Matthew 5:27-32 NLT

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Matthew 5:27-32

We have here an exposition of the seventh commandment, given us by the same hand that made the law, and therefore was fittest to be the interpreter of it: it is the law against uncleanness, which fitly follows upon the former; that laid a restraint upon sinful passions, this upon sinful appetites, both which ought always to be under the government of reason and conscience, and if indulged, are equally pernicious. I. The command is here laid down (Matt. 5:27), Thou shalt not commit adultery;... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Matthew 5:1-48

As we have already seen, Matthew has a careful pattern in his gospel. In his story of the baptism of Jesus he shows us Jesus realizing that the hour has struck, that the call to action has come, and that Jesus must go forth on his crusade. In his story of the Temptations he shows us Jesus deliberately choosing the method he will use to carry out his task, and deliberately rejecting methods which he knew to be against the will of God. If a man sets his hand to a great task, he needs his... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 5:27

Ye have heard that it was said ,.... These forms of speech, as well as what follows, by them of old time , have been explained, in ver. 21. The law here mentioned, thou shalt not commit adultery , is recorded in Exodus 20:14 and the meaning of our Lord is, not that the then present Jews had heard that such a law had been delivered "to the ancients", their fathers, at Mount Sinai; for that they could read in their Bibles: but they had received it by tradition, that the sense of it,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 5:28

But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman ,.... Many and severe are the prohibitions of the Jews, concerning looking upon a woman, which they aggravate as a very great sin: they say F11 T. Bab. Avoda Zara, fol. 1, 2. , it is not lawful to look upon a beautiful woman, though unmarried; nor upon another man's wife, though deformed; nor upon a woman's coloured garments: they forbid F12 T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 24. 1. Sabbat. fol. 64. 2. looking on a woman's little finger,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 5:29

And if thy right eye offend thee ,.... Or "cause thee to offend", to stumble, and fall into sin. Our Lord has no regard here to near and dear relations seeking to alienate us from God and Christ, and hinder us in the pursuit of divine things; whose solicitations are to be rejected with the utmost indignation, and they themselves to be parted with, and forsaken, rather than complied with; which is the sense some give of the words: for both in this, and the following verse, respect is had only... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 5:30

And if thy right hand offend thee ,.... Or "cause thee to offend"; that is, is the means of ensnaring thine heart; and of drawing thee into either mental, or actual adultery; for, as before, all unchaste looks, so here, all unchaste touches, embraces, &c.; are condemned. As adultery may be committed in the heart, and by the eye, so with the hand: "says R. Eliezer F1 T. Bab. Nidda, fol. 13. 2. Vid. Maimon. Issure Bia, c. 21. sect. 18. what is the meaning of that Scripture, "your... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 5:31

It hath been said ,.... It is not added here, as in the former instances, "by them of old time"; nor prefaced with these words, "ye have heard"; because the case of divorce was not any law of Moses, or of God by him; but only a permission, because of the hardness of the hearts of the Jews: and as to the controversy, about the causes of divorce, this was not debated by them of old time, but was a new thing, just started in the time of Christ; and was a controversy then agitating, between the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 5:32

But I say unto you; that whosoever shall put away his wife ,.... Christ does not infringe, or revoke the original grant, or permission of divorce; only frees it from the false interpretations, and ill use, the Pharisees made of it; and restores the ancient sense of it, in which only it was to be understood: for a divorce was allowable in no case, saving for the cause of fornication ; which must not be taken strictly for what is called fornication, but as including adultery, incest, or... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 5:27

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old - By the ancients, τοις αρχαιοις , is omitted by nearly a hundred MSS., and some of them of the very greatest antiquity and authority; also by the Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Gothic, and Sclavonian versions; by four copies of the old Itala; and by Origen, Cyril, Theophylact, Euthymius, and Hilary. On this authority Wetstein and Griesbach have left it out of the text. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 5:28

Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her - Επιθυμησαι αυτην , earnestly to covet her. The verb, επιθυμεω , is undoubtedly used here by our Lord, in the sense of coveting through the influence of impure desire. The word is used in precisely the same sense, on the same subject, by Herodotus, book the first, near the end. I will give the passage, but I dare not translate it. To the learned reader it will justify my translation, and the unlearned must take my word. Της ΕΠΙΘΥΜΗΣΕΙ... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Matthew 5:27-32

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Matthew 5:1-48

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 5:27

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 5:28

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 5:29

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 5:30

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 5:31

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 5:32

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 5:27

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 5:28

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