Matthew 7:6
New International Version
“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

New Living Translation
“Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.

English Standard Version
“Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

Berean Standard Bible
Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

Berean Literal Bible
Do not give that which is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before the pigs, lest they shall trample upon them with their feet, and having turned, tear you to pieces.

King James Bible
Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

New King James Version
“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

New American Standard Bible
“Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

NASB 1995
“Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

NASB 1977
“Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Legacy Standard Bible
“Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Amplified Bible
“Do not give that which is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, for they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Christian Standard Bible
Don’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Don’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them with their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces.

American Standard Version
Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before the swine, lest haply they trample them under their feet, and turn and rend you.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Do not give a sacrifice to dogs; neither throw your pearls before wild boars, lest they trample them with their feet, and return to run you through.

Contemporary English Version
Don't give to dogs what belongs to God. They will only turn and attack you. Don't throw pearls down in front of pigs. They will trample all over them.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Give not that which is holy to dogs; neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turning upon you, they tear you.

English Revised Version
Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before the swine, lest haply they trample them under their feet, and turn and rend you.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Don't give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls to pigs. Otherwise, they will trample them and then tear you to pieces.

Good News Translation
"Do not give what is holy to dogs--they will only turn and attack you. Do not throw your pearls in front of pigs--they will only trample them underfoot.

International Standard Version
"Never give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs. Otherwise, they will trample them with their feet and then turn around and attack you."

Literal Standard Version
You may not give that which is [holy] to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before the pigs, that they may not trample them among their feet, and having turned—may tear you apart.

Majority Standard Bible
Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

New American Bible
“Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.

NET Bible
Do not give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs; otherwise they will trample them under their feet and turn around and tear you to pieces.

New Revised Standard Version
“Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.

New Heart English Bible
"Do not give that which is holy to the dogs, neither throw your pearls before the pigs, or they will trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces.

Webster's Bible Translation
Give not that which is holy to dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

Weymouth New Testament
"Give not that which is holy to the dogs, nor throw your pearls to the swine; otherwise they will trample them under their feet and then turn and attack you.

World English Bible
“Don’t give that which is holy to the dogs, neither throw your pearls before the pigs, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Young's Literal Translation
Ye may not give that which is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before the swine, that they may not trample them among their feet, and having turned -- may rend you.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Do Not Judge
5You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. 6Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces. 7Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.…

Cross References
Proverbs 9:8
Do not rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.

Proverbs 23:9
Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.

Proverbs 26:4
Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be like him.

Matthew 7:5
You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

Matthew 15:26
But Jesus replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs."

Revelation 22:15
But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.


Treasury of Scripture

Give not that which is holy to the dogs, neither cast you your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

that.

Matthew 10:14,15
And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet…

Matthew 15:26
But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.

Proverbs 9:7,8
He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot…

cast.

Proverbs 11:22
As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion.

turn.

Matthew 22:5,6
But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: …

Matthew 24:10
And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

2 Corinthians 11:26
In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;

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Attack Cast Crushed Dogs Fear Feet Foot Haply Holy Jewels Otherwise Pearls Perhaps Pieces Pigs Rend Round Sacred Swine Tear Throw Trample Turn Turning
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Attack Cast Crushed Dogs Fear Feet Foot Haply Holy Jewels Otherwise Pearls Perhaps Pieces Pigs Rend Round Sacred Swine Tear Throw Trample Turn Turning
Matthew 7
1. Do Not Judge
7. Ask, Seek, Knock
13. Enter through the Narrow Gate
15. A Tree and Its Fruit
24. The Wise and the Foolish Builders
28. Jesus ends his sermon, and the people are astonished.














(6) That which is holy.--The words point to the flesh which has been offered for sacrifice, the "holy thing" of Leviticus 22:6-7; Leviticus 22:10; Leviticus 22:16, of which no un clean person or stranger, and a fortiori no unclean beast, was to eat. To give that holy flesh to dogs would have seemed to the devout Israelite the greatest of all profanations. Our Lord teaches us that there is a like risk of desecration in dealing with the yet holier treasure of divine truth. Another aspect of the same warning is brought out in the second clause. The fashion of the time had made pearls the costliest of all jewels, as in the parable of Matthew 13:45 (comp. also 1Timothy 2:9), and so they too became symbols of the preciousness of truth. The "dogs" and the "swine," in their turn, represent distinct forms of evil, the former being here, as in Philippians 3:2, Revelation 22:15, the type of impurity, the latter (as in Psalm 80:13) of ferocity. The second comparison may possibly imply, as in a condensed fable, the disappointment and consequent rage of the swine at finding that what they took for grain was only pearls. We are to beware lest we so present the truth, either in direct teaching or by an undiscerning disclosure of the deeper religious emotions of the soul, to men, that we make them worse and not better than before. . . . Verse 6. - Matthew only. Give not that which is holy, etc. While you are not to be censorious towards brethren (vers. 1-5), you must recognize the great and fundamental differences that there are between men. You must not treat those who are mere dogs and swine as if they were able to appreciate either the holiness or the beauty and wealth of spiritual truth. Give Observe that "give," "cast," are naturally used of feeding dogs and swine respectively. That which is holy (τὸ ἅγιον). The metaphor is taken from the law that the things offered in sacrifice were no longer to be treated as common food (Leviticus 22:1-16, especially ver. 14, τὸ ἅγιον). Unto the dogs. The scavengers of Eastern cities, which by nature and habit love and greedily devour the most unholy of things (cf. Exodus 22:31). Neither cast ye your pearls, Pearls. Only here and Matthew 13:45, 46 in the Gospels. In form not so very unlike swine's food of beans or nuts, they here represent the beauty and precious wealth of the various parts of the Gospel, in which Christ's disciples are accustomed to delight (ὑμῶν). Ignatius ('Ephesians,' § 11) calls his bonds his "spiritual pearls." Before swine; before the swine (Revised Version). Probably in both cases the article is used with the object of bringing the particular dogs and swine to whom these are given more vividly before us. Swine. Which have no care for such things, but rather wallow in filth (2 Peter 2:22). Dogs... swine. The terms seem to so far indicate different classes of men, or more truly different characters in men, as that the one term points to the greedy participation of the wicked in open profanation, the ether to the sottish indifference of sinners to that which is most attractive. Lest they; i.e. the swine. Dogs, even though wild in the East, would not "tread down" the food. Trample them under their feet (Matthew 5:13). In ignorance of their real worth and in disappointment that they do not afford them satisfaction (For the future, καταπατήσουσιν, cf. Matthew 5:25, note.) It here expresses the greater certainty of the trampling than of the rending (aorist subjective). And turn again - Revised Version omits "again" - and rend you. In rage at the disappointment experienced. The clause expresses the personal enmity which those who wilfully reject the gospel often feel towards those that have offered it to them. It might be thought difficult to carry out this command, as it is evident that we cannot know beforehand who will accept the gospel or not. But in cases where the character of the person is not known (e.g. as when St. Paul preached at Athens, etc.), the command does not apply. Our Lord supposes the case where the character is apparent (cf. 1 Timothy 5:24). Theodoret (vide Resch, 'Agrapha,' pp. 103, 168), in quoting this verse, adds, "My mysteries are tot me and mine," which, clearly an adaptation of Symmachus and Theodotion's rendering of Isaiah 24:16, רזי לי (cf. also Targ. Jon.), seems to have become almost an authorized, and certainly a true, interpretation of our verse.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
{Do} not
Μὴ (Mē)
Adverb
Strong's 3361: Not, lest. A primary particle of qualified negation; not, lest; also (whereas ou expects an affirmative one) whether.

give
δῶτε (dōte)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 1325: To offer, give; I put, place. A prolonged form of a primary verb; to give.

dogs
κυσίν (kysin)
Noun - Dative Masculine Plural
Strong's 2965: A dog, universally despised in the East. A primary word; a dog.

what is
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.

holy;
ἅγιον (hagion)
Adjective - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 40: Set apart by (or for) God, holy, sacred. From hagos; sacred.

{do} not
μηδὲ (mēde)
Conjunction
Strong's 3366: And not, not even, neither�nor. From me and de; but not, not even; in a continued negation, nor.

throw
βάλητε (balēte)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 906: (a) I cast, throw, rush, (b) often, in the weaker sense: I place, put, drop. A primary verb; to throw.

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

pearls
μαργαρίτας (margaritas)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3135: A pearl. From margaros; a pearl.

before
ἔμπροσθεν (emprosthen)
Preposition
Strong's 1715: From en and pros; in front of (literally or figuratively) or time).

swine.
χοίρων (choirōn)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Plural
Strong's 5519: A swine, hog, sow. Of uncertain derivation; a hog.

If you do,
ποτε (pote)
Conjunction
Strong's 4219: When, at what time. From the base of pou and te; interrogative adverb, at what time.

they may trample
καταπατήσουσιν (katapatēsousin)
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 2662: From kata and pateo; to trample down; figuratively, to reject with disdain.

them
αὐτοὺς (autous)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

under
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

their
αὐτῶν (autōn)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

feet,
ποσὶν (posin)
Noun - Dative Masculine Plural
Strong's 4228: The foot. A primary word; a 'foot'.

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

then turn [and]
στραφέντες (straphentes)
Verb - Aorist Participle Passive - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 4762: Strengthened from the base of trope; to twist, i.e. Turn quite around or reverse.

tear you to pieces.
ῥήξωσιν (rhēxōsin)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 4486: To rend, break asunder; I break forth (into speech); I throw or dash down.


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NT Gospels: Matthew 7:6 Don't give that which is holy (Matt. Mat Mt)
Matthew 7:5
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