Matthew 5:20 - An Understandable Version (2005 edition)

²⁰ For I say to you people, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven unless what you do that is right excels what the experts in the Law of Moses and the Pharisees [i.e., a strict sect of the Jewish religion] do that is right.

More versions

King James Version (Oxford) 1769

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.

Amplified Bible - Classic Edition

²⁰ For I tell you, unless your righteousness (your uprightness and your right standing with God) is more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

American Standard Version (1901)

²⁰ 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.

Common English Bible

²⁰ I say to you that unless your righteousness is greater than the righteousness of the legal experts and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Catholic Public Domain Version

²⁰ For I say to you, that unless your justice has surpassed that of the scribes and the Pharisees you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version

²⁰ 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.

Matthew 5:20 Cross References

Matthew 16:12

Then they understood that He was not telling them to watch out for the yeast in [physical] bread, but for the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Matthew 18:5

And the person who welcomes one little child like this, in my name [i.e., because he belongs to me], welcomes me [also].

Matthew 3:10

And even now the axe is ready to chop down the trees [i.e., you Jewish people]. Every tree [i.e., person] that does not produce wholesome fruit [i.e., godly, repentant lives] will be cut down and thrown into the fire [i.e., the final punishment of the wicked].

Matthew 7:21

“Not every person who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but [only] that person who does what my Father in heaven requires.

Mark 10:15

Truly I tell you, whoever does not welcome the kingdom of God as a little child does, that person will by no means enter it.”

Mark 10:25

It is [actually] easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

Luke 11:44

“It is too bad for you! For you people are like obscure grave sites that people walk over without knowing it.”

Luke 12:1

About this time, while a crowd of many thousands had assembled, [so large that] people were trampling on one another, Jesus first began telling His disciples, “Watch out for the leavening [effect] of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Luke 18:17

Truly I tell you, whoever does not welcome the kingdom of God the way a little child does, that person will by no means enter it.”

2 Corinthians 3:9

For if the ministry [of the law] that brings condemnation came with splendor, will not the ministry that brings righteousness [i.e., the New Agreement] have greater splendor?

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if any person is in [fellowship with] Christ, he is a new person. His old ways have passed away; now his ways have become new.

Philippians 3:9

and to be found in [fellowship with] Him, not having a righteousness of my own, acquired by observing the Law of Moses, but one acquired through believing in Christ. This righteousness, which comes from God, is based on faith.

Hebrews 12:14

Actively seek to live in peace with all people. And be dedicated to God, because no one will see God without this.

Revelation 21:27

And there will never be anything [morally] unclean allowed to enter it, nor any person who practices disgusting behavior [i.e., probably such sins as sexual perversion], or [any person] who is a liar. But the only ones [allowed there] are those [whose names are] recorded in the Lamb’s book of life.