God’s Word Translation
Matthew 10:34
34“Don’t think that I came to bring peace to earth. I didn’t come to bring peace but conflict.
Matthew 10:34 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
- New International Version (NIV)“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.
Context of Matthew 10:34
32“So I will acknowledge in front of my Father in heaven that person who acknowledges me in front of others. 33But I will tell my Father in heaven that I don’t know the person who tells others that he doesn’t know me. “Don’t think that I came to bring peace to earth. I didn’t come to bring peace but conflict. 35I came to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36A person’s enemies will be the members of his own family.
Read all of Matthew 10Matthew 10:34 word by word
Μὴ νομίσητε ὅτι ἦλθον βαλεῖν εἰρήνην ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν· οὐκ ἦλθον βαλεῖν εἰρήνην ἀλλὰ μάχαιραν.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Thinkνομίζωnomizō · to thinkG3543
- notμήmē · notG3361
- thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
- I am comeἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
- to sendβάλλωballō · to throw: putG906
- peaceεἰρήνηeirēnē · peaceG1515
- onἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
- earthὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- earthγῆgē · earth: planetG1093
- notοὐou · noG3756
- butἀλλάalla · butG235
- a swordμάχαιραmachaira · swordG3162
Cross-references for Matthew 10:34
- Jeremiah 15:10I’m so miserable! Why did my mother give birth to me? I am a man who argues and quarrels with the whole earth. I have never lent or borrowed anything. Yet, everyone curses me.
- Luke 12:49“I have come to throw fire on the earth. I wish that it had already started!
- John 7:40After some of the crowd heard Jesus say these words, they said, “This man is certainly the prophet.”
- Acts 13:45When the Jews saw the crowds, they became very jealous. They used insulting language to contradict whatever Paul said.
- Acts 14:2But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up some people who were not Jewish and poisoned their minds against the believers.
Commentaries on Matthew 10:34
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 34Think not that I am come to send peace, etc. - The meaning of this difficult passage will be plain, when we consider the import of the word peace, and the expectation of the Jews. I have already had occasion to remark, ( Matthew 10:12;), that the word שלום shalom, rendered by the Greeks , was used among the Hebrews to express all possible blessings, temporal and spiritual; but especially the former. The expectation of the Jews was, that, when the Messiah…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 34-36Verses 34-36 Think not that I am come - This is taken from Micah 7:6. Christ did not here mean to say that the object of his coming was to produce discord and contention, for he was the Prince of Peace, Isaiah 9:6; Isaiah 11:6; Luke 2:14; but he means to say that such would be one of the effects of his coming. One part of a family that was opposed to Him would set themselves against those who believed in him. The wickedness of men, and not the religion…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-42Verses 16-42 Our Lord warned his disciples to prepare for persecution. They were to avoid all things which gave advantage to their enemies, all meddling with worldly or political concerns, all appearance of evil or selfishness, and all underhand measures. Christ foretold troubles, not only that the troubles might not be a surprise, but that they might confirm their faith. He tells them what they should suffer, and from whom. Thus Christ has dealt fairly…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 34Jesus did bring peace (John 14:27), but not the kind of social or political peace people often expect. Instead, he called people to make a decision about him. This decision would bring a sword, meaning division, even within families (see Matt 8:21–22; 12:46–50; Luke 12:51).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3434. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword--strife, discord, conflict; deadly opposition between eternally hostile principles, penetrating into and rending asunder the dearest ties.Read the comment
Topics related to Matthew 10:34
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Matthew 10
- 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
- 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries