Saturday, May 16, 2009

Matthew 5:17-48


Here's my translation of Matthew 5:17-48. Please critique.

17 "Do not think that I came to do away with the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to do away but to fulfill. 18 For amen I say to you, until the heaven and the earth pass away, one iota or one serif will certainly not pass away from the Law, until all things take place. 19 Therefore, whoever loosens one of the least of these commandments and in this way teaches people will be called least in the reign of the heavens; but whoever does and teaches them, this one will be called great in the reign of the heavens. 20 For I say to y o u that unless y o ur righteousness abounds more greatly than that of the scribes and Pharisees, y o u will certainly not enter into the reing of the heavens. 21 Y o u heard that it was said to the ancients, 'You will not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to the judgment.' 22 But I myself am saying to y o u that everyone who is being angry with his brother without cause will be liabel to the judgment; and whoever says to his brother, 'Empty-head,' will be liable to the Sanhedrin; and whoever says, 'Fool,' will be liable to the fiery Gehenna. 23 Therefore, if you are bringing your gift to the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go, first be reconciled to your brother, and then after coming resume offering your gift. 25 Be well-disposed toward your opponent quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest the opponent hand you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to his subordinate, and you will be thrown into prison; 26 amen, I say to you, you will certainly not get out of there until you pay the last cent.


27 "Y o u heard that it was said to the ancients, 'You will not commit adultery.' 28 But I myself am saying to y o u that every one looking at a woman so as to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 And if your right eye is causing you to stumble, tear it out and throw it away from you; for it is advantageous for you that one of your members be destroyed and your whole body not be thrown into Gehenna. 30 And if your right hand is causing you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away from you; for it is advantageous for you that one of your members be destroyed and your whole body not be thrown into Gehenna.


31 "And it was said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give to her a certificate of divorce.' 32 But I myself am saying to you that whoever divorces his wife, except for a matter of adultery, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.


33 "Again y o u heard that it was said to the ancients, 'You will not break your oath, but you will pay to the Lord your oaths.' 34 But I myself am saying to y o u not to swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God; 35 nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King; 36 nor should you swear by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black. 37 But let y o ur word be 'yes, yes,' 'no, no.' That which is more than these words comes from the evil one.


38 "Y o u heard that it was said, 'Eye in exchange for eye and tooth in exchange for tooth.' 39 But I myself am saying to y o u not to resist the evil person; rather whoever will slap you on the right cheek, turn to him also the other; 40 and to the person wishing to go to law with you and to take your tunic, leave him also your cloak; 41 and whoever will force you to go one mile, go with him two; 42 to the one asking you, keep giving, and you should not turn away from the one wishing to borrow from you.


43 "Y o u heard that it was said, 'You will love your neighbor and you will hate your enemy.' 44 But I myself am saying to y o u, love y o ur enemies, bless the ones cursing y o u, do good to the ones hating y o u, and pray on behalf of the ones mistreating y o u and persecuting y o u, 45 in order that y o u may be sons of y o ur Father in the heavens, for He makes His sun rise on wicked and good and makes rain to fall on righteous and unrighteous. 46 For if y o u love the ones loving y o u, what reward do y o u have? Even the tax collectors do the same, don't they? 47 And if you greet only y o ur friends, what greater thing are y o u doing? Even the tax collectors do so, don't they? 48 Therefore, y o u will be perfect, just as y o ur Father in the heavens is perfect.  

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

We enjoyed your translation very much, Chuck! We only saw 2 typos: v. 20 reing instead of reign and v. 22 liabel instead of liable.

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