Matthew 5:17

Matthew 5:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
• New International Version (NIV)“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.

Context of Matthew 5:17

15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. 18For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19So then, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:17 word by word

Μὴ νομίσητε ὅτι ἦλθον καταλῦσαι τὸν νόμον ἢ τοὺς προφήτας· οὐκ ἦλθον καταλῦσαι ἀλλὰ πληρῶσαι.Read the interlinear

• Do notμήmē · notG3361
• thinkνομίζωnomizō · to thinkG3543
• thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• I have comeἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
• to abolishκαταλύωkataluō · to destroy/lodgeG2647
• theὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Lawνόμοςnomos · lawG3551
• orἤē · orG2228
• Prophetsπροφήτηςprophētēs · prophetG4396
• I have not comeοὐou · noG3756
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• to fulfillπληρόωplēroō · to fulfillG4137

Cross-references for Matthew 5:17

• Luke 16:17But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for a single stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.
• John 8:5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such a woman. So what do You say?”
• Acts 6:13where they presented false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law.
• Acts 18:13“This man is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law,” they said.
• Acts 21:28crying out, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and against our law and against this place. Furthermore, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.”
• Romans 3:31Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Certainly not! Instead, we uphold the law.
• Romans 10:4For Christ is the end of the law, to bring righteousness to everyone who believes.
• Galatians 3:17What I mean is this: The law that came 430 years later does not revoke the covenant previously established by God, so as to nullify the promise.
• Matthew 3:15“Let it be so now,” Jesus replied. “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness in this way.” Then John permitted Him.
• Psalms 40:6Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but my ears You have opened. Burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not require.
• Isaiah 42:21The LORD was pleased, for the sake of His righteousness, to magnify His law and make it glorious.
• Romans 8:4so that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
• Galatians 4:4But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
• Colossians 2:16Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath.
• Hebrews 10:3Instead, those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins,

Commentaries on Matthew 5:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17Think not that I am come to destroy the law - Do not imagine that I am come to violate the law , from , and , I loose, violate, or dissolve - I am not come to make the law of none effect - to dissolve the connection which subsists between its several parts, or the obligation men are under to have their lives regulated by its moral precepts; nor am I come to dissolve the connecting reference it has to the good things promised. But I am come, , to complete…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17Think not that I am come … - Our Saviour was just entering on his work. It was important for him to state what he came to do. By his setting up to be a teacher in opposition to the scribes and Pharisees, some might charge him with an intention to destroy their law, and to abolish the customs of the nation. He therefore told them that he did not come for that end, but really to fulfill or accomplish what was in the law and the prophets. To destroy - To…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-20Verses 17-20 Let none suppose that Christ allows his people to trifle with any commands of God's holy law. No sinner partakes of Christ's justifying righteousness, till he repents of his evil deeds. The mercy revealed in the gospel leads the believer to still deeper self-abhorrence. The law is the Christian's rule of duty, and he delights therein. If a man, pretending to be Christ's disciple, encourages himself in any allowed disobedience to the holy law…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17To abolish would mean to remove and replace the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets (that is, the whole Old Testament) as God’s revelation of his will. until everything is accomplished: This could mean to obey the Old Testament perfectly, complete their teachings, or fulfill their prophecies (see Matthew 1:22; 2:15, 17, 23). Jesus himself embodies everything the Prophets and the Law taught and expected. Now that Christ has arrived, who fulfills…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. Think not that I am come--that I came. to destroy the law, or the prophets--that is, "the authority and principles of the Old Testament." (On the phrase, see Mt 7:12; 22:40; Lu 16:16; Ac 13:15). This general way of taking the phrase is much better than understanding "the law" and "the prophets" separately, and inquiring, as many good critics do, in what sense our Lord could be supposed to meditate the subversion of each. To the various classes of His…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 5:17

• Instruction
• Jesus, the Christ
• Judaism
• Law
• Religion
• Word of God

In the dictionaries

• Agree
• Bible
• Communication
• Decalogue
• Despitefully
• Enemy
• Fornication
• Forswear
• Gift
• Hunger

Commentaries on Matthew 5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings