Matius 5:21-22

Anger and Murder

5:21 “You have heard that it was said to an older generation, ¹  ‘Do not murder,’ ²  and ‘whoever murders will be subjected to judgment.’ 5:22 But I say to you that anyone who is angry with a brother ³  will be subjected to judgment. And whoever insults ⁴  a brother will be brought before ⁵  the council, ⁶  and whoever says ‘Fool’ ⁷  will be sent ⁸  to fiery hell. ⁹ 

Yohanes 8:44

8:44 You people ¹⁰  are from ¹¹  your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. ¹²  He ¹³  was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, ¹⁴  because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, ¹⁵  he speaks according to his own nature, ¹⁶  because he is a liar and the father of lies. ¹⁷ 

[5:21]  ¹ tn Grk “to the ancient ones.”

[5:21]  ² sn A quotation from Exod 20:13; Deut 5:17.

[5:22]  ³ tc The majority of mss read the word εἰκῇ (eikh, “without cause”) here after “brother.” This insertion has support from א² D L W Θ 0233 Ë^1,13 33 Ï it sy co Ir^lat Or^mss Cyp Cyr. Thus the Western, Caesarean, and Byzantine texttypes all include the word, while the best Alexandrian and some other witnesses (Ì⁶⁴ א* B 1424^mg pc aur vg Or Hier^mss) lack it. The ms evidence favors its exclusion, though there is a remote possibility that εἰκῇ could have been accidentally omitted from these witnesses by way of homoioarcton (the next word, ἔνοχος [enocos, “guilty”], begins with the same letter). An intentional change would likely arise from the desire to qualify “angry,” especially in light of the absolute tone of Jesus’ words. While “without cause” makes good practical sense in this context, and must surely be a true interpretation of Jesus’ meaning (cf. Mark 3:5), it does not commend itself as original.

[5:22]  ⁴ tn Grk “whoever says to his brother ‘Raca,’” an Aramaic word of contempt or abuse meaning “fool” or “empty head.”

[5:22]  ⁵ tn Grk “subjected,” “guilty,” “liable.”

[5:22]  ⁶ tn Grk “the Sanhedrin.”

[5:22]  ⁷ tn The meaning of the term μωρός (mwros) is somewhat disputed. Most take it to mean, following the Syriac versions, “you fool,” although some have argued that it represents a transliteration into Greek of the Hebrew term מוֹרֵה (moreh) “rebel” (Deut 21:18, 20; cf. BDAG 663 s.v. μωρός c).

[5:22]  ⁸ tn Grk “subjected,” “guilty,” “liable.”

[5:22]  ⁹ tn Grk “the Gehenna of fire.”

[5:22]  sn The word translated hell is “Gehenna” (γέεννα, geenna), a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew words ge hinnom (“Valley of Hinnom”). This was the valley along the south side of Jerusalem. In OT times it was used for human sacrifices to the pagan god Molech (cf. Jer 7:31; 19:5-6; 32:35), and it came to be used as a place where human excrement and rubbish were disposed of and burned. In the intertestamental period, it came to be used symbolically as the place of divine punishment (cf. 1 En. 27:2, 90:26; 4 Ezra 7:36).

[8:44]  ¹⁰ tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to clarify that the Greek pronoun and verb are plural.

[8:44]  ¹¹ tn Many translations read “You are of your father the devil” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NASB) or “You belong to your father, the devil” (NIV), but the Greek preposition ἐκ (ek) emphasizes the idea of source or origin. Jesus said his opponents were the devil’s very offspring (a statement which would certainly infuriate them).

[8:44]  ¹² tn Grk “the desires of your father you want to do.”

[8:44]  ¹³ tn Grk “That one” (referring to the devil).

[8:44]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he does not stand in the truth” (in the sense of maintaining, upholding, or accepting the validity of it).

[8:44]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “Whenever he speaks the lie.”

[8:44]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “he speaks from his own.”

[8:44]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “because he is a liar and the father of it.”