Matthew 5:39

But I tell you not to resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also;

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Jesus addresses his disciples (and the crowd) in the Sermon on the Mount, immediately after quoting the lex talionis in v. 38, as the first of six "But I say to you" antitheses.

The words — ἀντιστῆναι (antistēnai), "to stand against, to resist," is the verb of the prohibition; it is not "to fight back" but "to set oneself in opposition," a posture of active counter-force.

The thread — The same "do not repay evil for evil" command recurs in 1 Thessalonians 5:15, 1 Peter 3:9, and Romans 12:17, each in a Pauline or Petrine ethical context rather than a direct teaching of Jesus.

Why it lands — It asks the reader to refuse the reflex of mirroring the aggressor's action, not as passive endurance but as a deliberate choice to break the cycle of escalation.

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

But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Cross-references

1 Thessalonians 5:15 Make sure that no one repays evil for evil. Always pursue what is good for one another and for all people.
1 Peter 3:9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
Romans 12:17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody.
Proverbs 20:22 Do not say, “I will avenge this evil!” Wait on the LORD, and He will save you.
Luke 6:29 If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone takes your cloak, do not withhold your tunic as well.
1 Peter 2:20 How is it to your credit if you are beaten for doing wrong and you endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.
Leviticus 19:18 Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
Lamentations 3:30 Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him; let him be filled with reproach.
Proverbs 24:29 Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will repay the man according to his work.”
Isaiah 50:6 I offered My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard. I did not hide My face from scorn and spittle.