King James Version

Matthew 5:20

For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

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The KJV’s Greek text (Textus Receptus) word order differs here.

λέγωlegōI sayλέγωverb, present active indicative, 1st person singular — “I say”, an ongoing or repeated actionG3004(denoting speech in progress), (a) I say, speak; I mean, mention, tell, (b) I call, name, especially in the pass., (c) I tell, command.This verse uses “say”.I sayγὰρgarforγάρconjunction — “for”G1063for.ὑμῖνhuminunto youσύ (su)personal pronoun, dative, plural — “unto you”, the to- or for-formG4771you.unto youὅτιhotiThatὅτιconjunction — “That”G3754that, since, because; may introduce direct discourse.This verse uses “that”.Thatἐὰνeanexceptἐάνconjunction — “except”G1437if.exceptμὴmēnotμήadverb — “not”G3361not, lest.This verse uses “not”.περισσεύσῃperisseusēshall exceedπερισσεύω (perisseuō)verb, aorist active subjunctive, 3rd person singular — “shall exceed”, a single actionG4052(a) intrans: I exceed the ordinary (the necessary), abound, overflow; am left over, (b) trans: I cause to abound.This verse uses “exceed”.shall exceedὑμῶνhumōnyouσύ (su)personal pronoun, genitive, plural — “you”, the of-formG4771you.ἡhētheὁ (ho)article, nominative, singular, feminine — “the”, the subject formG3588the, the definite article.δικαιοσύνηdikaiosunērighteousnessδικαιοσύνηnoun, nominative, singular, feminine — “righteousness”, the subject formG1343(usually if not always in a Jewish atmosphere), justice, justness, righteousness, righteousness of which God is the source or author, but practically: a divine righteousness.This verse uses “righteousness”.πλεῖονpleionmuchπολύς (polýs)adjective, comparative, accusative, singular, neuter — “much”, the object formG4183much, many; often.This verse uses “much”.Strong’s files this form under G4119 (πλείων).τῶνtōntheὁ (ho)article, genitive, plural, masculine — “the”, the of-formG3588the, the definite article.γραμματέωνgrammateōnrighteousness of the scribesγραμματεύς (grammateus)noun, genitive, plural, masculine — “righteousness of the scribes”, the of-formG1122(a) in Jerusalem, a scribe, one learned in the Jewish Law, a religious teacher, (b) at Ephesus, the town-clerk, the secretary of the city, (c) a man of learning generally.the righteousness of the scribesκαὶkaiandκαίconjunction — “and”G2532and, even, also, namely.This verse uses “and”.andΦαρισαίωνpharisaiōnPhariseesΦαρισαῖος (pharisaios)noun, genitive, plural, masculine — “Pharisees”, the of-formG5330a Pharisee, one of the Jewish sect so called.Phariseesοὐounoοὐadverb — “no”G3756no, not.μὴmēnotμήadverb — “not”G3361not, lest.This verse uses “not”.εἰσέλθητεeiselthēteenterεἰσέρχομαι (eiserchomai)Greek uses a different stem for this verb’s past forms.verb, aorist active subjunctive, 2nd person plural — “enter”, a single actionG1525I go in, come in, enter.This verse uses “enter”.enterεἰςeisintoεἰςpreposition — “into”G1519into, in, unto, to, upon, towards, for, among.This verse uses “into”.intoτὴνtēntheὁ (ho)article, accusative, singular, feminine — “the”, the object formG3588the, the definite article.βασιλείανbasileiankingdomβασιλεία (basileia)noun, accusative, singular, feminine — “kingdom”, the object formG932kingship, sovereignty, authority, rule, especially of God, both in the world, and in the hearts of men; hence: kingdom, in the concrete sense.This verse uses “kingdom”.the kingdomτῶνtōntheὁ (ho)article, genitive, plural, masculine — “the”, the of-formG3588the, the definite article.οὐρανῶνouranōnof heavenοὐρανός (ouranos)noun, genitive, plural, masculine — “of heaven”, the of-formG3772heaven, (a) the visible heavens: the atmosphere, the sky, the starry heavens, (b) the spiritual heavens.of heaven

Literal (Young’s Literal Translation)

'For I say to you, that if your righteousness may not abound above that of the scribes and Pharisees, ye may not enter to the reign of the heavens.

Compare Public-Domain Translations

The King James Version remains the text of this page and the canonical URL.

American Standard Version (1901)

For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Young’s Literal Translation

'For I say to you, that if your righteousness may not abound above that of the scribes and Pharisees, ye may not enter to the reign of the heavens.

World English Bible

For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees , there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven .

Darby Translation

For I say unto you, that unless your righteousness surpass [that] of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of the heavens.

Douay-Rheims

For I tell you, that unless your justice abound more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

American Standard Version (1901)

Young’s Literal Translation

World English Bible

Darby Translation

Douay-Rheims

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