You have heard that it was said of them of old time, You shall not kill; and whoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
it.
Matthew 5:27,33,43 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: …
2 Samuel 20:18 Then she spake, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel: and so they ended the matter.
Job 8:8-10 For inquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the search of their fathers: …
by them.
Genesis 9:5,6 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man…
Exodus 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.
Deuteronomy 5:17 Thou shalt not kill.
and.
Exodus 21:12-14 He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death…
Numbers 35:12,16-21,30-34 And they shall be unto you cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation in judgment…
Deuteronomy 21:7-9 And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it…
‘Do not murder’
This commandment is the sixth of the Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20:13 and Deuteronomy 5:17. It is a fundamental moral law that prohibits the unlawful taking of human life. The commandment underscores the sanctity of life, a principle rooted in the belief that humans are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). The prohibition against murder is a universal moral standard, reflecting God's justice and righteousness.
and ‘Anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’
This part of the verse reflects the legal consequences of murder under the Mosaic Law. In ancient Israel, murder was a capital offense, and those guilty were subject to judgment by the community or local courts (Numbers 35:30-31). The judgment was not only a legal matter but also a divine mandate, as God is the ultimate judge of human actions. This phrase highlights the seriousness of the crime and the necessity of justice, which is a recurring theme throughout Scripture. Jesus uses this to introduce a deeper understanding of righteousness that goes beyond mere legal compliance.
Jesus begins by reminding His listeners that the command in question is familiar, publicly proclaimed, and already accepted as God-given truth. Throughout the Sermon on the Mount He uses this formula (see Matthew 5:27, 31, 33) to affirm the Law’s authority before pressing its intent deeper into the heart. The Lord is not correcting Scripture but correcting shallow, external interpretations of it (cf. Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:3-9). By introducing the topic this way, He invites everyone who “has ears to hear” (Matthew 11:15) to reconsider what obedience really looks like.
The phrase points back to the original recipients at Sinai—real people in real history. God spoke “face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire” (Deuteronomy 5:4), and that command has never been repealed. Jesus’ reference honors the continuity of God’s moral order across generations (Psalm 119:89-90). It underlines that divine standards do not shift with cultural trends: the same word that governed the fathers governs us (Malachi 3:6; James 1:17).
This is the sixth commandment—“You shall not murder.” (Exodus 20:13). Human life is sacred because every person bears God’s image (Genesis 1:27; 9:6).
• The command forbids the intentional, unjust taking of innocent life, distinguishing it from killing in self-defense, capital punishment, or just war as recognized elsewhere in Scripture (Numbers 35:9-34; Romans 13:4).
• Jesus will soon show that the root of murder is anger and contempt (Matthew 5:22), calling disciples to purity of heart (1 John 3:15).
• By quoting the command without alteration, He reinforces its ongoing authority (Matthew 19:18).
The original Law did not stop at a prohibition; it spelled out consequences for violators (e.g., Numbers 35:16-21). Jesus echoes that fuller teaching: accountability is inevitable. Civil courts may act (“Whoever kills a man shall be put to death,” Leviticus 24:17), but so will God, who “will by no means leave the guilty unpunished” (Exodus 34:7). Romans 13:3-4 speaks of governing authorities as God’s avengers, yet even hidden crimes fall under His perfect justice (Hebrews 4:13).
Every act of murder summons judgment—earthly and eternal. Local tribunals in Israel sat at the city gate (Deuteronomy 16:18); higher courts such as the Sanhedrin handled capital cases (John 18:31). Beyond all human forums stands the divine court: “It is appointed for men to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Jesus’ next words expand the circle of accountability to angry thoughts and insulting words, showing that God’s courtroom reaches the motives of the heart (Psalm 139:1-4; Ecclesiastes 12:14).
Matthew 5:21 reaffirms the timeless sixth commandment and its attached penalties, anchoring them in God’s unchanging character and the sanctity of human life. Jesus sets the stage for exposing the heart-level roots of murder, urging His disciples to pursue righteousness that flows from within rather than merely avoiding outward violations.
(21) By them of old time.--There is no reasonable doubt that the marginal reading, to them of old time, is right. The construction is identical with that of Romans 9:12; Romans 9:26 ; Galatians 3:16; Revelation 6:11; Revelation 9:4. Two questions present themselves for answer: (1) Who were "they of old time"? (2) Who was the speaker of the words quoted? (1) The words are very general, and, as interpreted by the use of "old time" in Acts 15:21, seem to point to the time when synagogues began to be established, i.e., after the return from Babylon. (2) The impersonal form, the contrast between "it was said," and "I say unto you," the tone of authority imposing a new law for that which it supersedes, seem conclusive against referring the words, even when they are found in the Law, to that Law as given by God through Moses. Stress is laid on the words "Ye heard that it was said." "This was the report of the Law given you by your teachers in school and synagogue. I give you another and truer report. Not what you so heard, but what I now say unto you is the true completion of the Law and the Prophets, and therefore the abiding law of my kingdom." . . . Verses 21-48. - (a) Our Lord is still concerned with the relation of himself and his followers to the religion of the day, of which the Old Testament (ver. 17), and more especially the Law (ver. 18), was the accepted standard. But after having spoken of the need of careful attention to (vers. 17,18), and observance of (ver. 19), even the least commands of the Law, he goes on to point out the far-reaching character of these commands, whether they are such as we should call more (vers. 21, 27, 81) or less (vers. 33, 38, 43) impotent. It is essential to notice that our Lord refers to these commands, not merely as statements contained in the Law, but as part of the religion of the day, and that he contrasts their true bearing on life and conduct with that false bearing on this which was commonly predicated of them. By this it is not meant that our Lord was only opposing such narrow glosses and interpretations as had arisen at various times during the centuries after the promulgation of the Law (for these were for the most part perfectly natural and legitimate developments of the earliest possible interpretations of it), still less that he was thinking only of the worst of the misrepresentations of its commands, comparatively recently made by the Pharisees; but that he was now going back, beyond this so far natural and normal development of the earliest interpretations, to the first principles underlying the revelation contained in the Law. While the Jews, not unnaturally, clung to the primary, but temporary, meaning of the Law as a revelation of God's will for them as a nation, our Lord was now about to expound its commands as a revelation of God's permanent will for them and all men as men. Our Lord was now, that is to say, wishing to do more than merely cut off the excrescences that, chiefly through the Pharisaic party, had grown up round the Law, but less than root up the Law itself. He rather cuts down the whole growth that had been, notwithstanding some mere excrescences, the right and proper outcome of the Law in its original environment, in order that, in fresh environment, which corresponded better to its nature, the Law might produce a growth still more right and proper. Verses 21-26. - The sixth commandment. Verses 21-24 Matthew only; vers. 25, 26 have parts common to Luke. Verse 21. - Ye have heard (ἠκούσατε, frequentative aorist). Our Lord does not say, "ye have read" (cf. Matthew 21:42), for he was not now speaking to the learned classes, but to a large audience many of whom were probably unable to read. "Ye have heard," i.e. from your teachers whose teaching claims to be the substance of the Law. So, probably, even in John 12:34, where the multitude say that they "have heard out of the Law that the Christ abideth for ever," which, since this is hardly expressed in so many words in the Old Testament, must mean that the instructions they have received on this subject truly represent the substance of its teaching. So here our Lord says, "You have heard from your teachers (cf. Romans 2:18) that the substance of the sixth commandment is so-and-so." It is thus quite intelligible that in some of these utterances there should be found added to (vers. 21, 43) or intermingled with (ver. 33) the words of a passage of Scripture, other words which are either taken from Scripture, but from another place in it (perhaps ver. 33), or do not occur in Scripture at all, but merely help to form a compendious statement of a definite interpretation (here and ver. 43). It must remain doubtful whether our Lord himself formulated these statements of the popular teaching, or quoted them verbally as current. If the latter, as is perhaps more likely, there remains the at present still more insoluble question whether they were only oral or (cf. the case of the 'Didaehe') had already been committed to writing (cf. in this connexion Bishop Westcott, 'Hebr.,' p. 480). That it was said by them of old time (ὅτι ἐῥῤέθη τοῖς ἀρχαίοις). By; Revised Version, to. Similarly ver. 33. Although "by" may be defended (cf. Madvig, § 39 g), "to" (Wickliffe and Tyndale downwards) is certainly right, because(a) it is the common usage with a passive verb;
(b) it is the constant usage with ἐῥῤέθη in the New Testament (e.g. Romans 9:12, 26);
(c) the parallelism with ἐγὼ δέ κ.τ.λ., is more exact; . . .
Parallel Commentaries ...