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Read the Bible

English Standard Version

Matthew 5:26

Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Compromise;   Creditor;   Debtor;   Farthing;   Imprisonment;   Instruction;   Judaism;   Law;   Lawsuits;   Prudence;   Reconciliation;   Religion;   Wicked (People);   Thompson Chain Reference - Farthing;   The Topic Concordance - Reconciliation;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Creditors;   Money;   Prisons;   Reconciliation with God;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Farthing;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Covet;   Reconciliation;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Guilt;   Hell;   Law of Christ;   Legalism;   Sin;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Hutchinsonians;   Love, Brotherly;   Means of Grace;   Quakers;   Reconciliation;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Farthing;   Matthew, Gospel According to;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Farthing;   Loan;   Matthew, the Gospel According to;   Scribes;   Synagogue;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Crimes and Punishments;   Custodian;   Disciples;   Matthew, the Gospel of;   Persecution in the Bible;   Prison, Prisoners;   Sermon on the Mount;   Word;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Christianity;   Joy;   Law;   Medicine;   Melchizedek;   Money;   Mss;   Perfection;   Sin;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Anger (2);   Arbitration;   Authority of Christ;   Christianity;   Commandments;   Cures;   Debt, Debtor (2);   Eternal Punishment;   Fall (2);   Fear ;   Gate (2);   Gospel (2);   Hell;   Humanity of Christ;   Ideas (Leading);   Inspiration and Revelation;   Israel, Israelite;   Justice (2);   Law of God;   Learning;   Lord's Supper. (I.);   Manliness;   Matthew, Gospel According to;   Money (2);   Perfection (Human);   Physical ;   Police;   Retribution (2);   Sermon on the Mount;   Soul;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Law of Moses;   Parable;   Weights and Measures;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Farthing;   Tables of measures weights and money in the bible;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Farthing;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Money;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Farthing;   Sermon on the Mount, the;   Uttermost;   Verily;   Wrath (Anger);   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Didache;  

Devotionals:

- Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life - Devotion for October 25;   Every Day Light - Devotion for February 19;   My Utmost for His Highest - Devotion for July 1;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Truly I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny.
King James Version (1611)
Uerily I say vnto thee, thou shalt by no meanes come out thence, till thou hast payd the vttermost farthing.
King James Version
Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
New American Standard Bible
"Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last quadrans.
New Century Version
I tell you the truth, you will not leave there until you have paid everything you owe.
Amplified Bible
"I assure you and most solemnly say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid the last cent.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Verely I say vnto thee, thou shalt not come out thence, till thou hast payed the vtmost farthing.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.
Legacy Standard Bible
Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last quadrans.
Berean Standard Bible
Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
Contemporary English Version
I promise you that you will not get out until you have paid the last cent you owe.
Complete Jewish Bible
Yes indeed! I tell you, you will certainly not get out until you have paid the last penny.
Darby Translation
Verily I say to thee, Thou shalt in no wise come out thence till thou hast paid the last farthing.
Easy-to-Read Version
I assure you that you will not leave there until you have paid everything you owe.
George Lamsa Translation
Truly I say to you, that you would never come out thence until you had paid the last cent.
Good News Translation
There you will stay, I tell you, until you pay the last penny of your fine.
Lexham English Bible
Truly I say to you, you will never come out of there until you have paid back the last penny!
Literal Translation
Truly, I say to you, In no way shall you come out from there until you pay the last kodrantes.
American Standard Version
Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou have paid the last farthing.
Bible in Basic English
Truly I say to you, You will not come out from there till you have made payment of the very last farthing.
Hebrew Names Version
Most assuredly I tell you, you shall by no means get out of there, until you have paid the last peruta.
International Standard Version
Truly I tell you, you will not get out of there until you pay back the last penny!"
Etheridge Translation
26 And, Amen I say unto thee, that thou shalt not come forth from thence till thou hast rendered the last shamuna [fn]
Murdock Translation
Verily I say to thee, Thou wilt not come out from there until thou hast paid the last farthing.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Ueryly I say vnto thee, thou shalt not come out thence, tyll thou hast payde the vtmost farthyng.
English Revised Version
Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou have paid the last farthing.
World English Bible
Most assuredly I tell you, you shall by no means get out of there, until you have paid the last penny.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt in no wise come out thence, till thou hast paid the last farthing.
Weymouth's New Testament
I solemnly tell you that you will certainly not be released till you have paid the very last farthing.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Treuli Y seie to thee, thou shalt not go out fro thennus, til thou yelde the last ferthing.
Update Bible Version
Truly I say to you, you shall by no means come out from there, until you have paid the last dollar.
Webster's Bible Translation
Verily, I say to thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
New English Translation
I tell you the truth, you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny!
New King James Version
Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.
New Living Translation
And if that happens, you surely won't be free again until you have paid the last penny.
New Life Bible
For sure, I tell you, you will not be let out of prison until you have paid every piece of money of the fine.
New Revised Standard
Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Verily, I say unto thee, In nowise, mayest thou come out from thence, until thou pay the last halfpenny.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Amen I say to thee, thou shalt not go out from thence till thou repay the last farthing.
Revised Standard Version
truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
I say vnto ye verely: thou shalt not come out thece till thou have payed ye utmost farthige.
Young's Literal Translation
verily I say to thee, thou mayest not come forth thence till that thou mayest pay the last farthing.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
I saye vnto the verely: thou shalt not come out thece, till thou haue payed the vtmost farthinge.
Mace New Testament (1729)
I assure you, you will not be discharged till you have paid to the very last farthing.
Simplified Cowboy Version
I'm tellin' you that you won't get out before every last penny has been repaid.

Contextual Overview

21 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire. 23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. 26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Thou: Matthew 18:34, Matthew 25:41, Matthew 25:46, Luke 12:59, Luke 16:26, 2 Thessalonians 1:9, James 2:13

Reciprocal: Jeremiah 46:11 - in vain Matthew 5:18 - verily Luke 7:6 - for

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Verily, I say unto thee,.... This may be depended upon, you may assure yourself of it, that

thou shalt by no means come out thence, from prison,

till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing, or "last farthing"; or as the Ethiopic version reads it, "till thou hast exactly paid all"; which seems to express the inexorableness of the creditor, and the impossibility of the debtor's release.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Agree with thine adversary quickly - This is still an illustration of the sixth commandment. To be in hostility, to go to law, to be litigious, is a violation always, on one side or the other, of the law requiring us to love our neighbor, and our Saviour regards it as a violation of the sixth commandment. While you are in the way with him, says he, that is, while you are going to the court, before the trial has taken place, it is your duty, if possible, to come to an agreement. It is wrong to carry the contention to a court of law. See 1 Corinthians 6:6-7. The consequence of not being reconciled, he expresses in the language of courts. The adversary shall deliver to the judge, and he to the executioner, and he shall throw you into prison. He did not mean to say that this would be literally the way with God, but that His dealings with those that harbored these feelings, and would not be reconciled with their brethren, were represented by the punishment inflicted by human tribunals. That is, he would hold all such as violators of the sixth commandment, and would punish them accordingly.

There is no propriety in the use sometimes made of this verse, in representing God as the “adversary” of the sinner, and urging him to be reconciled to God while in the way to judgment. Nor does the phrase “thou shalt by no means come out thence until thou hast paid the uttermost farthing” refer to the eternity of future punishment. It is language taken from courts of justice, to illustrate the truth that God will punish people according to justice for not being reconciled to him. The punishment in the future world will be eternal indeed Matthew 25:46, but this passage does not prove it.

Thine adversary - A man that is opposed to us in law. It here means a creditor; a man who has a just claim on us.

In the way with him - While you are going before the court. Before the trial comes on. It is remarkable that this very direction is found in the Roman law of the Twelve Tables, which expressly directed the plaintiff and defendant to make up the matter while they were in the way, or going to the praetor - in via, rem uti pacunt orato. - Blackstone’s Commentary, iii. p. 299. Whether the Saviour had any reference to this cannot be determined. As the Roman laws prevailed to some extent in Palestine, however, it is possible that there was such an allusion.

The officer - The executioner; or, as we should say, the sheriff.

The uttermost farthing - The last farthing. All that is due. The farthing was a small coin used in Judea, equal to two mites. It was not quite equal to half a farthing of British money.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Matthew 5:26. The uttermost farthing. — Κοδραντην. The rabbins have this Greek word corrupted into קרדיונטסס kordiontes, and קונטריק, kontrik, and say, that two פרוטות prutoth make a kontarik, which is exactly the same with those words in Mark 12:42, λεπτα δυο, ο εστι κοδραντης, two mites, which are one farthing. Hence it appears that the λεπτον lepton was the same as the prutah. The weight of the prutah was half a barley-corn, and it was the smallest coin among the Jews, as the kodrantes, or farthing, was the smallest coin among the Romans. If the matter issue in law, strict justice will be done, and your creditor be allowed the fulness of his just claim; but if; while you are on the way, going to the magistrate, you come to a friendly agreement with him, he will relax in his claims, take a part for the whole, and the composition be, in the end, both to his and your profit.

This text has been considered a proper foundation on which to build not only the doctrine of a purgatory, but also that of universal restoration. But the most unwarrantable violence must be used before it can be pressed into the service of either of the above antiscriptural doctrines. At the most, the text can only be considered as a metaphorical representation of the procedure of the great Judge; and let it ever be remembered, that by the general consent of all (except the basely interested) no metaphor is ever to be produced in proof of any doctrine. In the things that concern our eternal salvation, we need the most pointed and express evidence on which to establish the faith of our souls.


 
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