Matthew 5:25 is the twenty-fifth verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew

Gospel of Matthew

The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...

 in the New Testament

New Testament

The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....

 and is part of the Sermon on the Mount

Sermon on the Mount

The Sermon on the Mount is a collection of sayings and teachings of Jesus, which emphasizes his moral teaching found in the Gospel of Matthew...

. In this first of the Antitheses Jesus

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

 has been attacking anger

Anger

Anger is an automatic response to ill treatment. It is the way a person indicates he or she will not tolerate certain types of behaviour. It is a feedback mechanism in which an unpleasant stimulus is met with an unpleasant response....

 and advocating reconciliation

Reconciliation

Reconciliation may variously refer to:* Bank reconciliation* Truth and reconciliation commission-Religion:* Sacrament of Penance , also known as Reconciliation...

. In this verse he states that it is prudential to quickly reach agreement with one's adversary.

In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:

Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou

art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary

deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver

thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

The World English Bible

World English Bible

The World English Bible is a public domain translation of the Bible that is currently in draft form. Work on the World English Bible began in 1997 and was known as the American Standard Version 1997...

 translates the passage as:

Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are

with him in the way; lest perhaps the prosecutor

deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver

you to the officer, and you be cast into prison.

For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 5:25

This verse is very similar to Luke 12:58. In the Gospel of Matthew this verse could be interpreted as practical advice for staying out of prison. In Luke the context makes clear that it is an eschatological metaphor, with the judge being God and prison eternal punishment. Most interpret Matthew the same way. Albright and Mann have difficulty with this metaphor, as there is no space for an accuser who should be reconciled in the last judgement. Albright and Mann are also uncomfortable at how closely this verse links good behaviour to the promise of avoiding punishment. They thus feel that some material is likely missing from this section.