Mark 9:47

And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jesus addresses his disciples while warning against causing others to stumble. He speaks these words immediately before describing the unending nature of judgment in the following verse.

The words — The Greek ὀφθαλμός (ophthalmos) literally means "eye," while σκανδαλίζῃ (skandalizē) denotes causing a person to stumble into sin. The imperative ἔκβαλε (ekbale) commands the literal casting out or removal of the offending organ.

The thread — This warning runs parallel to Matthew 18:9, which uses identical imagery to urge removal of sin. The passage also connects to Matthew 5:22 and Matthew 5:28, where Jesus equates internal attitudes like anger and lust with the external acts they produce.

Why it lands — The text commands radical removal of whatever source causes sin, prioritizing entry into the kingdom of God over physical wholeness. It requires the reader to treat spiritual corruption as more urgent than preserving any part of the body.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:

Cross-references

Matthew 18:9 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
Matthew 5:22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to the fire of hell.
Matthew 5:28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Genesis 3:6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.
Job 31:1 “I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze with desire at a virgin?
Psalms 119:37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things; revive me with Your word.
Mark 9:43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two hands and go into hell, into the unquenchable fire.
Philippians 3:7 But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ.
Matthew 10:37 Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;
Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple.