# Matthew 5.17-19

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-06-01 | updated: 2026-06-01 -->

**Book:** [Matthew](/codex/matthew-the-apostle/) · NASB95

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 15. <span class="rl-speech">Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on the stand; and it shineth unto all that are in the house.</span> 16. <span class="rl-speech">Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.</span>
>
> **17. <span class="rl-speech">Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfil.</span> 18. <span class="rl-speech">For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished.</span> 19. <span class="rl-speech">Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.</span>**
>
> 20. <span class="rl-speech">For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.</span> 21. <span class="rl-speech">Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:</span> (Matthew 5:15-21, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 15. <span class="rl-speech">Neither do you light a lamp, and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house.</span> 16. <span class="rl-speech">Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.</span>
>
> **17. <span class="rl-speech">“Don’t think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill.</span> 18. <span class="rl-speech">For most certainly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished.</span> 19. <span class="rl-speech">Whoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and teach others to do so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.</span>**
>
> 20. <span class="rl-speech">For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.</span> 21. <span class="rl-speech">“You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not murder;’ and ‘Whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’</span> (Matthew 5:15-21, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 15. <span class="rl-speech">Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. <sup>a bushel: the word in the original signifieth a measure containing about a pint less than a peck</sup></span> 16. <span class="rl-speech">Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.</span>
>
> **17. <span class="rl-speech">Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.</span> 18. <span class="rl-speech">For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.</span> 19. <span class="rl-speech">Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.</span>**
>
> 20. <span class="rl-speech">For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.</span> 21. <span class="rl-speech">Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: <sup>by: or, to</sup></span> (Matthew 5:15-21, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 15. <span class="rl-speech">nor do they light a lamp, and put it under the measure, but on the lamp-stand, and it shineth to all those in the house;</span> 16. <span class="rl-speech">so let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and may glorify your Father who [is] in the heavens.</span>
>
> **17. <span class="rl-speech">'Do not suppose that I came to throw down the law or the prophets, I did not come to throw down, but to fulfil;</span> 18. <span class="rl-speech">for, verily I say to you, till that the heaven and the earth may pass away, one iota or one tittle may not pass away from the law, till that all may come to pass.</span> 19. <span class="rl-speech">'Whoever therefore may loose one of these commands, the least, and may teach men so, least he shall be called in the reign of the heavens, but whoever may do and may teach [them], he shall be called great in the reign of the heavens.</span>**
>
> 20. <span class="rl-speech">'For I say to you, that if your righteousness may not abound above that of the scribes and Pharisees, ye may not enter to the reign of the heavens.</span> 21. <span class="rl-speech">'Ye heard that it was said to the ancients: Thou shalt not kill, and whoever may kill shall be in danger of the judgment;</span> (Matthew 5:15-21, YLT)

## Setting

- **Speaker:** _TBD_
- **Audience:** _TBD_
- **Location:** _TBD_
- **Time period:** _TBD_

## Theological reading

_Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added._

## Key words

_Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap._

- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_

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## Quoted in

**Arguments and defeaters:**

- [Bible Contradictions Objection Defeater](/codex/bible-contradictions-objection-defeater/), via [Matthew 5.17-18](/codex/matthew-5-17-18/)
- [Christians Not Under Mosaic Law](/codex/christians-not-under-mosaic-law/)
- [Cursed Messiah Objection Defeater](/codex/cursed-messiah-objection-defeater/), via [Matthew 5.17](/codex/matthew-5-17/)
- [Imprecatory Psalms Objection Defeater](/codex/imprecatory-psalms-objection-defeater/), via [Matthew 5.17](/codex/matthew-5-17/)
- [Mosaic Law Binding for True Israelites Objection Defeater](/codex/mosaic-law-binding-for-true-israelites-objection-defeater/), via [Matthew 5.17-18](/codex/matthew-5-17-18/)
- [OT vs NT God Objection Defeater](/codex/ot-vs-nt-god-objection-defeater/), via [Matthew 5.17-18](/codex/matthew-5-17-18/)
- [Resurrection Implies Christian Theism](/codex/resurrection-implies-christian-theism/), via [Matthew 5.17-18](/codex/matthew-5-17-18/)
- [Ritual Purity Laws Objection Defeater](/codex/ritual-purity-laws-objection-defeater/)
- [Sabbath Breaking Stoning Objection Defeater](/codex/sabbath-breaking-stoning-objection-defeater/), via [Matthew 5.17-18](/codex/matthew-5-17-18/)

**Concepts:**

- [Are Christians Still Under the Law](/codex/are-christians-still-under-the-law/), via [Matthew 5.17](/codex/matthew-5-17/)
- [Atheism](/codex/atheism/), via [Matthew 5.17-18](/codex/matthew-5-17-18/)
- [Christ vs Other Religion-Founders](/codex/christ-vs-other-religion-founders/), via [Matthew 5.17](/codex/matthew-5-17/)
- [Divorce](/codex/divorce/), via [Matthew 5.19](/codex/matthew-5-19/)
- [Grace vs Law](/codex/grace-vs-law/), via [Matthew 5.17](/codex/matthew-5-17/)
- [Inerrancy](/codex/inerrancy/), via [Matthew 5.17-18](/codex/matthew-5-17-18/)
- [Inspiration](/codex/inspiration/), via [Matthew 5.17-18](/codex/matthew-5-17-18/)
- [Jesus Said](/codex/jesus-said/), via [Matthew 5](/codex/matthew-5/)
- [Mosaic Law](/codex/mosaic-law/), via [Matthew 5.17](/codex/matthew-5-17/), [Matthew 5.17-18](/codex/matthew-5-17-18/), [Matthew 5.18](/codex/matthew-5-18/)
- [Old Covenant](/codex/old-covenant/), via [Matthew 5.17](/codex/matthew-5-17/)
- [OT vs NT God Objection](/codex/ot-vs-nt-god-objection/), via [Matthew 5.17-18](/codex/matthew-5-17-18/)
- [Quran Abrogation Naskh Problem](/codex/quran-abrogation-naskh-problem/), via [Matthew 5.17](/codex/matthew-5-17/)
- [Ritual Purity Laws Objection](/codex/ritual-purity-laws-objection/)
- [Sermon on the Mount](/codex/sermon-on-the-mount/), via [Matthew 5](/codex/matthew-5/), [Matthew 5.17](/codex/matthew-5-17/), [Matthew 5.17-20](/codex/matthew-5-17-20/)

**Lexicon:**

- [G3004 - lego](/codex/g3004-lego/), via [Matthew 5.18](/codex/matthew-5-18/)
- [G3551 - nomos](/codex/g3551-nomos/)
- [H8451 - torah](/codex/h8451-torah/)

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_Scripture quotations taken from the **New American Standard Bible®** (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by **The Lockman Foundation**. Used by permission. All rights reserved. [www.lockman.org](https://www.lockman.org)_

## Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

- **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.