MATTHEW—NOTE ON Matthew 18:6 drowned in the depth of the sea... foot causes you to sin, cut it off... eye causes you to sin, tear it out. Jesus uses deliberate overstatements to emphasize the necessity of self-discipline to remove sin from one’s life before the sin leads to judgment; see note on 5:29–30. The Greek word for hell in Matthew 18:9 is derived from the Valley of the Son of Hinnom near Jerusalem (2 Kings 23:10). This valley was associated with fire in the OT (Isaiah 30:33; Jeremiah 7:31), so it came to be seen as symbolic of hell.

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