Matthew 5:26 (ASV)

Passage

Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou have paid the last farthing.

Nearby Context

Matthew 5:24 leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way, first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

Matthew 5:25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art with him in the way; lest haply the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

Matthew 5:26 Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou have paid the last farthing.

Matthew 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt not commit adultery:

Matthew 5:28 but I say unto you, that every one that looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "verily", "thee", "thou", "shalt", "means", "come", "thence", and "till". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "verily" and "thee", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 25's "Agree with thine adversary quickly while thou..." into verse 27's "Ye have heard that it was said...", so "verily" and "thee" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "verily" and "thee" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.