New English Translation
Matthew 7:6
6Do not give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs; otherwise they will trample them under their feet and turn around and tear you to pieces.
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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"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.
- 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.
Context of Matthew 7:6
4Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ while there is a beam in your own? 5You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Do not give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs; otherwise they will trample them under their feet and turn around and tear you to pieces. 7“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you. 8For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door 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 welcome you or listen to your message, shake the dust off your feet as you leave that house or that town.
- Matthew 15:26“It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs,” he said.
- Proverbs 9:7Whoever corrects a mocker is asking for insult; whoever reproves a wicked person receives abuse.
- Proverbs 23:9Do not speak in the ears of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
- Proverbs 26:11Like a dog that returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.
- Acts 13:45But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they began to contradict what Paul was saying by reviling him.
- Philippians 3:2Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh!
- Hebrews 6:6and then have committed apostasy, to renew them again to repentance, since they are crucifying the Son of God for themselves all over again and holding him up to contempt.
- Hebrews 10:29How much greater punishment do you think that person deserves who has contempt for the Son of God, and profanes the blood of the covenant that made him holy, and insults the Spirit of grace?
- 2 Peter 2:22They are illustrations of this true proverb: “A dog returns to its own vomit,” and “A sow, after washing herself, wallows in the mire.”
- Proverbs 11:22Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who rejects discretion.
- Matthew 22:5But they were indifferent and went away, one to his farm, another to his business.
- Matthew 24:10Then many will be led into sin, and they will betray one another and hate one another.
- 2 Corinthians 11:26I have been on journeys many times, in dangers from rivers, in dangers from robbers, in dangers from my own countrymen, in dangers from Gentiles, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the wilderness, in dangers at sea, in dangers from false brothers,
- 2 Timothy 4:14Alexander the coppersmith did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him in keeping with 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
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