Matthew 5:38 (DRB)

Passage

You have heard that it hath been said: An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.

Nearby Context

Matthew 5:36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.

Matthew 5:37 But let your speech be yea, yea: no, no: and that which is over and above these, is of evil.

Matthew 5:38 You have heard that it hath been said: An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.

Matthew 5:39 But I say to you not to resist evil: but if one strike thee on thy right cheek, turn to him also the other:

Matthew 5:40 And if a man will contend with thee in judgment, and take away thy coat, let go thy cloak also unto him.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 37's "But let your speech be yea yea..." into verse 39's "But I say to you not to...", so "heard" and "hath" 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 "hath" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.