Matthew 5:27 (DRB)

Passage

You have heard that it was said to them of old: Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Nearby Context

Matthew 5:25 Be at agreement with thy adversary betimes, whilst thou art in the way with him: lest perhaps the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

Matthew 5:26 Amen I say to thee, thou shalt not go out from thence till thou repay the last farthing.

Matthew 5:27 You have heard that it was said to them of old: Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Matthew 5:28 But I say to you, that whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Matthew 5:29 And if thy right eye scandalize thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee. For it is expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, rather than thy whole body be cast into hell.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "heard", "said", "thou", "shalt", "commit", and "adultery". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "heard" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 26's "Amen I say to thee thou shalt..." into verse 28's "But I say to you that whosoever...", so "heard" and "said" 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 "heard" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.