The Meaning of Matthew 5:23 Explained

Matthew 5:23

KJV: Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;

YLT: 'If, therefore, thou mayest bring thy gift to the altar, and there mayest remember that thy brother hath anything against thee,

Darby: If therefore thou shouldest offer thy gift at the altar, and there shouldest remember that thy brother has something against thee,

ASV: If therefore thou art offering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee,

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Therefore  if  thou bring  thy  gift  to  the altar,  and there  rememberest  that  thy  brother  hath  ought  against  thee; 

What does Matthew 5:23 Mean?

Context Summary

Matthew 5:17-26 - New Heart Righteousness
Our Lord's mission was not to destroy but to construct. As noon fulfils dawn, and summer, spring; as manhood fulfils childhood and the perfect picture, the rude sketch, so does Jesus gather up, realize and make possible the highest ideals ever inspired in human hearts or written by God's Spirit on the page of inspiration.
Under the terms, "the law and the prophets," our Lord includes the entire range of the Old Testament. See Luke 24:44; Acts 13:15. Nothing could exceed our Lord's reverence for the oracles of God. He repeatedly refers to them as of divine authority. His words and teachings are the endorsement of the venerable Scriptures which had nourished His people, preparing them for His further instruction. See Romans 3:31; Romans 8:4.
The local magistrates' court had the power of life and death, which was inflicted by beheading; the Sanhedrin executed by stoning; the outrageous criminal was cast out to Gehenna, Matthew 5:22. In Christ's kingdom unwarranted anger is equivalent to the first, contempt to the second, and vehement passion to the third. To allow hate to smolder is a capital offence. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 5

1  Jesus' sermon on the mount:
3  The Beattitudes;
13  the salt of the earth;
14  the light of the world
17  He came to fulfill the law
21  What it is to kill;
27  to commit adultery;
33  to swear
38  He exhorts to forgive wrong,
43  to love our enemies;
48  and to labor after perfection

What do the individual words in Matthew 5:23 mean?

If therefore you shall offer the gift of you at altar and there shall remember that the brother has something against you
Ἐὰν οὖν προσφέρῃς τὸ δῶρόν σου ἐπὶ θυσιαστήριον κἀκεῖ μνησθῇς ὅτι ἀδελφός ἔχει τι κατὰ σοῦ

προσφέρῃς  you  shall  offer 
Parse: Verb, Present Subjunctive Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: προσφέρω  
Sense: to bring to, lead to.
δῶρόν  gift 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: δῶρον  
Sense: a gift, present.
σου  of  you 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 2nd Person Singular
Root: σύ  
Sense: you.
ἐπὶ  at 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἐπί  
Sense: upon, on, at, by, before.
θυσιαστήριον  altar 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: θυσιαστήριον  
Sense: the altar for slaying and burning of victims used of.
κἀκεῖ  and  there 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: κἀκεῖ  
Sense: and there.
μνησθῇς  shall  remember 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Passive, 2nd Person Singular
Root: μιμνῄσκομαι  
Sense: to remind.
ὅτι  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ὅτι  
Sense: that, because, since.
ἀδελφός  brother 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἀδελφός  
Sense: a brother, whether born of the same two parents or only of the same father or mother.
τι  something 
Parse: Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: τὶς  
Sense: a certain, a certain one.
κατὰ  against 
Parse: Preposition
Root: κατά 
Sense: down from, through out.