Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 5:26
Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
Verse 26. The uttermost farthing.] . The rabbins have this Greek word corrupted into kordiontes, and , kontrik, and say, that two prutoth make a kontarik, which is exactly the same with those words in Mr 12:42, , , two mites, which are one farthing. Hence it appears that the lepton was the same as the prutah. The weight of the prutah was half a barley-corn, and it was the smallest coin among the Jews, as the kodrantes, or farthing, was the smallest coin among the Romans. If the matter issue in law, strict justice will be done, and your creditor be allowed the fulness of his just claim; but if; while you are on the way, going to the magistrate, you come to a friendly agreement with him, he will relax in his claims, take a part for the whole, and the composition be, in the end, both to his and your profit.
This text has been considered a proper foundation on which to build not only the doctrine of a purgatory, but also that of universal restoration. But the most unwarrantable violence must be used before it can be pressed into the service of either of the above antiscriptural doctrines. At the most, the text can only be considered as a metaphorical representation of the procedure of the great Judge; and let it ever be remembered, that by the general consent of all (except the basely interested) no metaphor is ever to be produced in proof of any doctrine. In the things that concern our eternal salvation, we need the most pointed and express evidence on which to establish the faith of our souls.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
26. Verily I say unto thee, Thoushalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermostfarthinga fractional Roman coin, to which our “farthing”answers sufficiently well. That our Lord meant here merely to give apiece of prudential advice to his hearers, to keep out of the handsof the law and its officials by settling all disputes with oneanother privately, is not for a moment to be supposed, though thereare critics of a school low enough to suggest this. The concludingwords”Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means comeout,” c.manifestly show that though the language isdrawn from human disputes and legal procedure, He is dealing with ahigher than any human quarrel, a higher than any human tribunal, ahigher than any human and temporal sentence. In this view of thewordsin which nearly all critics worthy of the name agreethespirit of them may be thus expressed: “In expounding the sixthcommandment, I have spoken of offenses between man and man remindingyou that the offender has another party to deal with besides him whomhe has wronged on earth, and assuring you that all worship offered tothe Searcher of hearts by one who knows that a brother has just causeof complaint against him, and yet takes no steps to remove it, isvain: But I cannot pass from this subject without reminding you ofOne whose cause of complaint against you is far more deadly than anythat man can have against man: and since with that Adversary you arealready on the way to judgment, it will be your wisdom to make up thequarrel without delay, lest sentence of condemnation be pronouncedupon you, and then will execution straightway follow, from theeffects of which you shall never escape as long as any remnant of theoffense remains unexpiated.” It will be observed that as theprinciple on which we are to “agree” with this”Adversary” is not here specified, and the precise natureof the retribution that is to light upon the despisers of thiswarning is not to be gathered from the mere use of the word “prison”;so, the remedilessness of the punishment is not in so manywords expressed, and still less is its actual cessationtaught. The language on all these points is designedly general; butit may safely be said that the unending duration of futurepunishmentelsewhere so clearly and awfully expressed by our LordHimself, as in Mat 5:29; Mat 5:30;Mar 9:43; Mar 9:48is the only doctrine with which His language here quite naturallyand fully accords. (Compare Mat 18:30;Mat 18:34).
The Same Subject Illustratedfrom the Seventh Commandment (Mt5:27-32).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Verily, I say unto thee,…. This may be depended upon, you may assure yourself of it, that
thou shalt by no means come out thence, from prison,
till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing, or “last farthing”; or as the Ethiopic version reads it, “till thou hast exactly paid all”; which seems to express the inexorableness of the creditor, and the impossibility of the debtor’s release.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The last farthing ( ). A Latin word, quadrans, 1/4 of an as_ () or two mites (Mr 12:42), a vivid picture of inevitable punishment for debt. This is emphasized by the strong double negative with the aorist subjunctive.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “Verily I say unto thee,” (amen lego soi) “Truly or certainly I say to you,” to each of you, to be applied personally by each of you. How wise it is then that men have all enmity between them and God removed before they come to stand before him, Luk 13:3; 1Jn 1:9.
2) “That thou shalt by no means come out thence,” (ou me ekselthes ekeithen) “You shall by no means come out of such confinement,” brought on by your unfair treatment or unkind disposition toward your opponent, or your obstinate refusal of reconciliation with a brother, once you have gone to civil court.
3) “Till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.” (heos an apodos ton eschaton kodranten) “Until you have paid the last farthing,” or the maximum penalty, whatever the civil penalty requires, and that by civil magistrates before an unfriendly world, down to a farthing, about one half cent, Isa 40:2; Rth 1:21-22.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(26) The uttermost farthing.The Greek word is derived from the Latin quadrans, the fourth part of the Roman as, a small copper or bronze coin which had become common in Palestine. The mite, half the quadrans (Mar. 12:42), was the smallest coin in circulation. The farthing of Mat. 10:29 is a different word, and was applied to the tenth part of the drachma.
Do the words point to a terminable or to an endless punishment? In the frame-work of the similitude such a sentence would not involve perpetual imprisonment, if only the condemned could get together the money wherewith to pay his debt or fine; and we might infer, as Romanist divines have inferred, that such a payment, to be followed by liberation, was possible in the divine judgment. But in practice, unless the man had friends or property, the sentence would, for the most part, involve a life-long punishment. And the question may well be asked, when we turn to the realities shadowed forth in the parable, Can a man pay the uttermost farthing in that unseen world? Does he pay by enduring for a given time a given measure of suffering, bodily or spiritual? Can he there find others to pay it for him? Do not the words till thou hast paid exclude the thought of their intervention as availing to stay the full action of the great law of retribution? These questions must, for the most part, be so answered as to diminish the force of the first hasty inference. If hope is not shut out altogether, it is because we cannot absolutely answer the first question in the negative. There may be a suffering that works repentance, and the repentance may lead to peace and pardonthere may be, but that is the very utmost that can be said. It is noticeable that the word prison is that used in 1Pe. 3:19, where the spirits in prison are, almost beyond a doubt, represented as the objects of a dispensation that proclaimed even there the good news of salvation. But the whole tone of the passage is that of one who seeks to deepen the sense of danger, not to make light of it, to make men feel that they cannot pay their debt, though God may forgive it freely, accepting faith in Him in lieu of payment.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
26. Paid the uttermost See on chap. Mat 18:30. Farthing About two fifths of a cent.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
Ver. 26. Thou shalt by no means come out thence till, &c. ] i.e. Never come ont. Let our merit mongers first go to hell for their sins, and stay all eternity there; then afterward, if God will create another eternity, they may have liberty to relate their good works, and call for their wages. But the curse of the law will first be served of such, as, seeking to be Saved by the works of the law, are fallen from Christ; these shall never come out till they have paid the utmost farthing. And when will that be? We read of a miserable malefactor (John Chambone by name) who had lain in the dungeon at Lyons the duration of seven or eight months. This thief, for pain and torment, cried out of God, and cursed his parents that begat him, being almost eaten up with lice, and ready to eat his own flesh for hunger; being fed with such bread as dogs and horses had refused to eat. So it pleased the goodness of Almighty God, that Petrus Bergerius, a French martyr, was cast into the same dungeon; through whose preaching and prayers he was brought to repentance, learning much comfort and patience by the word of the gospel preached unto him. Touching his conversion he wrote a very sweet letter out of his bonds, declaring therein, that the next day after that he had taken held of the gospel, and framed himself to patience according to the same, his lice (which he could pluck out before by twenty at once between his fingers) now were so gone from him that he had not one. Furthermore, so the alms of good people were extended towards him, that he was fed with white bread, and that which was very good. His imprisonment, at utmost, lasted but while life; death as a jailer knocked off his shackles, and set him into the glorious liberty of the saints above. So the penitent thief in the Gospel; and so that Robert Samuel, martyr, above mentioned. But not so those that are clapt up in the dark dungeon of hell. Their misery is as endless as easeless. A river of brimstone is not consumed by burning; the smoke of that pit ascendeth for ever. A child with a spoon may sooner empty the sea than the damned in hell accomplish their misery. All that wicked men suffer here is but a paying the usury money required for that dreadful debt, that must be paid at last by all that make not timely composition.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
26. ] These words, which in the earthly example imply future liberation, because an earthly debt can be paid in most cases, so in the spiritual counterpart amount to a negation of it, because the debt can never be discharged. We have in ch. Mat 18:30 , where the payment was clearly impossible.
= in Luk 12:58 , and is the officer of the court who saw the sentences executed. If we are called on to assign a meaning to in the interpretation, it must represent the chief of those who in ch. Mat 18:34 , are hinted at by , viz. the great enemy, the minister of the divine wrath.
, quadrantem , a Latin word (= in [48] Luke), the fourth part of an as . See note on Luke, l. c
[48] When, in the Gospels, and in the Evangelic statement, 1Co 11:23-25 , the sign () occurs in a reference, it is signified that the word occurs in the parallel place in the other Gospels, which will always be found indicated at the head of the note on the paragraph. When the sign () is qualified , thus, ‘ Mk.,’ or ‘ Mt. Mk.,’ &c., it is signified that the word occurs in the parallel place in that Gospel or Gospels, but not in the other or others .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
by no means. Greek. on me. Compare App-105.
uttermost = last.
farthing: which shows it to be a case of debt. See App-51.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
26.] These words, which in the earthly example imply future liberation, because an earthly debt can be paid in most cases, so in the spiritual counterpart amount to a negation of it, because the debt can never be discharged. We have in ch. Mat 18:30, where the payment was clearly impossible.
= in Luk 12:58, and is the officer of the court who saw the sentences executed. If we are called on to assign a meaning to in the interpretation, it must represent the chief of those who in ch. Mat 18:34, are hinted at by , viz. the great enemy, the minister of the divine wrath.
, quadrantem, a Latin word (= in [48] Luke), the fourth part of an as. See note on Luke, l. c
[48] When, in the Gospels, and in the Evangelic statement, 1Co 11:23-25, the sign () occurs in a reference, it is signified that the word occurs in the parallel place in the other Gospels, which will always be found indicated at the head of the note on the paragraph. When the sign () is qualified, thus, Mk., or Mt. Mk., &c., it is signified that the word occurs in the parallel place in that Gospel or Gospels, but not in the other or others.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 5:26. , until) The debtor is left to himself; see ch. Mat 18:34. It is strange that the expression, , should have been urged by those, who hence infer the possibility of payment, rather than , the last farthing.- , the last) Thus does Divine justice exact everything, not a single farthing more or less than you owe.[209]-, quadrantem) Substantives which express foreign articles are very frequently transferred from one language to another, instead of being translated.[210]
[209] O the vain and most deceitful persuasion of the old man, whereby he supposes that God will only lightly exact the debts due to Him. Nay, unless remission interpose so as to remove utterly ones countless faults, the uttermost avarice of man does not exercise as great rigour, as the divine justice justly and deservedly maintains.-Vers. Germ.
[210] The quadrans, the fourth part of an asse, about a farthing and a half of our money.-(I. B.)
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
paid
Cf. Isa 40:2; Rth 1:21; Rth 1:22
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Thou: Mat 18:34, Mat 25:41, Mat 25:46, Luk 12:59, Luk 16:26, 2Th 1:9, Jam 2:13
Reciprocal: Jer 46:11 – in vain Mat 5:18 – verily Luk 7:6 – for
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
5:26
Had the man offered to settle privately he might have been let off upon the payment of a part of the debt. If he lets it go on through court he may have to lie in prison until the entire debt is paid to which will be added the “court costs.”
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
[Farthing.] According to the Jerusalem Talmud, it is Kordiontes; according to the Babylonian, Kontrik. For thus they write:
“Two assars make a pondion.
Two semisses make an assar.
Two farthings a semissis.
Two prutahs a farthing.
A pondion is in value two assars.
An assar is two semisses.
A semissis is two farthings.
A kontric; or a farthing; is two prutahs.”
That which is here said by the Jerusalem Talmud, Two prutahs make a farthing; is the very same thing that is said, Mar 12:42; Two mites, which make a farthing. A prutah was the very least piece among coins. So Maimonides, That which is not worth a prutah, is not to be reckoned among riches. Hence are those numberless passages in the Talmudic Pandects relating to the prutah: “He that steals less than a prutah is not bound to pay five-fold.” “No land is bought for a price less than a prutah;” that is, given as an earnest.
You have the value of these coins in the same Maimonides: “Selaa (saith he) is in value four-pence: a penny, six meahs. Now a meah, in the days of Moses our master, was called a gerah; it contains two pondions; a pondion, two assars; and a prutah is the eighth part of an assar. The weight of a meah, which is also called a gerah, is sixteen barleycorns. And the weight of an assar is four barleycorns. And the weight of a prutah is half a barleycorn.”
Luke hath, the last mite; Mat 12:59; that is, the last prutah; which was the eighth part of the Italian assarius. Therefore, a farthing; was so called, not that it was the fourth part of a penny; but the fourth part of an assar; which how very small a part of a penny it was, we may observe by those things that are said by both Gemaras in the place before cited.
“Six silver meahs make a penny.
A meah is worth two pondions.
A pondion is worth two assars.”
Let this be noted by the way; a meah; which, as Maimonides before testifies, was anciently called a gerah; was also commonly called zuz; in the Talmudists. For as it is said here, six meahs of silver make a penny; so in Rambam, a penny contains six zuzim.
The prutah; as it was the least piece of money among the Jews, so it seems to have been a coin merely Jewish, not Roman. For although the Jews, being subjects to the Romans, used Roman money, and thence, as our Saviour argues, confessed their subjection to the Romans; yet they were permitted to use their own money, which appears by the common use of the shekels and half-shekels among them: with good reason, therefore, one may hold the farthing was the least Roman coin, and the prutah; the least Jewish. Whilst our Saviour mentions both, he is not inconstant to his own speech, but speaks more to the capacity of all.
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Mat 5:26. Verily I say unto thee. A higher application of the illustration. The prudent course in worldly affairs points out the prudent course in the higher sphere. Reconciliation with an offended brother in this life is absolutely necessary before his wrong cry against us to the Great Judge, and we be cast into eternal condemnation. (Alford.) This view can be held without definitely assigning a higher meaning to adversary and officer, etc. The warning against law-suits is evident enough, but is not the principal thought.
The last farthing. A coin of insignificant value. The meaning is: until everything is paid. If our sins be regarded as debts this is impossible, but no conclusive argument for or against the eternity of punishment can be based on the figure. See, however, Luk 12:59, where the reference to future punishment is perhaps more marked. Roman Catholic expositors understand this passage of purgatory; Universalists use it in support of their view of final restoration; but neither prison nor till necessarily points to ultimate deliverance. Comp. 2Pe 2:4; Jud 1:6. The main idea is the inexorable rigor of divine justice against the impenitent sinner.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
5:26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast {q} paid the uttermost farthing.
(q) You will be dealt with in this manner, to the utmost extremity.