Matthew 5:20

Justice The kingdom of God The law

¹⁸ For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

¹⁹ Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

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.

²¹ Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:

²² But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
KJV: 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.
WEB: 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.
ASV: 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.
DARBY: 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.
BLB: For I say to you⁺ that unless your⁺ righteousness should abound more than [that] of the scribes and Pharisees, you⁺ shall certainly not enter into the kingdom of the heavens.

ÅB: For jeg sier dere: Dersom rettferdigheten deres ikke overgår de skriftlærdes og fariseernes, kommer dere aldri inn i himlenes rike.
OTB: For jeg sier dere, hvis ikke deres rettferdighet overgår de skriftlærdes og fariseernes, skal dere slett ikke komme inn i himlenes rike.
B1930: For jeg sier eder: Dersom eders rettferdighet ikke overgår de skriftlærdes og fariseernes, kommer I ingenlunde inn i himlenes rike.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Romans 10:2–3
For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
Read in context
Philippians 3:9
And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
Read in context
Romans 9:30–32
What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.
Read in context
Luke 16:14–15
And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.
Read in context
Matthew 23:2–5
Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat:
Read in context
Matthew 23:23–28
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
Read in context
John 3:3–5
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Read in context
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Read in context