Matthew 5:25 (DBY)

Passage

Make friends with thine adverse party quickly, whilst thou art in the way with him; lest some time the adverse party deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

Nearby Context

Matthew 5:23 If therefore thou shouldest offer thy gift at the altar, and there shouldest remember that thy brother has something against thee,

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

Matthew 5:25 Make friends with thine adverse party quickly, whilst thou art in the way with him; lest some time the adverse party 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 to thee, Thou shalt in no wise come out thence till thou hast paid the last farthing.

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "make", "friends", "thine", "adverse", "party", "quickly", "whilst", and "thou". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "make" and "friends", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 24's "leave there thy gift before the altar..." into verse 26's "Verily I say to thee Thou shalt...", so "make" and "friends" 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 "make" and "friends" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.