Matthew 7:5

You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jesus addresses a listener who intends to correct a brother’s fault while ignoring his own greater fault, immediately following his rhetorical question in Matthew 7:4. The instruction occurs during the Sermon on the Mount, directed at those claiming moral authority over others.

The words — The text uses ὑποκριτὲ (hupokrite), meaning “actor” or “pretender,” and πρῶτον (prōton), meaning “first,” to establish a mandatory sequence of self-correction before addressing another. The verb ἔκβαλε (ekbale) commands the physical removal of the obstruction, emphasizing decisive action over passive observation.

The thread — This sequence of self-examination before correction appears in Luke 6:42, which repeats the speck and beam metaphor. The same term ὑποκριτὲ is used in Matthew 23:13 to condemn religious leaders who shut the kingdom while failing to practice its standards.

Why it lands — The verse demands that a reader examine and correct his own faults before attempting to judge or correct another. It requires prioritizing personal accountability over the premature correction of others.

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

Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

Cross-references

Luke 6:42 How can you say, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while you yourself fail to see the beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Psalms 51:9 Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities.
Matthew 23:13 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.
Luke 13:15 “You hypocrites!” the Lord replied. “Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it to water?
Luke 4:23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to Me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in Your hometown what we have heard that You did in Capernaum.’”
Matthew 22:18 But Jesus knew their evil intent and said, “You hypocrites, why are you testing Me?
Luke 12:56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky. Why don’t you know how to interpret the present time?
Acts 19:15 But one day the evil spirit responded, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”