You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’
Parallel translations
- WEB “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery;’
- KJV Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
- NKJV “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’
- NASB “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’;
- NLT “You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus recalls the command, 'You shall not commit adultery.' It introduces His teaching on the heart of sexual purity.
Overview
Citing the seventh commandment, Jesus again moves to expose the Law's deeper demand. As with murder, He will show that the prohibition reaches beyond the outward act to the desires of the heart. He speaks as the authoritative interpreter of God's moral law.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Deut 5:18You shall not commit adultery.
- Prov 6:32He who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself.
- Exod 20:14You shall not commit adultery.
- Lev 20:10If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must surely be put to death.
- Deut 22:22–24If a man is found lying with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.
- Matt 5:21You have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not murder’ and ‘Anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 5:27 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.