Matthew 18:9 (DRB)

Passage

And if thy eye scandalize thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee having one eye to enter into life, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

Nearby Context

Matthew 18:7 Woe to the world because of scandals. For it must needs be that scandals come: but nevertheless woe to that man by whom the scandal cometh.

Matthew 18:8 And if thy hand, or thy foot, scandalize thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee to go into life maimed or lame, than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into everlasting fire.

Matthew 18:9 And if thy eye scandalize thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee having one eye to enter into life, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

Matthew 18:10 See that you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 18:11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "scandalize", "thee", "pluck", "cast", "better", and "having". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "scandalize" and "thee", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "And if thy hand or thy foot..." into verse 10's "See that you despise not one of...", so "scandalize" 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 "scandalize" and "thee" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.