Matthew 5:20

Bible in Basic English (1941)

For I say to you, If your righteousness is not greater than the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never go into the kingdom of heaven.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

Λέγω γὰρ ὑμῖν, Ὅτι ἐὰν μὴ περισσεύσῃ ἡ δικαιοσύνη ὑμῶν πλεῖον τῶν γραμματέων καὶ Φαρισαίων, οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθητε εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν.

Transliteration

Legō gar to-you, That ean not perisseusē the dikaiosynē of-you pleion of-the grammateōn and Pharisaiōn, not not eiselthēte into the basileian of-the ouranōn.

Grammar Details

• *Legō*: present active indicative, 1st person singular - I say/tell
• *gar*: postpositive conjunction - for/because
• *ean*: conditional conjunction - if
• *perisseusē*: aorist active subjunctive, 3rd person singular - might exceed/abound
• *dikaiosynē*: nominative feminine singular - righteousness
• *pleion*: nominative neuter comparative - more than
• *grammateōn*: genitive masculine plural - of scribes
• *Pharisaiōn*: genitive masculine plural - of Pharisees
• *eiselthēte*: aorist active subjunctive, 2nd person plural - you might enter
• *basileian*: accusative feminine singular - kingdom
• *ouranōn*: genitive masculine plural - of heavens

Word Meanings

• *Legō*: say/tell/speak
• *perisseusē*: exceed/abound/surpass
• *dikaiosynē*: righteousness/justice/uprightness
• *pleion*: more than/greater than
• *grammateōn*: scribes/scholars of the law
• *Pharisaiōn*: Pharisees (Jewish religious group)
• *eiselthēte*: enter/go in
• *basileian*: kingdom/reign/rule
• *ouranōn*: heavens/skies

Referenced Verses

• John 3:3-5 : 3 Jesus said to him, Truly, I say to you, Without a new birth no man is able to see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus said to him, How is it possible for a man to be given birth when he is old? Is he able to go into his mother's body a second time and come to birth again? 5 Jesus said in answer, Truly, I say to you, If a man's birth is not from water and from the Spirit, it is not possible for him to go into the kingdom of God.
• Rom 10:2-3 : 2 For I give witness of them that they have a strong desire for God, but not with knowledge. 3 Because, not having knowledge of God's righteousness, and desiring to give effect to their righteousness, they have not put themselves under the righteousness of God.
• Phil 3:9 : 9 And be seen in him, not having my righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
• Heb 12:14 : 14 Let your desire be for peace with all men, and to be made holy, without which no man may see the Lord;
• Luke 16:14-15 : 14 And the Pharisees, who had a great love of money, hearing these things, were making sport of him. 15 And he said, You take care to seem right in the eyes of men, but God sees your hearts: and those things which are important in the opinion of men, are evil in the eyes of God.
• Luke 18:24-25 : 24 And Jesus, looking at him, said, How hard it is for those who have wealth to get into the kingdom of God! 25 It is simpler for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a man who has much money to come into the kingdom of God.
• Luke 18:10-14 : 10 Two men went up to the Temple for prayer; one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-farmer. 11 The Pharisee, taking up his position, said to himself these words: God, I give you praise because I am not like other men, who take more than their right, who are evil-doers, who are untrue to their wives, or even like this tax-farmer. 12 Twice in the week I go without food; I give a tenth of all I have. 13 The tax-farmer, on the other hand, keeping far away, and not lifting up even his eyes to heaven, made signs of grief and said, God, have mercy on me, a sinner. 14 I say to you, This man went back to his house with God's approval, and not the other: for everyone who makes himself high will be made low and whoever makes himself low will be made high.
• Luke 18:17 : 17 Truly I say to you, Whoever does not put himself under the kingdom of God like a little child, will not come into it at all.
• 2 Cor 5:17 : 17 So if any man is in Christ, he is in a new world: the old things have come to an end; they have truly become new.
• Rom 9:30-32 : 30 What then may we say? That the nations who did not go after righteousness have got righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith: 31 But Israel, going after a law of righteousness, did not get it. 32 Why? Because they were not searching for it by faith, but by works. They came up against the stone which was in the way;
• Matt 3:10 : 10 And even now the axe is put to the root of the trees; every tree then which does not give good fruit is cut down, and put into the fire.
• Matt 7:21 : 21 Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will go into the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the pleasure of my Father in heaven.
• Matt 18:5 : 5 And whoever gives honour to one such little child in my name, gives honour to me:
• Matt 23:2-5 : 2 The scribes and the Pharisees have the authority of Moses; 3 All things, then, which they give you orders to do, these do and keep: but do not take their works as your example, for they say and do not. 4 They make hard laws and put great weights on men's backs; but they themselves will not put a finger to them. 5 But all their works they do so as to be seen by men: for they make wide their phylacteries, and the edges of their robes,
• Matt 23:23-28 : 23 A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you make men give a tenth of all sorts of sweet-smelling plants, but you give no thought to the more important things of the law, righteousness, and mercy, and faith; but it is right for you to do these, and not to let the others be undone. 24 You blind guides, who take out a fly from your drink, but make no trouble over a camel. 25 A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you make clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of violent behaviour and uncontrolled desire. 26 You blind Pharisee, first make clean the inside of the cup and of the plate, so that the outside may become equally clean. 27 A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you are like the resting-places of the dead, which are made white, and seem beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and of all unclean things. 28 Even so you seem to men to be full of righteousness, but inside you are all false and full of wrongdoing.
• Mark 10:15 : 15 Truly I say to you, Whoever does not put himself under the kingdom of God like a little child, will not come into it at all.
• Mark 10:25 : 25 It is simpler for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a man of wealth to come into the kingdom of God.
• Luke 11:39-40 : 39 And the Lord said to him, You Pharisees make the outside of the cup and the plate clean; but inside you are thieves and full of evil. 40 O you foolish ones! did not he who made the outside in the same way make the inside?
• Luke 11:44 : 44 A curse is on you! for you are like the resting-places of dead men, which are not seen, and men go walking over them without knowledge of it.
• Luke 12:1 : 1 At that time, when thousands of the people had come together, in such numbers that they were crushing one another, he said first to his disciples, Have nothing to do with the leaven of the Pharisees, which is deceit.
• Rev 21:27 : 27 And nothing unclean may come into it, or anyone whose works are cursed or false; but only those whose names are in the Lamb's book of life.
• Luke 20:46-47 : 46 Keep away from the scribes, whose pleasure it is to go about in long robes, and to have words of respect said to them in the market-places, and to take the chief seats in the Synagogues and the first places at feasts; 47 Who take the property of widows and before the eyes of men make long prayers; they will get a greater punishment.