Matthew 5:13

Matthew 5:13 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
• New International Version (NIV)“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

Context of Matthew 5:13

11Yes, happy are you when people say bad things against you because you believe in me. Or they may hurt you. Or they may say things about you that are not true. 12God is preparing many good things for you in heaven. So you should be very happy when people do these bad things to any of you. People did these same things to God's prophets who lived long ago.’ Jesus said, ‘You are like salt for all people to taste and use. Salt is good. But if it is not salty any more, you cannot make it salty again. People can no longer use it for anything. They just throw it away and they walk on it. 14You are like a light for everybody in this world. If people build a city on a hill, then other people can see it easily. 15Nobody lights a lamp and then puts it under a pot. He will put the lamp in a high place. Everybody who is in the house can then see the light from the lamp.

Matthew 5:13 word by word

Ὑμεῖς ἐστε τὸ ἅλας τῆς γῆς· ἐὰν δὲ τὸ ἅλας μωρανθῇ, ἐν τίνι ἁλισθήσεται; εἰς οὐδὲν ἰσχύει ἔτι εἰ μὴ βληθὲν ἔξω καταπατεῖσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Yeσύsu · youG4771
• areεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• the saltὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the saltἅλαςhalas · saltG217
• of the earthγῆgē · earth: planetG1093
• butδέde · thenG1161
• ifἐάνean · ifG1437
• have lost his savourμωραίνωmōrainō · be foolishG3471
• ·ἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• wherewithτίςtis · which?G5101
• shall it be saltedἁλίζωhalizō · to saltG233
• it isἰσχύωischuō · be strongG2480
• thenceforthἔτιeti · stillG2089
• forεἰςeis · towardG1519
• nothingοὐδείςoudeis · noneG3762
• ·εἰei · if: notG1487
• butμήmē · notG3361
• to be castβάλλωballō · to throw: throwG906
• outἔξωexō · out/outside(r)G1854
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• to be trodden under footκαταπατέωkatapateō · to trampleG2662
• ofὑπόhupo · by/under: underG5259
• menἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444

Cross-references for Matthew 5:13

• Leviticus 2:13A person must put salt in all his gifts of grain. Salt is a mark of God's promise to Israel's people.
• Colossians 4:6When you speak to people, always speak kind words. Say things that will help them. Then, when someone asks you a question, you will know how to reply.
• Mark 9:49God will put fire on everybody, as people put salt on food.
• Luke 14:34Remember this. Salt is good. But if it is not salty any more, it is no longer any good. You cannot make it salty again.
• Hebrews 6:4That is important, because we must not turn away from Christ, after we have first believed in him. Some people have come into God's light. They have understood God's message. They have started to enjoy the true life that God has given them. They have received the Holy Spirit, like other believers.
• 2 Peter 2:20People like that learned about our Lord Jesus Christ, who saves us. As a result, they had stopped doing the bad things that belong to this world. They had become free from the power of those things. But now they have started to do those bad things again. Those things have power over them and they cannot stop doing them. So now, these false teachers are worse than they were at the beginning, before they believed in the Lord Jesus.

Commentaries on Matthew 5:13

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13Ye are the salt of the earth - Our Lord shows here what the preachers of the Gospel, and what all who profess to follow him, should be; the salt of the earth, to preserve the world from putrefaction and destruction. See the note on Leviticus 2:13. But if the salt have lost his savor - That this is possible in the land of Judea, we have proof from Mr. Maundrell, who, describing the Valley of Salt, speaks thus: "Along, on one side of the valley, toward…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13Ye are the salt of the earth - Salt renders food pleasant and palatable, and preserves from putrefaction. So Christians, by their lives and instructions, are to keep the world from entire moral corruption. By bringing down the blessing of God in answer to their prayers, and by their influence and example, they save the world from universal vice and crime. Salt have lost its savour - That is, if it has become tasteless, or has lost its preserving…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-16Verses 13-16 Ye are the salt of the earth. Mankind, lying in ignorance and wickedness, were as a vast heap, ready to putrify; but Christ sent forth his disciples, by their lives and doctrines to season it with knowledge and grace. If they are not such as they should be, they are as salt that has lost its savour. If a man can take up the profession of Christ, and yet remain graceless, no other doctrine, no other means, can make him profitable. Our light…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13People used salt for a number of reasons: to clean and prevent decay (Ezekiel 16:4), in making agreements (Leviticus 2:13; Numbers 18:19; see study note on 2 Chronicles 13:5), and to flavor food (Job 6:6; Mark 9:50). Salt that loses its savor becomes useless or tasteless (see Mark 9:50; Luke 14:34).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 13-1613-16. We have here the practical application of the foregoing principles to those disciples who sat listening to them, and to their successors in all time. Our Lord, though He began by pronouncing certain characters to be blessed--without express reference to any of His hearers--does not close the beatitudes without intimating that such characters were in existence, and that already they were before Him. Accordingly, from characters He comes to persons…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 5:13

• Agency
• Backsliders
• Church
• Influence
• Instruction
• Readings, Select
• Religion
• Righteous
• Salt
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Agree
• Communication
• Despitefully
• Enemy
• Fornication
• Forswear
• Gift
• Hunger
• Inherit
• Jot

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