Matthew 18:9

The NET Bible®

And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into fiery hell.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
And if your eye causes you to fall away, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hellfire.

King James Version (1611)
And if thine eie offend thee, plucke it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eie, rather then hauing two eies, to be cast into hell fire.

King James Version
And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

English Standard Version
And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.

New American Standard Bible
"And if your eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fiery hell.

New Century Version
If your eye causes you to sin, take it out and throw it away. It is better for you to have only one eye and live forever than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

Amplified Bible
"If your eye causes you to stumble and sin, pluck it out and throw it away from you [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]; it is better for you to enter life with only one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fiery hell.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And if thine eye cause thee to offende, plucke it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, then hauing two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.

Legacy Standard Bible
And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into the fiery hell.

Berean Standard Bible
And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

Contemporary English Version
If your eye causes you to sin, poke it out and get rid of it. You would be better off to go into life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fires of hell.

Complete Jewish Bible
And if your eye is a snare for you, gouge it out and fling it away! Better that you should be one-eyed and obtain eternal life than keep both eyes and be thrown into the fire of Gei-Hinnom.

Darby Translation
And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast [it] from thee; it is good for thee to enter into life one-eyed, [rather] than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire.

Easy-to-Read Version
If your eye makes you sin, take it out and throw it away. It is better for you to have only one eye and have eternal life than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

George Lamsa Translation
And if your eye offends you, remove it and throw it away from you; it is better for you to go through life with one eye, rather than having two eyes and fall into the gehenna of fire.

Good News Translation
And if your eye makes you lose your faith, take it out and throw it away! It is better for you to enter life with only one eye than to keep both eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

Lexham English Bible
And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it from you! It is better for you to enter into life one-eyed than, having two eyes, to be thrown into fiery hell!

Literal Translation
And if your eye offends you, pluck it out and throw it from you; for it is good for you to enter into life one-eyed, than having two eyes to be thrown into the Hell of fire.

American Standard Version
And if thine eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is good for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire.

Bible in Basic English
And if your eye is a cause of trouble to you, take it out, and put it away from you: it is better for you to go into life with one eye than, having two eyes, to go into the hell of fire.

Hebrew Names Version
If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the Gehinnom of fire.

International Standard Version
And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hellGehenna; a Gk. transliteration of the Heb. for Valley of Hinnom">[fn] fire.

Etheridge Translation
And if thine eye be a cause of offence to thee, dig it out, and cast it from thee; good (it is) for thee that with one eye thou enter into life; [fn] and not that, having two eyes, thou fall into the gihâna of fire.

Murdock Translation
And if thine eye make thee stumble, pluck it out and cast it from thee: for it is good for thee to enter into life with one eye, and not that, with two eyes, thou fall into the hell of fire.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And yf thyne eye offende thee, plucke it out, and cast [it] from thee: It is better for thee to enter into lyfe with one eye, [rather] then, hauyng two eyes, to be cast into hell fyre.

English Revised Version
And if thine eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is good for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire.

World English Bible
If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the Gehenna of fire.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is good for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell-fire.

Weymouth's New Testament
And if your eye is causing you to fall into sin, tear it out and away with it; it is better for you to enter into Life with only one eye, than to remain in possession of two eyes but be thrown into the Gehenna of fire.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And if thin iye sclaundre thee, pulle it out, and caste awei fro thee. It is betere to thee with oon iye to entre in to lijf, thanne hauynge tweyn iyen to be sent in to the fier of helle.

Update Bible Version
And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from you: it is good for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire.

Webster's Bible Translation
And if thy eye causeth thee to sin, pluck it out, and cast [it] from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell-fire.

New King James Version
And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.

New Living Translation
And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It's better to enter eternal life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

New Life Bible
If your eye is the reason you sin, take it out and throw it away. It is better for you to go into life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

New Revised Standard
And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into the hell of fire.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, if, thine eye, causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: It is, seemly, for thee, one-eyed, into life, to enter, rather than, having two eyes, to be cast into the fiery gehenna.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And if thy eye scandalize thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee having one eye to enter into life, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

Revised Standard Version
And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And yf also thyne eye offende the plucke him oute and caste him from the. It is better for the to enter into lyfe with one eye then havyng two eyes to be cast into hell fyre.

Young's Literal Translation
`And if thine eye doth cause thee to stumble, pluck it out and cast from thee; it is good for thee one-eyed to enter into the life, rather than having two eyes to be cast to the gehenna of the fire.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And yf thyne eye offende the, plucke it out, & cast it from the. Better it is for the to entre in vnto life with one eye, the to haue two eyes, and to be cast in to hell fyre.

Mace New Testament (1729)
and if thine eye occasions thee to relapse, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two to be cast into hell-fire.

Simplified Cowboy Version
If you can't even control your own eyes from causin' you to do things the Boss wouldn't approve of, you best get a spoon and gouge 'em out. It's better for you to work for the Boss blind than to see the cliff you are headed for and the hell that awaits you.

Contextual Overview

⁷ Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! It is necessary that stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom they come. ⁸ If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. ⁹ And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into fiery hell. ¹⁰ "See that you do not disdain one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. What do you think? If someone owns a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go look for the one that went astray? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that one of these little ones be lost. "If your brother sins, go and show him his fault when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you, so that at the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established . If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, treat him like a Gentile or a tax collector. "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven. Again, I tell you the truth, if two of you on earth agree about whatever you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three are assembled in my name, I am there among them." Then Peter came to him and said, "Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother who sins against me? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, I tell you, but seventy-seven times! "For this reason, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. As he began settling his accounts, a man who owed ten thousand talents was brought to him. Because he was not able to repay it, the lord ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, children, and whatever he possessed, and repayment to be made. Then the slave threw himself to the ground before him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you everything.' The lord had compassion on that slave and released him, and forgave him the debt. After he went out, that same slave found one of his fellow slaves who owed him one hundred silver coins. So he grabbed him by the throat and started to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe me!' Then his fellow slave threw himself down and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you.' But he refused. Instead, he went out and threw him in prison until he repaid the debt. When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were very upset and went and told their lord everything that had taken place. Then his lord called the first slave and said to him, ‘Evil slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me! Should you not have shown mercy to your fellow slave, just as I showed it to you?' And in anger his lord turned him over to the prison guards to torture him until he repaid all he owed. So also my heavenly Father will do to you, if each of you does not forgive your brother from your heart." ¹¹Questions About the Greatest At that time the disciples came to Jesus saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" He called a child, had him stand among them, and said, "I tell you the truth, unless you turn around and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven! Whoever then humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a child like this in my name welcomes me. "But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a huge millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the open sea. Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! It is necessary that stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom they come. If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into fiery hell. "See that you do not disdain one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. ¹² What do you think? If someone owns a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go look for the one that went astray? ¹³ And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. ¹⁴ In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that one of these little ones be lost.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

to enter: Matthew 19:17, Matthew 19:23, Matthew 19:24, Acts 14:22, Hebrews 4:11, Revelation 21:27

rather: Matthew 16:26, Luke 9:24, Luke 9:25

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 32:22 - lowest Psalms 18:23 - I kept Proverbs 23:2 - General Isaiah 30:33 - Tophet Matthew 5:22 - hell Matthew 5:29 - if Mark 9:43 - if Luke 16:23 - in hell

Cross-References

Genesis 4:9
Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" And he replied, "I don't know! Am I my brother's guardian?"

Genesis 24:67
Then Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah's tent. He took her as his wife and loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

Genesis 31:33
So Laban entered Jacob's tent, and Leah's tent, and the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find the idols. Then he left Leah's tent and entered Rachel's.

Titus 2:5
to be self-controlled, pure, fulfilling their duties at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the message of God may not be discredited.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

:-.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

If thy hand ... - See the notes at Matthew 5:29-30. The sense in all these instances is the same. Worldly attachments, friendships, and employments of any kind, that cannot be pursued without leading us into sin, be they ever so dear to us, must be abandoned, or the soul will be lost.

It is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed ... - It is not meant, by this, that when the body shall be raised it will be maimed and disfigured in this manner. It will be perfect. See 1 Corinthians 15:42-44. But these things are said for the purpose of carrying out or making complete the figure or the representation of cutting off the hands, etc. The meaning is, it is better to go to heaven without enjoying the things that caused us to sin, than to enjoy them here and then be lost.

Halt - Lame.

Maimed - With a loss of limbs.

Into hell fire - It is implied, in all this, that if their sins, however dear to them, were not abandoned, the soul must go into everlasting fire. This is conclusive proof that the sufferings of the wicked will be eternal. See the notes at Mark 9:44, Mark 9:46, Mark 9:48.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Matthew 18:9. Matthew 18:8; Matthew 18:8.