But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Parallel translations
- WEB but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.
- KJV But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
- BSB But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
- NASB but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
- NLT But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
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 teaches that looking lustfully at a woman is adultery already in the heart. It locates sexual sin in the heart's desires, not only the body's acts.
Overview
Jesus shows that the seventh commandment forbids not only adultery but the lustful intent behind it. This exposes the purity God requires, which reaches into thoughts and desires. The searching standard convicts all of us and reveals our need for the cleansing and new heart that Christ provides.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- 1 Jn 2:16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, isn’t the Father’s, but is the world’s.
- Jas 1:14–15But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed.
- Prov 6:25Don’t lust after her beauty in your heart, neither let her captivate you with her eyelids.
- Exod 20:17“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
- 2 Sam 11:2At evening, David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. From the roof, he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to look at.
- Job 31:1“I made a covenant with my eyes, how then should I look lustfully at a young woman?
- Gen 34:2Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her. He took her, lay with her, and humbled her.
- 2 Pet 2:14having eyes full of adultery, and who can’t cease from sin; enticing unsettled souls; having a heart trained in greed; children of cursing;
- Rom 7:7–8What shall we say then? Is the law sin? May it never be! However, I wouldn’t have known sin, except through the law. For I wouldn’t have known coveting, unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”
- Job 31:9“If my heart has been enticed to a woman, and I have laid wait at my neighbor’s door,
- Rom 7:14For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold under sin.
- Ps 119:96I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commands are boundless. MEM
- Matt 7:28–29When Jesus had finished saying these things, the multitudes were astonished at his teaching,
- Matt 5:22But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be in danger of the judgment; and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ will be in danger of the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of Gehenna.
- Matt 5:39But I tell you, don’t resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.
- Gen 39:7–23After these things, his master’s wife set her eyes on Joseph; and she said, “Lie with me.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 5:28 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.