24. Leave your gift there and go make peace with that person. Then come and offer your gift.
25. “If anyone wants to take you to court, make friends with them quickly. Try to do that before you get to the court. If you don’t, they might hand you over to the judge. And the judge will hand you over to a guard, who will throw you into jail.
26. I assure you that you will not leave there until you have paid everything you owe.
27. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You must not commit adultery.’
28. But I tell you that if a man looks at a woman and wants to sin sexually with her, he has already committed that sin with her in his mind.
29. If your right eye makes you sin, take it out and throw it away. It is better to lose one part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into hell.
30. If your right hand makes you sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
31. “It was also said, ‘Any man who divorces his wife must give her a written notice of divorce.’
32. But I tell you that any man who divorces his wife, except for the problem of sexual sin, is causing his wife to be guilty of adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman is guilty of adultery.
33. “You have heard that it was said to our people long ago, ‘When you make a vow, you must not break your promise. Keep the vows that you make to the Lord.’
34. But I tell you, when you make a promise, don’t try to make it stronger with a vow. Don’t make a vow using the name of heaven, because heaven is God’s throne.
35. Don’t make a vow using the name of the earth, because the earth belongs to him. Don’t make a vow using the name of Jerusalem, because it also belongs to him, the great King.
36. And don’t even say that your own head is proof that you will keep your promise. You cannot make one hair on your head white or black.
37. Say only ‘yes’ if you mean ‘yes,’ and say only ‘no’ if you mean ‘no.’ If you say more than that, it is from the Evil One.
38. “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’
39. But I tell you, don’t fight back against someone who wants to do harm to you. If they hit you on the right cheek, let them hit the other cheek too.
40. If anyone wants to sue you in court and take your shirt, let them have your coat too.