Matthew 5:23 (KJV)

Passage

Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;

Nearby Context

Matthew 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:

Matthew 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Matthew 5:23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;

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, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "therefore", "thou", "bring", "gift", "altar", "rememberest", "brother", and "hath". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "therefore" and "thou", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "But I say unto you That whosoever..." into verse 24's "Leave there thy gift before the altar...", so "therefore" and "thou" 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 "therefore" and "thou" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.