Matthew 5:39 (YLT)

Passage

but I--I say to you, not to resist the evil, but whoever shall slap thee on thy right cheek, turn to him also the other;

Nearby Context

Matthew 5:37 but let your word be, Yes, Yes, No, No, and that which is more than these is of the evil.

Matthew 5:38 `Ye heard that it was said: Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth;

Matthew 5:39 but I--I say to you, not to resist the evil, but whoever shall slap thee on thy right cheek, turn to him also the other;

Matthew 5:40 and whoever is willing to take thee to law, and thy coat to take--suffer to him also the cloak.

Matthew 5:41 `And whoever shall impress thee one mile, go with him two,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "i--i", "resist", "evil", "whoever", "shall", "slap", "thee", and "right". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "i--i" and "resist", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 38's "Ye heard that it was said Eye..." into verse 40's "and whoever is willing to take thee...", so "i--i" and "resist" 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 "i--i" and "resist" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.