Matthew 5:20

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

For I tell you, unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law and the Pharisees, you will never enter 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 replied,“I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him,“How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb and be born a second time, can he?” 5 Jesus answered,“I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
• Rom 10:2-3 : 2 For I can testify that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not in line with the truth. 3 For ignoring the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking instead to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.
• Phil 3:9 : 9 and be found in him, not because I have my own righteousness derived from the law, but because I have the righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness– a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ’s faithfulness.
• Heb 12:14 : 14 Do Not Reject God’s Warning Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness, for without it no one will see the Lord.
• Luke 16:14-15 : 14 More Warnings about the Pharisees The Pharisees(who loved money) heard all this and ridiculed him. 15 But Jesus said to them,“You are the ones who justify yourselves in men’s eyes, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly prized among men is utterly detestable in God’s sight.
• Luke 18:24-25 : 24 When Jesus noticed this, he said,“How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
• Luke 18:10-14 : 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this:‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers– or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’ 13 The tax collector, however, stood far off and would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said,‘God, be merciful to me, sinner that I am!’ 14 I tell you that this man went down to his home justified rather than the Pharisee. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
• Luke 18:17 : 17 I tell you the truth, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”
• 2 Cor 5:17 : 17 So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away– look, what is new has come!
• Rom 9:30-32 : 30 Israel’s Rejection Culpable What shall we say then?– that the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness obtained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith, 31 but Israel even though pursuing a law of righteousness did not attain it. 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but(as if it were possible) by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone,
• Matt 3:10 : 10 Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
• Matt 7:21 : 21 Judgment of Pretenders“Not everyone who says to me,‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven– only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
• Matt 18:5 : 5 And whoever welcomes a child like this in my name welcomes me.
• Matt 23:2-5 : 2 “The experts in the law and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore pay attention to what they tell you and do it. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they teach. 4 They tie up heavy loads, hard to carry, and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing even to lift a finger to move them. 5 They do all their deeds to be seen by people, for they make their phylacteries wide and their tassels long.
• Matt 23:23-28 : 23 “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you neglect what is more important in the law– justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You should have done these things without neglecting the others. 24 Blind guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel! 25 “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside may become clean too! 27 “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
• Mark 10:15 : 15 I tell you the truth, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”
• Mark 10:25 : 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
• Luke 11:39-40 : 39 But the Lord said to him,“Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You fools! Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside as well?
• Luke 11:44 : 44 Woe to you! You are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without realizing it!”
• Luke 12:1 : 1 Fear God, Not People Meanwhile, when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples,“Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
• Rev 21:27 : 27 but nothing ritually unclean will ever enter into it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or practices falsehood, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
• Luke 20:46-47 : 46 “Beware of the experts in the law. They like walking around in long robes, and they love elaborate greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 47 They devour widows’ property, and as a show make long prayers. They will receive a more severe punishment.”