leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are with him on the way; lest perhaps the prosecutor deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison. Most certainly I tell you, you shall by no means get out of there, until you have paid the last penny.
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Matthew 5:24-26 sits inside this longer paragraph.
“If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are with him on the way; lest perhaps the prosecutor deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison. Most certainly I tell you, you shall by no means get out of there, until you have paid the last penny.
Parallel Translations
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leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are with him on the way; lest perhaps the prosecutor deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison.
Most certainly I tell you, you shall by no means get out of there, until you have paid the last penny.
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leue there thyne offrynge before the altre and go thy waye first and be reconcyled to thy brother and then come and offre thy gyfte.
Agre with thyne adversary quicklye, whyles thou arte in the waye with hym lest that adversary deliver ye to the iudge and the iudge, delivre ye to the minister, and the thou be cast into preson.
I say vnto ye verely: thou shalt not come out thece till thou have payed the utmost farthige.
Show all 3 translations
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Leaue there thine offring before the altar, and goe thy way: first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
Agree with thine aduersarie quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him, lest thine aduersarie deliuer thee to the Iudge, and the Iudge deliuer thee to ye sergeant, and thou be cast into prison.
Verely I say vnto thee, thou shalt not come out thence, till thou hast payed the vtmost farthing.
Cross-references (36)
- Luke 12:58-59 (v25) For when you are going with your adversary before the magistrate, try diligently on the way to be released from him, lest perhaps he drag…
- Proverbs 25:8 (v25) Don’t be hasty in bringing charges to court. What will you do in the end when your neighbor shames you?
- James 5:16 (v24) Confess your offenses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is…
- Hebrews 3:13 (v25) but exhort one another day by day, so long as it is called “today”, lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
- Isaiah 55:6-7 (v25) Seek Yahweh while he may be found. Call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let…
Show all 36 cross-references
- Luke 14:31-32 (v25) Or what king, as he goes to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to…
- Hebrews 3:7 (v25) Therefore, even as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you will hear his voice,
- Romans 12:17-18 (v24) Repay no one evil for evil. Respect what is honorable in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace…
- Luke 13:24-25 (v25) “Strive to enter in by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter in and will not be able. When once the master of the house…
- 1 Kings 22:26-27 (v25) The king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son. Say, ‘The king…
- Job 22:21 (v25) “Acquaint yourself with him, now, and be at peace. By it, good will come to you.
- Proverbs 6:1-5 (v25) My son, if you have become collateral for your neighbor, if you have struck your hands in pledge for a stranger, you are trapped by the…
- Matthew 18:15-17 (v24) “If your brother sins against you, go, show him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained back your…
- Hebrews 12:17 (v25) For you know that even when he afterward desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for a change of mind…
- Genesis 32:3-8 (v25) Jacob sent messengers in front of him to Esau, his brother, to the land of Seir, the field of Edom. He commanded them, saying, “This is…
- Genesis 33:3-11 (v25) He himself passed over in front of them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. Esau ran to meet…
- Psalms 32:6 (v25) For this, let everyone who is godly pray to you in a time when you may be found. Surely when the great waters overflow, they shall not…
- 2 Corinthians 6:2 (v25) for he says, “At an acceptable time I listened to you. In a day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is the acceptable time. Behold, now…
- Job 42:8 (v24) Now therefore, take to yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and…
- Matthew 18:34 (v26) His lord was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors, until he should pay all that was due to him.
- 1 Peter 3:7-8 (v24) You husbands, in the same way, live with your wives according to knowledge, giving honor to the woman, as to the weaker vessel, as also…
- Genesis 32:13-22 (v25) He stayed there that night, and took from that which he had with him a present for Esau, his brother: two hundred female goats and twenty…
- 1 Samuel 25:17-35 (v25) Now therefore know and consider what you will do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his house; for he is such a…
- Proverbs 25:9 (v24) Debate your case with your neighbor, and don’t betray the confidence of another,
- 1 Corinthians 6:7-8 (v24) Therefore it is already altogether a defect in you, that you have lawsuits one with another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be…
- Luke 12:59 (v26) I tell you, you will by no means get out of there, until you have paid the very last penny.”
- 1 Timothy 2:8 (v24) I desire therefore that the men in every place pray, lifting up holy hands without anger and doubting.
- Matthew 23:23 (v24) “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law:…
- 1 Corinthians 11:28 (v24) But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread, and drink of the cup.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:9 (v26) who will pay the penalty: eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might,
- James 2:13 (v26) For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
- James 3:13-18 (v24) Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good conduct that his deeds are done in gentleness of wisdom. But if you have…
- Matthew 25:41 (v26) Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his…
- Matthew 25:46 (v26) These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
- Mark 9:50 (v24) Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, with what will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one…
- Luke 16:26 (v26) Besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that those who want to pass from here to you are not able, and that no…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (19 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv25–26 Cut off all cause for enmity.
Cut off all cause for enmity.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv24–26 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and…
24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
Ver. 24. Leave there thy gift] The fountain of love will not be laded at with uncharitable hands. God appeared not to Abraham till Lot and he were agreed. Jacob reconciled to his brother, first builds an altar, &c.
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And go thy way, first be reconciled] Unless thou wilt lose thy labour, and worse, as Saul and Judas did. God proffers mercy before sacrifice, and is content his own immediate service should be intermitted, rather than reconciliation be omitted. Confess your trespasses (παραπτωματα) one to another, saith St James, {Jas 5:16} your lapses and offences one against another, and then pray one for another, that ye may be healed; as Abraham, after reconciliation, prayed for Abimelech, and the Lord healed him. St Peter would have husbands and wives live lovingly together; or, if some household words occur between them at any time, to peace again that their prayers be not hindered, as else they will be, 1Pe 3:7. Dissension and ill will will lie at the wellhead and stop the current. The spirit of grace and supplication will be grieved by bitterness, anger, clamour; yea, made thereby to stir with discontent, and to withdraw, as loathing his lodging, Eph 4:30-31. Si quis est qui neminem in gratiam putat redire posse, non nostram is perfidiam arguit, sed indicat suam. (Cic. Epist. lib. 2. eph 17.) Menander tamen dicit, reconciliationes esse lupinas amicitias.
First be reconciled to thy brother] And, as a bone once broken is stronger after well setting, so let love be after reconciliation; that if it be possible, as much as in us lieth, we may live peaceably with all men. Let it not stick on our part howsoever, but seek peace and ensue it. Though it flee from thee, follow after it, and account it an honour to be first in so good a matter. I do not see (saith one) the Levite’s father-in-law make any means for reconciliation; but when remission come to his doors, no man entertaineth it more thankfully. The nature of many men is forward to accept and negligent to sue for; they can spend secret wishes upon, that which shall cost them no endeavour. But why should men be so backward to a business of this nature? Almighty God beseecheth sinners to be reconciled unto him, 2Co 5:20. And, as when a man goes from the sun, yet the sunbeams follow him, shine on him, warm him; so doth the mercy of God follow us all the days of our lives, Psa 23:6. Our Saviour first sent to Peter that had denied him, and went to the rest that had forsaken him. Aristippus (though but a heathen) went of his own accord to Aeschines, his enemy, and said, Shall we not be reconciled till we become a table talk to all the country? And when Aeschines answered he would most gladly be at peace with him: Remember, therefore, said Aristippus, that although I were the elder and better man, yet I sought first unto thee. Thou art indeed, said Aeschines, a far better man than I, for I began the quarrel, but thou the reconcilement. (Laert. lib. 2.) Guiltiness is commonly clamorous and implacable, and none so averse to reconciliation as they that are most injurious; as he that wronged his brother, thrust away Moses, saying, "Who made thee a ruler?" &c. "Wilt thou kill me?" &c. Act 7:27-28.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On v25 Forasmuch as the overt acts and expressions of unjust…
Forasmuch as the overt acts and expressions of unjust wrath and malice are iniquities punishable by the judge, let it be the care of those that will be my disciples, if by their passions they have provoked any, and made them their adversaries, quickly to agree with them; for you know the ordinary course of enraged adversaries amongst men, is to bring their actions, and to bring men before the civil judge; and when the judge upon inquiry hath found them guilty, he useth to deliver them to the gaoler to be carried to prison, until they have fully paid their fines for such offences. And forasmuch as not only the overt acts, but the passions which cause such acts, are culpable before God, and make men obnoxious to his righteous judgment, and God by them is made an adversary to the soul, as having violated his great command, Thou shalt do no murder; let all my disciples, who have been or may be overtaken with such faults, by repentance and faith in me make their peace with God in this life, lest dying in impenitency they be put under the eternal displeasure and wrath of God, from whence they shall never be delivered, Mat 6:15; 18:35.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv24–26 Leave there thy gift before the altar,.... This might…
Leave there thy gift before the altar,.... This might easily be done, and the business soon dispatched, at some seasons; particularly, at their public feasts, as the passover, pentecost, and feast of tabernacles, when all the Israelites were together:
and go thy way; make what haste thou canst,
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first be reconciled to thy brother: use all means to reconcile him; acknowledge the offence; ask his pardon; assure him that thou wishest well to him, and not ill;
and then come and offer thy gift, by putting it on the altar, before which it was left. This shows, that acts of love and friendship are preferable to sacrifices; and that sacrifices offered up in wrath, and whilst unreconciled to others, are unacceptable to God, and of no avail: and so much the Jews themselves seem to acknowledge; when they say (e):
"that transgressions, which are between a man and God, the day of atonement expiates; the transgressions which are between a man and his neighbour, the day of atonement does not expiate, , "until he hath reconciled his neighbour."''
Which is enlarged upon, and explained by Maimonides (f), after this manner:
"the day of atonement does not expiate any transgressions, but those that are between a man and God, as when one eats anything that is forbidden, and lies with anything that is forbidden, or the like; but transgressions which are between a man and his neighbour, as he that hurts his neighbour, or curses his neighbour, or steals from him, and the like, are never forgiven, until he has given his neighbour what he owed him, and has "reconciled" him; yea, though he has returned to him the money he owed him, he ought to "reconcile" him, and desire him to forgive him; yea, even though "he has only provoked him by words", (which is the very case in the text before us,) , "he ought to reconcile him", and to meet him until he forgives him: if his neighbour will not forgive, he must bring with him three of his friends, and meet him, and entreat him; and if he will not be reconciled by them, he must bring them a second, and a third time.''
So that he was to use all means to obtain a reconciliation.
(e) Misn. Yoma, c. 8. sect. 9. (f) Hilchot Teshuba, c. 2. sect. 9. Vid. T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 87. 1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv24–26 Leaving thy gift, go - For neither thy gift…
Leaving thy gift, go - For neither thy gift nor thy prayer will atone for thy want of love: but this will make them both an abomination before God.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv24–26 Verse 24. Leave there thy gift before the altar]…
Verse 24. Leave there thy gift before the altar] This is as much as to say, "Do not attempt to bring any offering to God while thou art in a spirit of enmity against any person; or hast any difference with thy neighbour, which thou hast not used thy diligence to get adjusted." It is our duty and interest, both to bring our gift, and offer it too; but God will not accept of any act of religious worship from us, while any enmity subsists in our hearts towards any soul of man; or while any subsists in our neighbour's heart towards us, which we have not used the proper means to remove. A religion, the very essence of which is love, cannot suffer at its altars a heart that is revengeful and uncharitable, or which does not use its utmost endeavours to revive love in the heart of another. The original word, δωρον, which we translate gift, is used by the rabbins in Hebrew letters דורון doron, which signifies not only a gift, but a sacrifice offered to God. See several proofs in Schoettgen.
Then come and offer thy gift.] Then, when either thy brother is reconciled to thee, or thou hast done all in thy power to effect this reconciliation. My own obstinacy and uncharitableness must render me utterly unfit to receive any good from God's hands, or to worship him in an acceptable manner; bat the wickedness of another can be no hinderance to me, when I have endeavoured earnestly to get it removed, though without effect.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v25 Mat 5:25. Agree, &c. — Here our Lord enforces…
Mat 5:25. Agree, &c. — Here our Lord enforces the preceding exhortation, from the consideration of what is reckoned prudent in ordinary quarrel and law-suits. “In such cases, wise men always advise the party that has done wrong to make up matters with his adversary while it is in his power, lest the sentence of a judge, being interposed, fall heavy on him. For the same reason, we, who have offended our brother, ought to make it up with him, while an opportunity of repentance is allowed us; and that though our quarrel should have proceeded to the greatest lengths, lest the sentence of the Supreme Judge overtake us, and put reconciliation out of our power for ever.” With thine adversary quickly — With any against whom thou hast thus offended; whiles thou art in the way with him — Going with him to a magistrate; or, instantly, on the spot; before you part. Lest the adversary deliver thee to the judge — To be tried before him; and the judge, deciding the cause against thee, deliver thee to the officer of the court, to keep thee in custody till satisfaction be made, and thou be cast into prison — Not being able to discharge an account enhanced with so many additional articles of expense. Thou shalt by no means come out thence — Be released out of prison; till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing — For thy antagonist, when he has got thee at such an advantage, will be more rigorous in his demands than before. And surely, if by impenitent wickedness thou makest thyself the prisoner of the divine justice, thy case will be yet more deplorable and hopeless. Understanding the words in a figurative sense, which is, partly at least, intended by Christ here, the prison is taken for hell, out of which the unrelenting sinner can never come, according to our Lord’s declaration, because he can never be able to make that satisfaction. “Lord, we are all the debtors, and, in one sense, the prisoners of thy justice, and of ourselves were most incapable, not only of paying the uttermost farthing, but even of discharging the least part of the debt! We bless thee for that generous Surety who has taken and discharged it for us; and by the price of whose atoning blood we are delivered from the chains of darkness, and are translated into the glorious liberty of thy children.” — Doddridge. What has hitherto been said refers to meekness; what follows, to purity of heart.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v25 Agree with thine adversary quickly - This is still…
Agree with thine adversary quickly - This is still an illustration of the sixth commandment. To be in hostility, to go to law, to be litigious, is a violation always, on one side or the other, of the law requiring us to love our neighbor, and our Saviour regards it as a violation of the sixth commandment. While you are in the way with him, says he, that is, while you are going to the court, before the trial has taken place, it is your duty, if possible, to come to an agreement. It is wrong to carry the contention to a court of law. See 1Co 6:6-7. The consequence of not being reconciled, he expresses in the language of courts. The adversary shall deliver to the judge, and he to the executioner, and he shall throw you into prison. He did not mean to say that this would be literally the way with God, but that His dealings with those that harbored these feelings, and would not be reconciled with their brethren, were represented by the punishment inflicted by human tribunals. That is, he would hold all such as violators of the sixth commandment, and would punish them accordingly.
There is no propriety in the use sometimes made of this verse, in representing God as the “adversary” of the sinner, and urging him to be reconciled to God while in the way to judgment. Nor does the phrase “thou shalt by no means come out thence until thou hast paid the uttermost farthing” refer to the eternity of future punishment. It is language taken from courts of justice, to illustrate the truth that God will punish people according to justice for not being reconciled to him. The punishment in the future world will be eternal indeed Mat 25:46, but this passage does not prove it.
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Thine adversary - A man that is opposed to us in law. It here means a creditor; a man who has a just claim on us.
In the way with him - While you are going before the court. Before the trial comes on. It is remarkable that this very direction is found in the Roman law of the Twelve Tables, which expressly directed the plaintiff and defendant to make up the matter while they were in the way, or going to the praetor - in via, rem uti pacunt orato. - Blackstone’s Commentary, iii. p. 299. Whether the Saviour had any reference to this cannot be determined. As the Roman laws prevailed to some extent in Palestine, however, it is possible that there was such an allusion.
The officer - The executioner; or, as we should say, the sheriff.
The uttermost farthing - The last farthing. All that is due. The farthing was a small coin used in Judea, equal to two mites. It was not quite equal to half a farthing of British money.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv24–25 Leave thy offering. This is not to be understood,…
Leave thy offering. This is not to be understood, as if a man were always bound to go to the person offended; but it is to signify, that a man is bound in his heart and mind to be reconciled, to forgive every one, and seek peace with all men. (Witham) --- Beware of coming to the holy table, or to any sacrament, without charity. Be first reconciled to your brother, and much more to the Catholic Church, which is the whole brotherhood of Christian men. (Hebrews xiii. 1.) (Bristow)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv24–26 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go…
Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother--The meaning evidently is--not, "dismiss from thine own breast all ill feeling, "but" get thy brother to dismiss from his mind all grudge against thee."
and then come and offer thy gift--"The picture," says THOLUCK," is drawn from life. It transports us to the moment when the Israelite, having brought his sacrifice to the court of the Israelites, awaited the instant when the priest would approach to receive it at his hands. He waits with his gift at the rails which separate the place where he stands from the court of the priests, into which his offering will presently be taken, there to be slain by the priest, and by him presented upon the altar of sacrifice." It is at this solemn moment, when about to cast himself upon divine mercy, and seek in his offering a seal of divine forgiveness, that the offerer is supposed, all at once, to remember that some brother has a just cause of complaint against him through breach of this commandment in one or other of the ways just indicated. What then? Is he to say, As soon as I have offered this gift I will go straight to my brother, and make it up with him? Nay; but before another step is taken--even before the offering is presented--this reconciliation is to be sought, though the gift have to be left unoffered before the altar. The converse of the truth here taught is very strikingly expressed in Mar 11:25-26 : "And when ye stand praying (in the very act), forgive, if ye have aught (of just complaint) against any; that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive you," &c. Hence the beautiful practice of the early Church, to see that all differences amongst brethren and sisters in Christ were made up, in the spirit of love, before going to the Holy Communion; and the Church of England has a rubrical direction to this effect in her Communion service. Certainly, if this be the highest act of worship on earth, such reconciliation though obligatory on all other occasions of worship--must be peculiarly so then.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv24–26 24. Before the altar — Not upon the altar.…
24. Before the altar — Not upon the altar. Proceed not so far as to lay thy sacrifice before God. Interrupt the service and go thy way. First be reconciled — By making the proper reparation. Then come and offer thy gift — For not till then will thy sacrifice be holy, or thy prayer accepted.
Our Lord here implies, first, that the aught against thee is a just complaint for a real wrong. No one can be supposed unacceptable to God because a captious and slanderous man assails him with charges. And, second, the reconcilement required is not to be measured by the overbearing demands of an unreasonable person; but what we, in an exchange of cases, would justly think our rightful due.
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We may here remark, 1. That the enclosure within the railing around the pulpit is properly called the chancel. But as the place where our sacred service and self-consecration are performed, it is not without Scripture reason sometimes styled the altar. 2. The advice of our Lord to clear our minds of every unholy feeling is all important. Spiritual blessings, outpourings of divine influence, revivals that do not melt away our feuds and quarrels, are of very doubtful character. 3. Yet we would caution any person from giving up the habit or form of prayer because he is conscious of not living consistently with his prayer. Let our prayers continue until they make our sins cease, and do not continue sin and let it make prayer cease.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv24–25 24. before the altar] Stay the sacrifice, though begun,…
24. before the altar] Stay the sacrifice, though begun, for God will not accept it unless the heart be free from anger, and the conscience from offence. It is an application of the great principle summed up in “I will have mercy and not sacrifice.” Cp. also Psa_26:6, “I will wash my hands in innocency, O Lord, and so will I go to thine altar.”
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv24–26 (24) Leave there thy gift.—The words describe an act…
(24) Leave there thy gift.—The words describe an act which would appear to men as a breach of liturgical propriety. To leave the gift and the priest, the act of sacrifice unfinished, would be strange and startling, yet that, our Lord teaches, were better than to sacrifice with the sense of a wrong unconfessed and unatoned for, and, à fortiori, better than the deeper evil of not being ready to forgive. The Talmud gives a curious rule, to which the words may perhaps allude: “If a man is on the point of offering the Passover, and remembers that there is any leaven left in the house, let him return to his house, and remove it, and then come and finish the Passover” (Pesachim, f. 49). What the scribes laid down as a duty in regard to the “leaven of bread,” our Lord applies to the leaven of malice and wickedness.
Be reconciled.—It is not enough to see in this only a command to remove ill-will and enmity from our own mind, though that, of course, is implied. There must be also confession of wrong and the endeavour to make amends, to bring about, as far as in us lies, reconciliation, or atonement.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv24–26 First. Joined in the Authorized Version and Revised Version…
First. Joined in the Authorized Version and Revised Version to "be reconciled," and rightly, since the point is not "the unavoidable, surprising, nay, repellent removal of one"s self from the temple" (Meyer), but reconciliation. Be reconciled (diallaghyi); here only in the New Testament. There seems to be no essential difference between this and katallassw (vide Thayer).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v25 Agree with thine adversary.
Mat_5:25
Agree with thine adversary.
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Reconciliation with God
1. Man by his sin has made God his adversary.
2. God has opened a way by which sinners, though they have thus grossly offended, may be brought back into a state of reconciliation with Him.
3. To show you that it is mans duty and interest to avail himself of the opportunity of coming into agreement with God.
I. Who are the persons that may rightly apply to themselves the motives by which i shall urge the business of agreement with God. God is the adversary of any child of Adam who has not availed himself of pardon, the man of private virtue as well as his profligate neighbour.
II. Motives by which this business is urged won you.
1. Consider what it is I am endeavouring to enforce upon your attention. No trifle, agreement with God.
2. What would be the blessings that would result if you were thus reconciled to God.
3. What will be the consequences if you are not reconciled?
4. Let me remind you of the interest others take in your reconciliation with God.
III. Begin that reconciliation immediately Whiles thou art in the way.
1. God is now waiting to come to agreement with you.
2. What reason have you to advance why you should not.
3. Consider the uncertainty of life.
4. All the opportunities of agreement are confined to this present life.
5. The results that in another world will follow a want of reconciliation with God in this, are indescribably dreadful.
6. The punishment will be inevitable and eternal. (J. A. James, D. D.)
Agree with thine adversary quickly
1. The Lord warns us to make our Christian peace in time.
2. To take care that our sacramental offering of charity and forgiveness be not delayed.
3. Lest our adversary be no more in the way with us; lest, among the many partings of this world, we lose sight of him for ever.
4. And that on the ground of Gods awful judgment.
5. For to Him the unreconciled quarrels of this world must be referred.
6. He will exact the uttermost farthing of His own incalculable debt from those who have been unkind and unforgiving to their fellow-servants. (G. Moberley, D. C. L.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv25–26 25. Agree with thine adversary quickly. By adversary is…
25. Agree with thine adversary quickly. By adversary is meant an opponent in a lawsuit who is supposed to have a just claim, in this case a creditor. Officer. The same as our sheriff. Under all the old laws debt could be punished with imprisonment.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v26 Cf. Isa 40:2; Rth 1:21; Rth 1:22
paid
Cf. Isa 40:2; Rth 1:21; Rth 1:22
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v25 The same truth in a different parable:
The same truth in a different parable:
v. 25. Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou. art in the way with him, lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
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v. 26. Verily, I say unto thee, Thou shall by no means come out thence till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
The picture is that of a debtor on the way to court with his creditor, Deu 21:18; Deu 25:1, who is his adversary, but probably might be found willing to come to terms outside of court. The advice is that the debtor be in a very conciliatory mood, ready and eager to straighten out the difficulty without litigation. In case a settlement would not be effected in this manner, the danger would be that the adversary, losing all patience, would deliver and even forcibly drag the debtor before the judge, secure a favorable decision, have this carried out by the officer of the court, and have the satisfaction of seeing him taken to prison. All hopes of obtaining mercy would then be shattered. For even the last quadrans , the fourth part of a Roman assarin, which was worth not quite two cents, would be demanded of him. Payment would be exacted to the last fraction of a penny. A very earnest admonition not to wait or hesitate about coming to terms with our adversary, with any one whom we owe reconciliation. The brief period of life is soon behind us, and the implacable that refused to agree will find in the Lord an equally implacable Judge.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v25 Agree with your
Agree with your
Jesus is talking to a group of people about what they as individuals should or should not do. All occurrences of "you" and "your" are singular, but in some languages they may need to be plural. (See: Forms of You)
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your accuser
This is a person who blames someone for doing something wrong. He takes the wrongdoer to court to accuse him before a judge.
may hand you over to the judge
Here "hand you over" means to give someone into the control of someone else. AT: "will let the judge deal with you" (See: Idiom)
the judge may hand you over to the officer
Here "hand you over" means to give someone into the control of someone else. AT: "the judge will give you over to the officer" (See: Idiom)
officer
a person who has authority to carry out the decisions of a judge
you may be thrown into prison
This can be stated in active form. AT: "the officer might put you in prison" (See: Active or Passive)
Truly I say to you
"I tell you the truth." This phrase adds emphasis to what Jesus says next.
from there
"from prison"
translationWords
accuse
hand
judge, judges
prison
amen
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.