English Standard Version
Matthew 7:6
6"Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.
Matthew 7:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
- New International Version (NIV)“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.
Context of Matthew 7:6
4Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. "Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. 7"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
Read all of Matthew 7Matthew 7:6 word by word
Μὴ δῶτε τὸ ἅγιον τοῖς κυσὶν μηδὲ βάλητε τοὺς μαργαρίτας ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν χοίρων μήποτε καταπατήσουσιν αὐτοὺς ἐν τοῖς ποσὶν αὐτῶν, καὶ στραφέντες ῥήξωσιν ὑμᾶς.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Giveδίδωμιdidōmi · to giveG1325
- notμήmē · notG3361
- that which is holyἅγιοςhagios · holyG40
- unto the dogsκύωνkuōn · dogG2965
- neitherμηδέmēde · norG3366
- cast yeβάλλωballō · to throw: throwG906
- yourσύsu · youG4771
- pearlsμαργαρίτηςmargaritēs · pearlG3135
- beforeἔμπροσθενemprosthen · beforeG1715
- swineχοῖροςchoiros · pigG5519
- lestμήποτεmēpote mē pote · lestG3379
- they trampleκαταπατέωkatapateō · to trampleG2662
- themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- underἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- feetπούςpous · footG4228
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- turn again andστρέφωstrephō · to turnG4762
- rendῥήγνυμιrhēgnumi rhēssō · to throw violentlyG4486
Cross-references for Matthew 7:6
- Matthew 10:14And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.
- Matthew 15:26And he answered, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."
- Proverbs 9:7Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
- Proverbs 23:9Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words.
- Proverbs 26:11Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.
- Acts 13:45But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him.
- Philippians 3:2Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.
- Hebrews 6:6and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.
- Hebrews 10:29How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?
- 2 Peter 2:22What the true proverb says has happened to them: "The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire."
- Proverbs 11:22Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.
- Matthew 22:5But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business,
- Matthew 24:10And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.
- 2 Corinthians 11:26on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers;
- 2 Timothy 4:14Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.
Commentaries on Matthew 7:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Give not that which is holy - , the holy or sacred thing; i.e. any thing, especially, of the sacrificial kind, which had been consecrated to God. The members of this sentence should be transposed thus: - Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, Lest they turn again and rend you: Neither cast ye your pearls before swine, Lest they trample them under their feet The propriety of this transposition is self-evident. There are many such transpositions as…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6Give not that which is holy - By some the word “holy” has been supposed to mean “flesh offered in sacrifice,” made holy, or separated to a sacred use; but it probably means here “anything connected with religion” - admonition, precept, or doctrine. Pearls are precious stones found in shell-fish, chiefly in India, in the waters that surround Ceylon. They are used to denote anything especially precious, Revelation 17:4; Revelation 18:12-16; Matthew 13:45…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6Rabbis often referred to important ideas or Scripture verses as pearls. The mysteries of the kingdom of God (13:11) are holy (see Exodus 29:33; Leviticus 2:3; 22:10–16; Numbers 18:8–10). do not give dogs what is holy: Jews often referred to non-Jewish (Gentile) people as dogs or pigs because these animals were ceremonially unclean (Matthew 15:26; Psalm 22:16, 20; Leviticus 11). Some think this means that many Gentiles would not accept the message of the…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. Give not that which is holy unto the dogs--savage or snarling haters of truth and righteousness. neither cast ye your pearls before swine--the impure or coarse, who are incapable of appreciating the priceless jewels of Christianity. In the East, dogs are wilder and more gregarious, and, feeding on carrion and garbage, are coarser and fiercer than the same animals in the West. Dogs and swine, besides being ceremonially unclean, were peculiarly repulsive…Read the comment
Topics related to Matthew 7:6
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Matthew 7
- 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
Commentaries