New International Version
Matthew 18:8
8If 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.
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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)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.
- 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
6“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! 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. 9And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell. 10“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father 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 stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
- Matthew 14:3Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,
- Deuteronomy 13:6If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known,
- Mark 9:43If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.
- Luke 14:26“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.
- Luke 18:22When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
- Isaiah 2:20In that day people will throw away to the moles and bats their idols of silver and idols of gold, which they made to worship.
- Isaiah 30:22Then you will desecrate your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, “Away with you!”
- Ezekiel 18:31Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel?
- Romans 13:12The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
- Philippians 3:8What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ
- Matthew 15:30Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them.
- Matthew 25:41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
- Isaiah 33:14The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: “Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?”
- Mark 9:48where “ ‘the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.’
- Luke 16:24So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
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
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