Matthew 5:29 - Exposition
Right . Not in Matthew 18:1-35 , and parallel passage. Inserted to enhance the preciousness of the members spoken of (cf. Zechariah 11:17 ; cf. verse 39). Offend thee; Authorized Version, do cause thee to offend ; Revised Version, cause thee to stumble ( σκανδαλίζει σε ). Perhaps the verb originally referred to the stick of a trap ( σκάνδαλον , a Hellenistic word, apparently equivalent to σκανδάληθρον ) striking the person's foot, and so catching him in the trap; but when found in literature (almost solely in the New Testament) it has apparently lost all connotation of the trap, and only means causing a person to stumble (for an analysis of its use in the New Testament, vide especially Cremer, s.v. ) . Pluck it out, and cast it from thee. The second clause shows the purely figurative character of the sentence. Our Lord commands
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