Passage

Matthew 5.18

Book: Matthew · ASV

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"16. Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. 17. Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfil."

"18. 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."

"19. 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. 20. 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." (Matthew 5:16-20, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"16. Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. 17. “Don’t think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill."

"18. 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."

"19. 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. 20. 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." (Matthew 5:16-20, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"16. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. 17. Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."

"18. 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."

"19. 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. 20. 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." (Matthew 5:16-20, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"16. so let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and may glorify your Father who [is] in the heavens. 17. 'Do not suppose that I came to throw down the law or the prophets, I did not come to throw down, but to fulfil;"

"18. 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."

"19. '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. 20. '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." (Matthew 5:16-20, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7)
Audience: the disciples + the broader crowd (per Matt 5:1-2; 7:28)
Location: a mountain in Galilee
Time period: events c. AD 28 (early-to-mid Galilean ministry); composed c. AD 60-80
Narrative context: the verse opens with Jesus's signature amēn legō hymin ("verily I say unto you"); it sits inside the Matt 5:17-20 unit on Jesus's relation to the Law and the Prophets, which frames the entire antitheses-block of 5:21-48.

Theological reading

Matthew 5:18 is the principal NT text on the permanence and authority of the OT moral law. Jesus opens with His characteristic amēn legō hymin formula, claiming the kind of non-derivative speaking-authority that no human prophet ever claimed (OT prophets say "thus saith the LORD"; Jesus says "truly I say to you"). The jot (Hebrew yodh / Greek iōta, the smallest Hebrew letter) and tittle (the smallest stroke distinguishing letters) name the most-microscopic textual units possible; the claim is that not even these will pass away from the Torah till all things be accomplished. The clause both affirms the OT-Law's enduring authority (against any Marcionite or proto-antinomian reading of Jesus's mission) and qualifies it: the Law's authority runs until fulfillment (Matt 5:17 plērōsai) in Christ's person and work. The Reformed and patristic tradition reads this as the basis for the three uses of the Law (civil restraint, mirror of sin, guide for sanctification) and as the textual ground for the OT-NT canonical-unity doctrine against any dispensational over-discontinuity.

Key words

G3004 - lego, legō (Strong's G3004), the amēn legō hymin speech-formula introducing the pronouncement; the formulaic deployment is heavily Christologically loaded (see lexicon entry).

Quoted in

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 (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
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 for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.