 |
"Live by the sword, die by the sword" is a proverb in the form of a parallel phrase, derived from the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 26, 26:52 ): "Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword."
The phrase comes from Matthew 26:52 , in which one of Jesus's disciples is described as having struck the servant of the High Priest of Israel and cut off his ear. [1] Jesus is described as having rebuked him, saying: [2]
| Version | Text |
|---|---|
| Original Greek New Testament | τότε λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς, Ἀπόστρεψόν σου τὴν μάχαιραν εἰς τὸν τόπον αὐτῆς·πάντες γὰρ οἱ λαβόντες μάχαιραν ἐν μαχαίρᾳ ἀπολοῦνται. [3] |
| Latin Vulgate | Tunc ait illi Jesus: Converte gladium tuum in locum suum:omnes enim, qui acceperint gladium, gladio peribunt. [4] |
| King James Version (KJV) | Then said Jesus unto him, "Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword". |
| New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) | Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword". |
| New International Version (NIV) | "Put your sword back in its place", Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword". |
The saying "all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword" is only found in the Gospel of Matthew and not in any of the other gospels. [2] The Latin version refers to the weapon as a gladius , while the Greek version refers to it as a makhaira .
Early Christian theologians were almost universally pacifists, with Justin Martyr, Hippolytus of Rome, Tertullian, and Origen all making strong statements against soldiering and bearing weapons. [5]
According to St. John Chrysostom, when Jesus rebuked the unnamed disciple, it was a lesson that "The disciples might accept meekly whatever befell him when they had learned that this also is occurring according to God’s will". Thus, contrary to the common proverbial understanding, St. John Chrysostom explains where there is God's will (not the will of men) there is no need to react in passion. [6]
The saying is sometimes interpreted to mean "those who live by violence will die by violence", [7] which some have interpreted as a call for Christian pacifism [8] or even complete nonviolence, including in self-defense.
In modern times, the saying may also be applied to those who knowingly engage in dangerous activities as part of their occupations or for entertainment purposes, but accept the risk of serious injury or death from those activities.
A very similar line can be found in the Agamemnon , the first play of the Oresteia trilogy by the ancient Greek tragedian and playwright Aeschylus. [9] [10] [11] The line, spoken by Queen Clytemnestra of Mycenae after she murders her husband King Agamemnon in an act of vengeance, is rendered in the original Greek and translated to English (with varying levels of similarity to the original) as:
| Version | Text |
|---|---|
| Original Greek (Agamemnon, l. 1529) | |
| Trans. by R. C. Trevelyan | As he sinned by the sword, So is death by the sword his atonement. [10] |
| Trans. by Dr. Timothy Chappell (The Open University) | He killed her by falsehoods, by falsehoods he dies as well. [13] |
| Trans. by Robert Fagles (Princeton University) | “By the sword you did your work and by the sword you die.” [9] |
| Trans. by Christopher Collard (The Queen's College, Oxford) | "[...] he has paid for just that deed, felled in death by the sword." [14] |
The line differs across translators and is variously understood as "live by the sword, die by the sword" or "an eye for an eye", emphasizing the irony or appropriateness of the means by which he was killed. The play, first performed in 458 BCE, predates the similar concept espoused in the Gospel of Matthew, and remains popular to this day with regular performances [15] [16] and readings. [17] [18]
Aeschylus was an ancient Greek tragedian often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek tragedy is largely based on inferences made from reading his surviving plays. According to Aristotle, he expanded the number of characters in the theatre and allowed conflict among them. Formerly, characters interacted only with the chorus.
Matthew the Apostle is named in the New Testament as one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. According to Christian traditions, he was also one of the four Evangelists as author of the Gospel of Matthew, and thus is also known as Matthew the Evangelist.
Turning the other cheek is a phrase in Christian doctrine from the Sermon on the Mount that refers to responding to insult without retort. This passage is variously interpreted as accepting one's predicament, commanding nonresistance or advocating Christian pacifism.
The Sermon on the Mount is a collection of sayings spoken by Jesus of Nazareth found in the Gospel of Matthew that emphasizes his moral teachings. It is the first of five discourses in the Gospel and has been one of the most widely quoted sections of the Gospels.
The Oresteia is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus in the 5th century BCE, concerning the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra, the murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes, the trial of Orestes, the end of the curse on the House of Atreus and the pacification of the Furies.
Nonresistance is "the practice or principle of not resisting authority, even when it is unjustly exercised". At its core is discouragement of, even opposition to, physical resistance to an enemy. It is considered as a form of principled nonviolence or pacifism which rejects all physical violence, whether exercised on individual, group, state or international levels. Practitioners of nonresistance may refuse to retaliate against an opponent or offer any form of self-defense. Nonresistance is often associated with particular religious groups, such as Anabaptist Christianity.
Matthew 3:2 is the second verse of the third chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. John the Baptist has been introduced in the first verse and this verse describes the message that he is preaching. Through John's message, Matthew introduces the "Kingdom of Heaven".
Matthew 5:1 and Matthew 5:2 are the first two verses of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. The verses introduce the Sermon on the Mount that will be recited in the next several chapters. The previous chapter concluded with large crowds "from Galilee, and from the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan" who followed Jesus to witness him healing: these verses present Jesus as seeing the crowds and going up onto a mountain to begin teaching.
Matthew 5:39 is the thirty-ninth verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. This is the second verse of the antithesis on the command: "eye for an eye". In one of the most famous verses in the New Testament, Jesus here rejects revenge and retaliation, instead telling his followers to turn the other cheek.
Matthew 7:15 is the fifteenth verse of the seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. This verse begins the section warning against false prophets.
Matthew 10 is the tenth chapter in the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament section of the Christian Bible. This chapter opens with Jesus calling some of his disciples and sending them out to preach and heal. This section is also known as the Mission Discourse or the Little Commission, in contrast to the Great Commission at the end of the gospel. The Little Commission is directed specifically to the "lost sheep of the house of Israel", while the Great Commission is directed to all nations. The Pulpit Commentary suggests that Jesus' message in this discourse "was hardly likely to have been remembered outside Jewish Christian circles".
The parable of drawing in the net, also known as the parable of the dragnet, is a Christian parable that appears in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 13, verses 47–52. The parable refers to the Last Judgment. This parable is the seventh and last in Matthew 13, which began with the parable of the Sower. It directly follows the Parable of the Pearl, which is about the Kingdom of God. Thus, it links the Kingdom of God with the final judgment—the separation for hell and heaven.
Jesus' teachings referring to little children and infants/babies appear in a few places in the New Testament and in the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas.
Matthew 9:24 is a verse in the ninth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament.
Matthew 8:26 is a verse in the eighth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament.
Matthew 14:27 is a verse in the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament.
Christian pacifism is the theological and ethical position according to which pacifism and non-violence have both a scriptural and rational basis for Christians, and affirms that any form of violence is incompatible with the Christian faith. Christian pacifists state that Jesus himself was a pacifist who taught and practiced pacifism and that his followers must do likewise. Notable Christian pacifists include Martin Luther King Jr., Leo Tolstoy, Adin Ballou, Dorothy Day, Ammon Hennacy, and brothers Daniel and Philip Berrigan.
The exorcism of a boy possessed by a demon, or a boy with a mute spirit, is one of the miracles attributed to Jesus reported in the synoptic Gospels, involving the healing of a demonically possessed boy through exorcism. It is in all Synoptic Gospels: Mark 9:17-29, Matthew 17:14-21, Luke 9:40-44. In the Gospel narratives, this healing takes place following the Transfiguration.
Sell your cloak and buy a sword is an instruction by Jesus to his disciples during the Last Supper which has been interpreted in several ways.
The phrase "violence begets violence" means that violent behaviour promotes other violent behaviour, in return. The phrase has been used since the early 19th century.
War and Peace in Christian Tradition: Why I am an engaged Christian pacifist