Matthew 5:27 (YLT)

Passage

`Ye heard that it was said to the ancients: Thou shalt not commit adultery;

Nearby Context

Matthew 5:25 `Be agreeing with thy opponent quickly, while thou art in the way with him, that the opponent may not deliver thee to the judge, and the judge may deliver thee to the officer, and to prison thou mayest be cast,

Matthew 5:26 verily I say to thee, thou mayest not come forth thence till that thou mayest pay the last farthing.

Matthew 5:27 `Ye heard that it was said to the ancients: Thou shalt not commit adultery;

Matthew 5:28 but I--I say to you, that every one who is looking on a woman to desire her, did already commit adultery with her in his heart.

Matthew 5:29 `But, if thy right eye doth cause thee to stumble, pluck it out and cast from thee, for it is good to thee that one of thy members may perish, and not thy whole body be cast to gehenna.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "heard", "said", "ancients", "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 "verily I say to thee thou mayest..." into verse 28's "but I--I say to you that every...", 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.