Matthew Chapter 5 verse 28 Holy Bible

ASV Matthew 5:28

but I say unto you, that every one that looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
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BBE Matthew 5:28

But I say to you that everyone whose eyes are turned on a woman with desire has had connection with her in his heart.
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DARBY Matthew 5:28

But *I* say unto you, that every one who looks upon a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
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KJV Matthew 5:28

But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
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WBT Matthew 5:28


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WEB Matthew 5:28

but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.
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YLT Matthew 5:28

but I -- I say to you, that every one who is looking on a woman to desire her, did already commit adultery with her in his heart.
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Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 28. - But I say (ver. 22, note). The bare command forbidding an external action is insufficient. It must extend to the thought. Contrast Josephus ('Ant.,' 12:09. 1), "The purposing to do a thing, without actually doing it, is not worthy of punishment." Generally, however, the sinfulness of wrong thoughts must have been acknowledged (cf. Psalm 51:10, and the tenth commandment; cf. late examples in Schott-gen). Hammond ('Pr. Cat.,' in Ford) says, "In the Law, the fastening of the eyes on an idol, considering the beauty of it, saith Maimonides, is forbidden (Leviticus 19:4), and not only the worship of it" (vide Maimonides, 'Hilk. Ab. Zar.,' 2:2, by whom, however, the thought is, perhaps, rather condemned for what it leads to than per se; and similarly with Job 31:1; Proverbs 6:25). Whosoever; Revised Version, every one who (ver. 22, note). Looketh... to lust after (πρὸς τὸ ἐπιθυμῆσαι). As πρὸς τό with the infinitive (e.g. Matthew 6:1), primarily denotes purpose; this may be equivalent to "looketh in order that he may lust, looketh to stimulate his lust" (cf. Meyer, Trench); but, as Weiss points out, this surely belongs to the refinement, not to the beginning of sin. Hence Nosgen suggests "looketh... lustfully" (cf. James 4:5). Probably this is one of those cases where, as Ellicott says on 1 Corinthians 9:18, πρὸς τό with the infinitive has "a shade of meaning that seems to lie between purpose and result, and even sometimes to approximate to the latter." At all events, it does not express, as εἰς τό would have expressed, the immediate purpose of the look (vide Ellicott, loc. cit.); cf. Matthew 6:1. Her (αὐτήν, B, D, etc.); accusative with ἐπιθυμεῖν, here only in the New Testament. Perhaps the pronoun should be omitted, with א.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(28) To lust after her.--The intent is more strongly marked in the Greek than in the English. It is not the passing glance, not even the momentary impulse of desire, but the continued gaze by which the impulse is deliberately cherished till it becomes a passion. This noble and beautiful teaching, it has often been remarked, and by way of disparagement, is found elsewhere. Such disparagement is out of place. By the mercy of God the Light that "lighteth every man" has led men to recognise the truth thus asserted, and parallels to it may be found in the writings of Conlucius, Seneca, Epictetus, and even of the Jewish Rabbis themselves. The words of Juvenal closely express the general sentiment:--" Scelus intra se tacitus qui cogitat ullum,Facti crimen habet."["Who in his breast a guilty thought doth cherish,He bears the guilt of action."]Our Lord's words speak primarily of "adultery," but are, of course, applicable to every form of sensual impurity.