MAT 5:21 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) “You’ve all heard that your ancestors were told not to murder, because any murderer will be sentenced.[ref]

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, cyan:dative/indirect object, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘Do not kill,’ and, ‘Whoever kills will be subject to the judgment.’

UST You know that God said to our ancestors, ‘You must not murder anyone. People who murder someone deserve to have a judge decide they are guilty and punish them.’

BLB You have heard that it was said to the ancients, 'You shall not murder' and 'Whoever shall murder will be liable to the judgment.'

AICNT “You have heard that it was said to the elders,[fn] ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’[fn]

5:21, elders: That is to those of old.

5:21, Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17

OEB ‘You have heard that to our ancestors it was said – “You must not commit murder,” and “Whoever commits murder will be brought to trial.”

WEBBE “You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not murder;’ and ‘Whoever murders will be in danger of the judgement.’

WMBB (Same as above)

NET “You have heard that it was said to an older generation, ‘ Do not murder,’ and ‘whoever murders will be subjected to judgment.’

LSV You heard that it was said to the ancients: You will not murder, and whoever may murder will be in danger of the judgment;

FBV You've heard that the law said[fn] to the people of long ago: ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who commits murder will be condemned as guilty.’[fn]

5:21 Literally, “You've heard that it was said.” This phrase is used often in this passage by Jesus to refer to the laws found in the Old Testament.

5:21 Or “liable to judgment.” Exodus 20:13 or Deuteronomy 5:17.

TCNT “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘Yoʋ shall not murder,’ and, ‘Whoever murders will be subject to judgment.’

T4T “You have heard your religious teachers say that it was said {that Moses said} to your ancestors, ‘Do not murder anyone.’ This implied that if someone murders another person, the judge will condemn that person and sentence him to be executed {say that someone must execute him}.

LEB ¶ “You have heard that it was said to the _⌊people of old_⌋,[fn] ‘Do not commit murder,’[fn] and ‘whoever commits murder will be subject to judgment.’

5:21 Literally “ancients”

5:21 A quotation from Exod 20:13|link-href="None";Deut 5:17|link-href="None"

BBE You have knowledge that it was said in old times, You may not put to death; and, Whoever puts to death will be in danger of being judged:

Moff You have heard how the men of old were told, ''Murder not:
⇔ whoever murders must come up for sentence,

Wymth "You have heard that it was said to the ancients, `Thou shalt not commit murder', and whoever commits murder will be answerable to the magistrate.

ASV Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:

DRA You have heard that it was said to them of old: Thou shalt not kill. And whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment.

YLT 'Ye heard that it was said to the ancients: Thou shalt not kill, and whoever may kill shall be in danger of the judgment;

Drby Ye have heard that it was said to the ancients, Thou shalt not kill; but whosoever shall kill shall be subject to the judgment.

RV Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
(Ye/You_all have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou/You shalt/shall not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgement: )

SLT Ye have heard that it was said to the ancients, Thou shalt not kill: and whoever should kill shall be subject to judgment:

Wbstr Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whoever shall kill, shall be in danger of the judgment:

KJB-1769 ¶ Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
(¶ Ye/You_all have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou/You shalt/shall not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgement: )

KJB-1611 ¶ Yee haue heard, that it was saide [fn]by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill: and, Whosoeuer shall kill, shalbe in danger of the iudgement.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation and footnotes)

5:21 Or, to them

Bshps Ye haue hearde, that it was sayde to them of the olde tyme, thou shalt not kyll: who so euer kylleth, shalbe in daunger of iudgement.
(Ye/You_all have heard, that it was said to them of the old time, thou/you shalt/shall not kyll: whoso/whoever ever killeth/kills, shall be in danger of judgement.)

Gnva Ye haue heard that it was sayd vnto them of the olde time, Thou shalt not kill: for whosoeuer killeth shalbe culpable of iudgement.
(Ye/You_all have heard that it was said unto them of the old time, Thou/You shalt/shall not kill: for whosoever killeth/kills shall be culpable of judgement. )

Cvdl Ye haue herde, how it was sayde to the of the olde tyme: Thou shalt not kyll. For whosoeuer kylleth, shall be in daunger of iudgement.
(Ye/You_all have heard, how it was said to the of the old time: Thou/You shalt/shall not kill. For whosoever killeth/kills, shall be in danger of judgement.)

TNT ye have herde howe it was sayd vnto the of the olde tyme: Thou shalt not kyll. For whoso ever kylleth shall be in daunger of iudgement.
(ye/you_all have herd/heard how it was said unto the of the old time: Thou/You shalt/shall not kill. For whoso/whoever ever killeth/kills shall be in danger of judgement. )

Wycl Ye han herd that it was seid to elde men, Thou schalt not slee; and he that sleeth, schal be gilti to doom.
(Ye/You_all have herd that it was said to old men, Thou/You shalt/shall not slee; and he that slayeth/slays/slaughters, shall be guilty to judgement.)

Luth Ihr habt gehöret, daß zu den Alten gesagt ist: Du sollst nicht töten; wer aber tötet, der soll des Gerichts schuldig sein.
(You(pl) have belongs/pertains, that to/for the old_(ones/times/things) said is: You(sg) should not kill; who but kills, the/of_the should the court(n)/justices guilty be.)

ClVg Audistis quia dictum est antiquis: Non occides: qui autem occiderit, reus erit judicio.[fn]
(You_heards because said it_is ancient: Not/No occides: who/which however killed, guilty/criminal will_be judgement. )

5.21 Audistis, etc. Exponit quæ est justitia Pharisæorum, quam qui adimplet non statim magnus, sed aliquem gradum conscendit.

5.21 You_heards, etc. Exponit which it_is justice of_the_Pharisees, how who/which adimplet not/no immediately big, but someone levelm conscendit.

UGNT ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἐρρέθη τοῖς ἀρχαίοις, οὐ φονεύσεις, ὃς δ’, ἂν φονεύσῃ, ἔνοχος ἔσται τῇ κρίσει.
(aʸkousate hoti errethaʸ tois arⱪaiois, ou foneuseis, hos d’, an foneusaʸ, enoⱪos estai taʸ krisei.)

SBL-GNT Ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἐρρέθη τοῖς ἀρχαίοις· Οὐ φονεύσεις· ὃς δʼ ἂν φονεύσῃ, ἔνοχος ἔσται τῇ κρίσει.
(Aʸkousate hoti errethaʸ tois arⱪaiois; Ou foneuseis; hos dʼ an foneusaʸ, enoⱪos estai taʸ krisei.)

RP-GNT Ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἐρρέθη τοῖς ἀρχαίοις, Οὐ φονεύσεις· ὃς δ' ἂν φονεύσῃ, ἔνοχος ἔσται τῇ κρίσει·
(Aʸkousate hoti errethaʸ tois arⱪaiois, Ou foneuseis; hos d' an foneusaʸ, enoⱪos estai taʸ krisei;)

TC-GNT Ἠκούσατε ὅτι [fn]ἐρρέθη τοῖς ἀρχαίοις, Οὐ φονεύσεις· ὃς δ᾽ ἂν φονεύσῃ, ἔνοχος ἔσται τῇ κρίσει·
(Aʸkousate hoti errethaʸ tois arⱪaiois, Ou foneuseis; hos d an foneusaʸ, enoⱪos estai taʸ krisei; )

5:21 ερρεθη ¦ ερρηθη TH

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, orange:accents differ, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 5:1–7:29: Jesus preached a sermon on a mountain

For many years, English versions and Christians have commonly referred to Matthew 5–7 as “The Sermon on the Mount.” In some translations, it may be helpful to include a heading for chapters 5–7 that is on a level above the section heading for 5:1–12.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

The Sermon on the Mountain

The sermon that Jesus preached on a mountain

Jesus taught people on the side of a mountain/hill

Paragraph 5:21–22

In 5:21, Jesus continued his sermon. In some languages it may be natural to indicate that Jesus continued speaking here. For example:

Then Jesus said,

Jesus continued speaking

5:21a

You have heard that it was said to the ancients,

¶ “You^(plur) have heard that many years ago our^(incl) ancestors were told:
¶ Jesus continued speaking, “You^(plur) have heard the teachers of the law say that the law of Moses told/commanded our^(incl) ancestors:

You have heard that it was said to the ancients: The clause it was said to the ancients refers to the law that Moses gave to the Israelites. The people listening to Jesus would know that he was referring to the law of Moses.

In some languages, it may be necessary to use more direct language. For example:

You have heard that the law of Moses says (NLT96)

You have heard what Moses commanded our ancestors long ago

You have heard: The clause You have heard indicates that most people had not read the commandments themselves. They had heard someone read them or explain them. In addition, this clause implies that everyone was familiar with the words that Jesus would say.

Here is another way to translate this clause:

You have heard the teachers of the law say that

it was said to the ancients: The word ancients refers to the ancestors of the Jews who lived several hundred years before Jesus.

This clause it was said to the ancients is passive.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

Use a passive form. For example:
our ancestors were told (NLT)
our forefathers were told (REB)
Use an active form. The law, Moses, or even other teachers are all possible agents who could have spoken this command to the rest of the Israelites. For example:
the law commanded the people long ago
the people long ago received this command:

5:21b

‘Do not murder’

‘Do not kill/murder another person,
‘Never unlawfully kill anyone.

Do not murder: Most versions are like the BSB and use the word murder to translate the Greek verb in this clause. Most scholars also understand the Greek word to mean murder, rather than the more general word “kill.” To murder means to kill someone unlawfully. Murder generally does not occur when a person kills someone in war, or when the government executes a criminal, or when a person accidentally kills someone.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

Do not kill anyone

Do not unlawfully kill another person

Here Jesus quoted one of the Ten Commandments from the Old Testament (Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17). In Moses’ time, when God spoke to the people of Israel, he often used the singular “you,” as in this verse. He did this because he considered the people to be one nation. In the same way, the clause Do not murder is singular in Greek just as it is in the Hebrew Old Testament. But this commandment is general and addressed to everyone.

In some languages, people make general commands by using “you” (plural), or by using “we,” or by using “he,” “one,” or “a person.” For example:

You^(plur) must not murder anyone.

A person must not murder anyone.

Here, and in similar contexts, use whichever form is most natural in your language.

5:21c

and ‘Anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’

and anyone who kills/murders another person must be judged.’
If anyone unlawfully kills someone else, they/judges will try/examine him and punish him.’

and: Here the word and indicates that 5:21c is the second part of what the people had heard regarding murder.

Anyone who murders:

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

If you commit murder (NLT)

the person who kills another person

whoever murders (ESV)

will be subject to judgment: The Greek clause that the BSB translates as will be subject to judgment refers to being tried before a judge (or judges). This probably implies that the person who commits murder will be both judged and punished.

This clause is passive. Here are some other ways to translate it:

Use a passive form. For example:
will be judged and punished
will be brought to trial (GNT)
Use an active form. For example:
the local authorities will judge him
they will judge/try him and punish him

Here, this clause refers to a human court of law. But 5:22a repeats this clause, where it probably refers to God’s judgment. If possible, translate this clause in a way that you can use it in both contexts.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: writing-quotations

ἐρρέθη τοῖς ἀρχαίοις

˱it˲_˓was˒_said ˱to˲_the ancients

Here Jesus quotes from the Old Testament scriptures, specifically from [Exodus 20:13](../exo/20/13.md) or [Deuteronomy 5:17](../deu/05/17.md). If it would be helpful to your readers, you could format these words in a different way and include this information in a footnote. Alternate translation: [the ancient ones were commanded in the law]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

ἐρρέθη

˱it˲_˓was˒_said

If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say who did the action, it is clear from the context that it was God speaking through Moses. Alternate translation: [God said] or [Moses said]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

τοῖς ἀρχαίοις

˱to˲_the ancients

Here, the phrase the ancient ones refers to the ancestors of the Jewish people to whom Jesus was speaking. The phrase most specifically refers to the Israelites who received the law at Mount Sinai. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [to the Israelites who lived long ago]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / yousingular

οὐ φονεύσεις

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἐρρέθη τοῖς ἀρχαίοις Οὒ φονεύσεις ὅς δʼ ἄν φονεύσῃ ἔνοχος ἔσται τῇ κρίσει)

Since the author of the quotation is addressing each specific person who is part of God’s people, the command here is singular. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a form that makes this clear. Alternate translation: [Each of you, do not kill]

Note 5 topic: writing-quotations

δ’

and

Here, the word and introduces Jesus’ summary of what the law required when someone committed murder. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could use a form that clarifies that this is a summary, not a direct quotation from the Old Testament. Alternate translation: [and they were told] or [and they followed this principle:]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἔνοχος ἔσται τῇ κρίσει

liable will_be ˱to˲_the judgment

Here Jesus implies that the person who kills deserves to be judged and also punished by other people. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [will be subject to judgment and punishment] or [deserves to be judged and punished]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

τῇ κρίσει

˱to˲_the judgment

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of judgment, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [being judged] or [human authorities who will judge him or her]

Parallel MAT 5:21

Section 5:1–7:29: Jesus preached a sermon on a mountain

Paragraph 5:21–22

5:21a

5:21b

5:21c