Matthew 7:5 (WEB)

Passage

You hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.

Nearby Context

Matthew 7:3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye?

Matthew 7:4 Or how will you tell your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye;’ and behold, the beam is in your own eye?

Matthew 7:5 You hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.

Matthew 7:6 “Don’t give that which is holy to the dogs, neither throw your pearls before the pigs, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "hypocrite", "first", "remove", "beam", "clearly", "speck", and "brother". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "hypocrite" and "first", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "Or how will you tell your brother..." into verse 6's "Don t give that which is holy...", so "hypocrite" and "first" 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 "hypocrite" and "first" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.