Turn the Other Cheek — Matthew 5:39
Quick Answer
The phrase "turn the other cheek" comes from Matthew 5:39, part of the Sermon on the Mount: "But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also."
Matthew 5:39 in Five Translations
But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.— Matthew 5:39 (NIV)
But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.— Matthew 5:39 (ESV)
But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.— Matthew 5:39 (KJV)
But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.— Matthew 5:39 (NLT)
“But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.— Matthew 5:39 (NASB)
Read the full chapter: Matthew 5
The Context: The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 5:39 belongs to a series of contrasts in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus quotes a received teaching and then intensifies it. Each begins "You have heard that it was said… but I tell you."
The received teaching here, quoted in verse 38, is "eye for eye, and tooth for tooth" — the lex talionis of Exodus 21:24. In its original setting that law limited retaliation, capping vengeance at proportional response.
Jesus goes further than limiting retaliation. Verses 40 and 41 extend the pattern: give your cloak as well as your tunic, go two miles when forced to go one. Verse 44 states the principle behind them all — love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
The passage in context (NIV)
38An Eye for an Eye “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’
39But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
What the Verse Means
The detail that Jesus specifies the right cheek is often noted by commentators. A right-handed strike to someone's right cheek is a backhanded blow, which in that culture was an insult delivered to a social inferior rather than a fistfight.
On that reading, offering the other cheek is neither retaliation nor passive submission. It denies the insult its intended effect and confronts the aggressor with the equal standing they tried to deny.
The wider passage frames it as refusing to let hostility set the terms of your response. Romans 12:19 makes the same move by leaving vengeance to God rather than treating it as the injured party's to take.
Related Verses
Matthew 5:38
An Eye for an Eye “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’
The teaching Jesus is responding to — "eye for eye, and tooth for tooth."
Matthew 5:44
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
The principle underneath: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
Romans 12:19
Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.
Paul on leaving vengeance to God.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Bible verse says "turn the other cheek"?
Matthew 5:39, in the Sermon on the Mount. The NIV reads: "But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also." Luke 6:29 records a parallel saying.
Does turning the other cheek mean accepting abuse?
The passage is about personal insult and retaliation, not a instruction to remain in danger. Many commentators note that the specified right cheek indicates a backhanded insult rather than a violent assault, and that offering the other cheek refuses the humiliation rather than inviting further harm. Scripture elsewhere assumes protection of the vulnerable as a duty.
What does "eye for an eye" have to do with it?
Verse 38 quotes it directly. "Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth" comes from Exodus 21:24, where it functioned as a limit on retaliation rather than a licence for it. Jesus takes that limiting principle further, moving from capping revenge to declining it.
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