.” This insertion has support from א² D L W Θ 0233 Ë^1,13 33 Ï it sy co Ir^lat Or^mss Cyp Cyr. Thus the Western, Caesarean, and Byzantine texttypes all include the word, while the best Alexandrian and some other witnesses (Ì⁶⁴ א* B 1424^mg pc aur vg Or Hier^mss) lack it. The ms evidence favors its exclusion, though there is a remote possibility that εἰκῇ could have been accidentally omitted from these witnesses by way of homoioarcton (the next word, ἔνοχος [enocos, “guilty”], begins with the same letter). An intentional change would likely arise from the desire to qualify “angry,” especially in light of the absolute tone of Jesus’ words. While “without cause” makes good practical sense in this context, and must surely be a true interpretation of Jesus’ meaning (cf. Mark 3:5), it does not commend itself as original.

[5:22]  ² tn Grk “whoever says to his brother ‘Raca,’” an Aramaic word of contempt or abuse meaning “fool” or “empty head.”

[5:22]  ³ tn Grk “subjected,” “guilty,” “liable.”

[5:22]  ⁴ tn Grk “the Sanhedrin.”

[5:22]  ⁵ tn The meaning of the term μωρός (mwros) is somewhat disputed. Most take it to mean, following the Syriac versions, “you fool,” although some have argued that it represents a transliteration into Greek of the Hebrew term מוֹרֵה (moreh) “rebel” (Deut 21:18, 20; cf. BDAG 663 s.v. μωρός c).

[5:22]  ⁶ tn Grk “subjected,” “guilty,” “liable.”

[5:22]  ⁷ tn Grk “the Gehenna of fire.”

[5:25]  ⁸ tn Grk “Make friends.”

[5:25]  ⁹ tn The words “to court” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[5:25]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “the accuser.”

[5:26]  ¹¹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[5:26]  ¹² tn Here the English word “penny” is used as opposed to the parallel in Luke 12:59 where “cent” appears since the Greek word there is different and refers to a different but similar coin.

[5:27]  ¹³ sn A quotation from Exod 20:14; Deut 5:17.

[12:4]  ¹⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:4]  ¹⁵ sn Judaism had a similar exhortation in 4 Macc 13:14-15.

[12:5]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “will show,” but in this reflective context such a demonstration is a warning or exhortation.

[12:5]  ¹⁷ sn The actual performer of the killing is not here specified. It could be understood to be God (so NASB, NRSV) but it could simply emphasize that, after a killing has taken place, it is God who casts the person into hell.

[12:5]  ¹⁸ tn The direct object (“you”) is understood.

[12:5]  ¹⁹ sn The word translated hell is “Gehenna” (γέεννα, geenna), a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew words ge hinnom (“Valley of Hinnom”). This was the valley along the south side of Jerusalem. In OT times it was used for human sacrifices to the pagan god Molech (cf. Jer 7:31; 19:5-6; 32:35), and it came to be used as a place where human excrement and rubbish were disposed of and burned. In the intertestamental period, it came to be used symbolically as the place of divine punishment (cf. 1 En. 27:2, 90:26; 4 Ezra 7:36).

[12:8]  ²⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:8]  ²¹ tn Or “confesses.”

[12:8]  ²² tn Although this is a generic reference and includes both males and females, in this context “men” has been retained because of the wordplay with the Son of Man and the contrast with the angels. The same is true of the occurrence of “men” in v. 9.

[12:8]  ²³ sn This acknowledgment will take place at the judgment. Of course, the Son of Man is a reference to Jesus as it has been throughout the Gospel. On Jesus and judgment, see 22:69; Acts 10:42-43; 17:31.

[12:22]  ²⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. Jesus’ remarks to the disciples are an application of the point made in the previous parable.

[12:22]  ²⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:22]  ²⁶ tc αὐτοῦ (autou, “his”) is lacking in Ì^45vid,75 B 1241 c e. Although the addition of clarifying pronouns is a known scribal alteration, in this case it is probably better to view the dropping of the pronoun as the alteration in light of its minimal attestation.

[12:22]  ²⁷ tn Or “do not be anxious.”

[12:22]  ²⁸ tc Most mss (Ì⁴⁵ Ψ 070 ˹³ 33 Ï) supply the pronoun ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”) here, although several important and early witnesses omit it (Ì⁷⁵ א A B D L Q W Θ Ë¹ 700 2542 al lat). Externally, the shorter reading is superior. Internally, the pronoun looks to be a scribal clarification. In context the article can be translated as a possessive pronoun anyway (ExSyn 215), as it has been done for this translation.

[12:22]  ²⁹ tc Some mss (B 070 ˹³ 33 1424 al) supply the pronoun ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”) here, although the witnesses for the omission are early, important, and varied (Ì^45vid,75 א A D L Q W Θ Ψ Ë¹ Ï lat). See previous tc note for more discussion.