Matthew 5:20

Matthew 5:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
• New International Version (NIV)For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Context of Matthew 5:20

18I can guarantee this truth: Until the earth and the heavens disappear, neither a period nor a comma will disappear from the Scriptures before everything has come true. 19So whoever sets aside any command that seems unimportant and teaches others to do the same will be unimportant in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches what the commands say will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. I can guarantee that unless you live a life that has God’s approval and do it more faithfully than the experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 21“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘Never murder. Whoever murders will answer for it in court.’ 22But I can guarantee that whoever is angry with another believer will answer for it in court. Whoever calls another believer an insulting name will answer for it in the highest court. Whoever calls another believer a fool will answer for it in hellfire.

Matthew 5:20 word by word

λέγω γὰρ ὑμῖν ὅτι ἐὰν μὴ περισσεύσῃ ὑμῶν ἡ δικαιοσύνη πλεῖον τῶν γραμματέων καὶ Φαρισαίων, οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθητε εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• I sayλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• unto youσύsu · youG4771
• Thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• exceptἐάνean · ifG1437
• ·μήmē · notG3361
• righteousnessὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• righteousnessδικαιοσύνηdikaiosunē · righteousnessG1343
• shall exceedπερισσεύωperisseuō · to exceedG4052
• ·πλείων, πλεῖονpleiōn pleion pleon · greaterG4119
• of the scribesγραμματεύςgrammateus · scribeG1122
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• PhariseesΦαρισαῖοςPharisaios · PhariseeG5330
• ye shallεἰσέρχομαιeiserchomai · to enterG1525
• in noοὐou · noG3756
• intoεἰςeis · towardG1519
• the kingdomβασιλείαbasileia · kingdomG932
• of heavenοὐρανόςouranos · heavenG3772

Cross-references for Matthew 5:20

• Matthew 23:2“The experts in Moses’ Teachings and the Pharisees teach with Moses’ authority.
• Luke 11:39The Lord said to him, “You Pharisees clean the outside of cups and dishes. But inside you are full of greed and evil.
• Luke 12:1Meanwhile, thousands of people had gathered. They were so crowded that they stepped on each other. Jesus spoke to his disciples and said, “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees. I’m talking about their hypocrisy.
• Luke 16:14The Pharisees, who love money, heard all this and were making sarcastic remarks about him.
• Luke 18:10He said, “Two men went into the temple courtyard to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector.
• Luke 20:46“Beware of the experts in Moses’ Teachings! They like to walk around in long robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces, to have the front seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at dinners.
• Romans 9:30So what can we say? We can say that non-Jewish people who were not trying to gain God’s approval won his approval, an approval based on faith.
• Romans 10:2I can assure you that they are deeply devoted to God, but they are misguided.
• 2 Corinthians 5:17Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation. The old way of living has disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence.
• Philippians 3:9and to have a relationship with him. This means that I didn’t receive God’s approval by obeying his laws. The opposite is true! I have God’s approval through faith in Christ. This is the approval that comes from God and is based on faith
• Matthew 3:10The ax is now ready to cut the roots of the trees. Any tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire.
• Matthew 7:21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the person who does what my Father in heaven wants.
• Matthew 18:5And whoever welcomes a child like this in my name welcomes me.
• Mark 10:15I can guarantee this truth: Whoever doesn’t receive God’s kingdom as a little child receives it will never enter it.”
• Luke 18:17I can guarantee this truth: Whoever doesn’t receive God’s kingdom as a little child receives it will never enter it.”
• John 3:3Jesus replied to Nicodemus, “I can guarantee this truth: No one can see God’s kingdom without being born from above.”

Commentaries on Matthew 5:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Except your righteousness shall exceed - , Unless your righteousness abound more - unless it take in, not only the letter, but the spirit and design of the moral and ritual precept; the one directing you how to walk so as to please God; the other pointing out Christ, the great Atonement, through and by which a sinner is enabled to do so - more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, who only attend to the letter of the law, and had indeed made even that…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Your righteousness - Your holiness; your views of the nature of righteousness, and your conduct and lives. Unless you are more holy than they are, you cannot be saved. Shall exceed - Shall excel, or abound more. The righteousness of true Christians is seated in the heart, and is therefore genuine. Jesus means that unless they had more real holiness of character than the scribes and Pharisees, they could not be saved. The righteousness of the scribes and…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. 20Unless your righteousness exceeds: The disciples of Jesus need a new kind of righteousness that only he teaches and makes possible. Matthew 5:21–47 shows this and 5:48 summarizes what it is. This righteousness is different in amount and quality. Jesus is greater than the temple (12:6) and Jonah (12:41). So, the righteousness of his disciples must greatly surpass that of the Jewish religious teachers and Pharisees (see 3:7–9).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees--The superiority to the Pharisaic righteousness here required is plainly in kind, not degree; for all Scripture teaches that entrance into God's kingdom, whether in its present or future stage, depends, not on the degree of our excellence in anything, but solely on our having the character itself which God demands. Our righteousness, then--if…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 5:20

• Church
• Heaven
• Instruction
• Law
• Religion
• Righteousness
• Scribe (S)
• Wicked (People)
• Works

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