Lexicon

{Do} not

Μὴ

(Mē)

Adverb



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



To offer, give; I put, place. A prolonged form of a primary verb; to give.

dogs

κυσίν

(kysin)

Noun - Dative Masculine Plural



A dog, universally despised in the East. A primary word; a dog.

what is

τὸ

(to)

Article - Accusative Neuter Singular



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



Set apart by (or for) God, holy, sacred. From hagos; sacred.

{do} not

μηδὲ

(mēde)

Conjunction



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



(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



You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

pearls

μαργαρίτας

(margaritas)

Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural



A pearl. From margaros; a pearl.

before

ἔμπροσθεν

(emprosthen)

Preposition



From en and pros; in front of (literally or figuratively) or time).

swine.

χοίρων

(choirōn)

Noun - Genitive Masculine Plural



A swine, hog, sow. Of uncertain derivation; a hog.

If you do,

ποτε

(pote)

Conjunction



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



From kata and pateo; to trample down; figuratively, to reject with disdain.

them

αὐτοὺς

(autous)

Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative Masculine 3rd Person Plural



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



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



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



The foot. A primary word; a 'foot'.

and

καὶ

(kai)

Conjunction



And, even, also, namely.

then turn [and]

στραφέντες

(straphentes)

Verb - Aorist Participle Passive - Nominative Masculine Plural



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



To rend, break asunder; I break forth (into speech); I throw or dash down.

That which is holy.

a fortiori

(6)--The words point to the flesh which has been offered for sacrifice, the "holy thing" of Leviticus 22:6-7 Leviticus 22:16 , of which no un clean person or stranger, andno 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.

We are met by the questions, Are we, then, to class our fellow-men under these heads, and to think of them as dogs and swine? Is not this to forget the previous teaching, and to judge with the harshest judgment? The answer to these questions must be found, we may believe, in thinking of the dogs and swine as representing not men and women as such, but the passions of this kind or that which make them brutish. So long as they identify themselves with those passions, we must deal cautiously and wisely with them. St. Paul did not preach the gospel to the howling mob at Ephesus, or to the "lewd fellows of the baser sort" at Thessalonica, and yet at another time he would have told any member of those crowds that he too had been redeemed, and might claim an inheritance among those who had been sanctified. We need, it might be added, to be on our guard against the brute element in ourselves not less than in others. There, too, we may desecrate the holiest truths by dealing with them in the spirit of irreverence, or passion, or may cynically jest with our own truest and noblest impulses.

Verse 6.

Give not that

which is holy,

Give

That which is holy

τὸ ἅγιον

τὸ ἅγιον

Unto the dogs

Neither

cast ye your pearls,

Pearls.

ὑμῶν

Before swine

before the swine

Swine.

Dogs... swine.

Lest

they;

i.e.

Trample them under their feet

καταπατήσουσιν

And turn again

- and rend you

e.g.

supposes

vide

רזי לי

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- Matthew only.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.Observe that "give," "cast," are naturally used of feeding dogs and swine respectively.). 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,).. The scavengers of Eastern cities, which by nature and habit love and greedily devour the most unholy of things (cf. Exodus 22:31 ).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 (). Ignatius ('Ephesians,' § 11) calls his bonds his "spiritual pearls."(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.Which have no care for such things, but rather wallow in filth ( 2 Peter 2:22 ).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.the swine. Dogs, even though wild in the East, would not "tread down" the food. Matthew 5:13 ). In ignorance of their real worth and in disappointment that they do not afford them satisfaction (For the future,, cf. Matthew 5:25 , note.) It here expresses the greater certainty of the trampling than of the rending (aorist subjective).- Revised Version omits "again". 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 (as when St. Paul preached at Athens, etc.), the command does not apply. Our Lordthe case where the character is apparent (cf. 1 Timothy 5:24 ). Theodoret (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 (cf. also Targ. Jon.), seems to have become almost an authorized, and certainly a true, interpretation of our verse.Alphabetical: and before Do dogs feet give holy If is may not or pearls pieces pigs sacred swine tear their them then they throw to trample turn under what will you your