Matthew 6:23
Encyclopedia
Matthew 6:23 is the twenty-third verse of the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew
in the New Testament
and is part of the Sermon on the Mount
.
In the King James Version of the Bible
the text reads:
The World English Bible
translates the passage as:
For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 6:23
The previous verse established a somewhat ambiguous metaphor of the generous/undivided eye being the source of light into the body. This verse presents the opposite stating that an evil eye
plunges one into darkness. The evil eye was both an expression for jealousy and for stinginess. Thus this verse is likely linked to the discussion of wealth in the surrounding verses.
This verse puts great emphasis on the depth of darkness that a poor spiritual eye will place a person in. Morris feels that this verse implies that those who are so blinded cannot even realize that they are in darkness. The metaphor of light as holiness and darkness as an evil also found in the Qumran
literature and in the Gospel of John
.
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 the King James Version of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
the text reads:
- But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall
- be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in
- thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
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:
- But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be
- full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you
- is darkness, how great is the darkness!
For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 6:23
The previous verse established a somewhat ambiguous metaphor of the generous/undivided eye being the source of light into the body. This verse presents the opposite stating that an evil eye
Evil eye
The evil eye is a look that is believed by many cultures to be able to cause injury or bad luck for the person at whom it is directed for reasons of envy or dislike...
plunges one into darkness. The evil eye was both an expression for jealousy and for stinginess. Thus this verse is likely linked to the discussion of wealth in the surrounding verses.
This verse puts great emphasis on the depth of darkness that a poor spiritual eye will place a person in. Morris feels that this verse implies that those who are so blinded cannot even realize that they are in darkness. The metaphor of light as holiness and darkness as an evil also found in the Qumran
Qumran
Qumran is an archaeological site in the West Bank. It is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli settlement and kibbutz of Kalia...
literature and in the Gospel of John
Gospel of John
The Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...
.