Matthew 5:40 if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well;

◄ Matthew 5:40 ►

New International Version
And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.

New Living Translation
If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too.

English Standard Version
And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.

Berean Standard Bible
if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well;

Berean Literal Bible
And to the one willing to sue you and to take your tunic, yield to him the cloak as well.

King James Bible
And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.

New King James Version
If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.

New American Standard Bible
And if anyone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak also.

NASB 1995
“If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also.

NASB 1977
“And if anyone wants to sue you, and take your shirt, let him have your coat also.

Legacy Standard Bible
And if anyone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your garment also.

Amplified Bible
If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also [for the Lord repays the offender].

Christian Standard Bible
As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let him have your coat as well.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let him have your coat as well.

American Standard Version
And if any man would go to law with thee, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.

Contemporary English Version
If someone sues you for your shirt, give up your coat as well.

English Revised Version
And if any man would go to law with thee, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
If someone wants to sue you in order to take your shirt, let him have your coat too.

Good News Translation
And if someone takes you to court to sue you for your shirt, let him have your coat as well.

International Standard Version
If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat as well.

Majority Standard Bible
if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well;

NET Bible
And if someone wants to sue you and to take your tunic, give him your coat also.

New Heart English Bible
And if anyone sues you to take away your shirt, let him have your coat also.

Webster's Bible Translation
And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.

Weymouth New Testament
If any one wishes to go to law with you and to deprive you of your under garment, let him take your outer one also.

World English Bible
If anyone sues you to take away your coat, let him have your cloak also.

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
and whoever is willing to take you to law, and to take your coat—also permit to him the cloak.

Berean Literal Bible
And to the one willing to sue you and to take your tunic, yield to him the cloak as well.

Young's Literal Translation
and whoever is willing to take thee to law, and thy coat to take -- suffer to him also the cloak.

Smith's Literal Translation
And to him wishing to be judged with thee, and to take thy coat, let go to him also thy garment.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
And if a man will contend with thee in judgment, and take away thy coat, let go thy cloak also unto him.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And anyone who wishes to contend with you in judgment, and to take away your tunic, release to him your cloak also.

New American Bible
If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well.

New Revised Standard Version
and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well;

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
And if anyone wishes to sue you at the court and take away your shirt, let him have your robe also.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And whoever wants to sue you and take your coat, leave for him also your cloak.

NT Translations

Anderson New Testament
And to him that will go to law with you, and take away your coat, give your mantle also.

Godbey New Testament
to him wishing to prosecute thee at law, and take away thy coat, let him have the cloak also.

Haweis New Testament
And if a man will prosecute thee, and take thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.

Mace New Testament
and if any man will go to law with you, to have your coat, let him have your cloke too.

Weymouth New Testament
If any one wishes to go to law with you and to deprive you of your under garment, let him take your outer one also.

Worrell New Testament
and to him who is desirous that you should be sued at the law, and to take your coat, grant your cloak also;

Worsley New Testament
and if any one would go to law with thee, to take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also, rather than strive with him:

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

Love Your Enemies
…39But I tell you not to resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also; 40 if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well; 41and if someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

Luke 6:29
If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone takes your cloak, do not withhold your tunic as well.

1 Corinthians 6:7
The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means that you are thoroughly defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?

Romans 12:17-19
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody. / If it is possible on your part, live at peace with everyone. / Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”

Proverbs 20:22
Do not say, “I will avenge this evil!” Wait on the LORD, and He will save you.

1 Peter 3:9
Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

Exodus 22:26-27
If you take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him by sunset, / because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? And if he cries out to Me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.

Deuteronomy 15:7-11
If there is a poor man among your brothers within any of the gates in the land that the LORD your God is giving you, then you are not to harden your heart or shut your hand from your poor brother. / Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him whatever he needs. / Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought in your heart: “The seventh year, the year of release, is near,” so that you look upon your poor brother begrudgingly and give him nothing. He will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin. ...

Proverbs 25:21-22
If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. / For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.

Isaiah 50:6
I offered My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard. I did not hide My face from scorn and spittle.

Lamentations 3:30
Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him; let him be filled with reproach.

1 Thessalonians 5:15
Make sure that no one repays evil for evil. Always pursue what is good for one another and for all people.

James 5:6
You have condemned and murdered the righteous, who did not resist you.

1 John 3:17
If anyone with earthly possessions sees his brother in need, but withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God abide in him?

Hebrews 10:34
You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, knowing that you yourselves had a better and permanent possession.

Micah 6:8
He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

Treasury of Scripture

And if any man will sue you at the law, and take away your coat, let him have your cloak also.

Luke 6:29
And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.

1 Corinthians 6:7
Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?

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Body Cloak Cloke Coat Deprive Garment Goes Law Outer Robe Shirt Someone Sue Sues Suffer Tunic Wants Willing Wishes

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Body Cloak Cloke Coat Deprive Garment Goes Law Outer Robe Shirt Someone Sue Sues Suffer Tunic Wants Willing Wishes

Matthew 5

1. Jesus' sermon on the mount:
3. The Beattitudes;
13. the salt of the earth;
14. the light of the world.
17. He came to fulfill the law.
21. What it is to kill;
27. to commit adultery;
33. to swear.
38. He exhorts to forgive wrong,
43. to love our enemies;
48. and to labor after perfection.

Berean Study Bible

if someone wants to sue you
This phrase introduces a legal context, reflecting the judicial practices of ancient Israel and the broader Greco-Roman world. The Greek word for "sue" (κριθῆναι) implies a formal legal action. In the historical context, lawsuits were common, and Jesus addresses the heart attitude of His followers when faced with legal disputes. The conservative Christian perspective emphasizes the call to transcend mere legalism and embrace a spirit of generosity and peace, even in adversarial situations.

and take your tunic
The "tunic" (χιτών) was a basic garment worn next to the skin, often made of linen or wool. It was an essential piece of clothing, symbolizing personal property and basic human needs. In the cultural context of Jesus' time, losing one's tunic in a lawsuit would be a significant loss, as it was a primary garment. The conservative interpretation sees this as a call to prioritize spiritual values over material possessions, reflecting a trust in God's provision.

let him have your cloak as well
The "cloak" (ἱμάτιον) was an outer garment, more valuable than the tunic, often used as a blanket at night. According to Jewish law, a cloak could not be kept overnight as collateral (Exodus 22:26-27), highlighting its importance. Jesus' instruction to offer the cloak as well is radical, urging believers to go beyond what is legally required. This reflects the principle of sacrificial love and non-retaliation, central to Christian ethics. From a conservative viewpoint, this teaching challenges believers to demonstrate Christ-like love and selflessness, trusting in God's justice and provision.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(40) If any man will sue thee at the law.--The Greek is somewhat stronger: If a man will go--i.e., is bent on going--to law with thee. The verse presents another aspect of the same temper of forbearance. Not in regard to acts of violence only, but also in dealing with the petty litigation that disturbs so many men's peace, it is better to yield than to insist on rights. St. Paul gives the same counsel to the believers at Corinth: "Why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?" (1Corinthians 6:7). Here also, of course, the precept, absolutely binding, as far as self-interest is concerned, may be traversed by higher considerations.

Coat.--The close-fitting tunic worn next the body.

Cloke.--The outer flowing mantle, the more costly garment of the two. (Comp. John 19:23, and the combination of the two words, in Acts 9:39, "coats and garments.") The meaning of the illustration is obvious. It is wise rather to surrender more than is demanded, than to disturb the calm of our own spirit by wrangling and debate.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 40. - The parallel passage, Luke 6:29b, gives the taking of the garments in the converse order. And if any man will sue thee; Revised Version, and if any man would go to law with thee. Notice that "will," "would" (τῷ θέλοντι), implies that the trial has not yet even begun. Do this even before it. And take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. Coat (χιτών), equivalent to tunic, "shirt-like under-garment" (Meyer). Cloke (ἱμάτιον), equivalent to over-cloak, "mantle-like over-garment, toga, which also served for a covering by night, and might not therefore be retained as a pledge over night (Exodus 22:26)' (Meyer). This is put second, as being the more valuable. In Luke, where there is no mention of the law-court, the thought seems to be merely of the violent removal of the garments, taking them as they came. Let him have (ἄφες αὐτῷ). More positive than Luke's "withhold not" (μὴ κωλύσῃς).

Parallel Commentaries ...

Greek

if someone
τῷ (tō)
Article - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

wants
θέλοντί (thelonti)
Verb - Present Participle Active - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2309: To will, wish, desire, be willing, intend, design.

to sue
κριθῆναι (krithēnai)
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Passive
Strong's 2919: Properly, to distinguish, i.e. Decide; by implication, to try, condemn, punish.

you
σοι (soi)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

take
λαβεῖν (labein)
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active
Strong's 2983: (a) I receive, get, (b) I take, lay hold of.

your
σου (sou)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

tunic,
χιτῶνά (chitōna)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5509: A tunic, garment, undergarment. Of foreign origin; a tunic or shirt.

let him have
ἄφες (aphes)
Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 863: From apo and hiemi; to send forth, in various applications.

[your]
τὸ (to)
Article - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

cloak
ἱμάτιον (himation)
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 2440: A long flowing outer garment, tunic. Neuter of a presumed derivative of ennumi; a dress.

as well;
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

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NT Gospels: Matthew 5:40 If anyone sues you to take away (Matt. Mat Mt)