English Standard Version
Matthew 18:8
8And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire.
Matthew 18:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.
- New International Version (NIV)If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire.
- New Living Translation (NLT)So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet.
Context of Matthew 18:8
6but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. 7"Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. 9And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire. 10"See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.
Read all of Matthew 18Matthew 18:8 word by word
εἰ δὲ ἡ χείρ σου ἢ ὁ πούς σου σκανδαλίζει σε, ἔκκοψον αὐτὸν καὶ βάλε ἀπὸ σοῦ· καλόν σοί ἐστιν εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν ζωὴν κυλλὸν ἢ χωλὸν ἢ δύο χεῖρας ἢ δύο πόδας ἔχοντα βληθῆναι εἰς τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Whereforeδέde · thenG1161
- ifεἰei · ifG1487
- thyσύsu · youG4771
- handχείρcheir · handG5495
- orἤē · orG2228
- footπούςpous · footG4228
- offendσκανδαλίζωskandalizō · to cause to stumbleG4624
- cutἐκκόπτωekkoptō · to preventG1581
- themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- castβάλλωballō · to throw: throwG906
- fromἀπόapo · away fromG575
- it isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- betterκαλόςkalos · goodG2570
- to enterεἰσέρχομαιeiserchomai · to enterG1525
- intoεἰςeis · towardG1519
- lifeζωήzōē · lifeG2222
- haltχωλόςchōlos · lameG5560
- maimedκυλλόςkullos · crippledG2948
- havingἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
- twoδύοduo · twoG1417
- everlastingαἰώνιοςaiōnios · eternalG166
- fireπῦρpur · fireG4442
Cross-references for Matthew 18:8
- Matthew 5:29If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.
- Matthew 14:3For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife,
- Deuteronomy 13:6"If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or the wife you embrace or your friend who is as your own soul entices you secretly, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods,' which neither you nor your fathers have known,
- Mark 9:43And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.
- Luke 14:26"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
- Luke 18:22When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."
- Isaiah 2:20In that day mankind will cast away their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats,
- Isaiah 30:22Then you will defile your carved idols overlaid with silver and your gold-plated metal images. You will scatter them as unclean things. You will say to them, "Be gone!"
- Ezekiel 18:31Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel?
- Romans 13:12The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
- Philippians 3:8Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
- Matthew 15:30And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them,
- Matthew 25:41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
- Isaiah 33:14The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling has seized the godless: "Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?"
- Mark 9:48'where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.'
- Luke 16:24And he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.'
Commentaries on Matthew 18:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8If thy hand, etc. - See the notes on Matthew 5:29-30; (note).Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8If thy hand - See the notes at Matthew 5:29-30. The sense in all these instances is the same. Worldly attachments, friendships, and employments of any kind, that cannot be pursued without leading us into sin, be they ever so dear to us, must be abandoned, or the soul will be lost. It is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed - It is not meant, by this, that when the body shall be raised it will be maimed and disfigured in this manner. It…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-14Verses 7-14 Considering the cunning and malice of Satan, and the weakness and depravity of men's hearts, it is not possible but that there should be offences. God permits them for wise and holy ends, that those who are sincere, and those who are not, may be made known. Being told before, that there will be seducers, tempters, persecutors, and bad examples, let us stand on our guard. We must, as far as lawfully we may, part with what we cannot keep without…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8-9Jesus shifts his concern to the person. You must remove anything that leads you to sin (see Matthew 5:29–30; Colossians 3:5–17).Read the comment
Topics related to Matthew 18:8
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Matthew 18
- 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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
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