New Living Translation
Matthew 18:8
8So 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.
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.
- New International Version (NIV)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.
- 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.
Context of Matthew 18:8
6But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7“What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting. 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. 9And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell. 10“Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father.
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 5:29So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to lust, 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 14:3For Herod had arrested and imprisoned John as a favor to his wife Herodias (the former wife of Herod’s brother Philip).
- Deuteronomy 13:6“Suppose someone secretly entices you—even your brother, your son or daughter, your beloved wife, or your closest friend—and says, ‘Let us go worship other gods’—gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known.
- Mark 9:43If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell with two hands.
- Luke 14:26“If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.
- Luke 18:22When Jesus heard his answer, he said, “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
- Isaiah 2:20On that day of judgment they will abandon the gold and silver idols they made for themselves to worship. They will leave their gods to the rodents and bats,
- Isaiah 30:22Then you will destroy all your silver idols and your precious gold images. You will throw them out like filthy rags, saying to them, “Good riddance!”
- Ezekiel 18:31Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O people of Israel?
- Romans 13:12The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living.
- Philippians 3:8Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ
- Matthew 15:30A vast crowd brought to him people who were lame, blind, crippled, those who couldn’t speak, and many others. They laid them before Jesus, and he healed them all.
- Matthew 25:41“Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.
- Isaiah 33:14The sinners in Jerusalem shake with fear. Terror seizes the godless. “Who can live with this devouring fire?” they cry. “Who can survive this all-consuming fire?”
- Mark 9:48‘where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out.’
- Luke 16:24“The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’
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
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries