SEV Biblia, Chapter 5:40
y al que quisiere ponerte a pleito y tomarte tu ropa, djale tambin la capa;
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Matthew 5:40
Verse 40. And if any man will sue thee at the law] Every where our blessed Lord shows the utmost disapprobation of such litigations as tended to destroy brotherly kindness and charity. It is evident he would have his followers to suffer rather the loss of all their property than to have recourse to such modes of redress, at so great a risk. Having the mind averse from contentions, and preferring peace and concord to temporal advantages, is most solemnly recommended to all Christians. We are great gainers when we lose only our money, or other property, and risk not the loss of our souls, by losing the love of God and man. Coat] citwna, upper garment.-Cloke, imation, under garment. What we call strait coat, and great coat.-See on Luke vi. 29.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 40. And if any man will sue thee at the law , etc.] Or will contend with thee, or as the Syriac renders it, m[ wdnd , will strive, or litigate with thee; not contest the matter, or try the cause in an open court of judicature, a sense our version inclines to; but will wrangle and quarrel in a private way, in order to take away thy coat , by force and violence, let him have thy cloak also ; do not forbid, or hinder him from taking it; (see Luke 6:29). The coat, is the same with tylj , the upper garment: and what we render a cloak, answers to qwlj , the inward garment; by which words Sangari expresses the passage in the place before cited: and the sense is, if a wrangling, quarrelsome man, insists upon having thy coat, or upper garment, let him take the next; and rather suffer thyself to be stripped naked than engage in a litigious broil with him. This also is contrary to the above canon of the Jews f347 , which says; If a man should pull another by his ear, or pluck off his hair, or spit, and his spittle should come to him, wnmm wtylj ryb[h or should take his coat from him, or uncover a womans head in the street, he shall pay four hundred zuzim, and all this is according to his dignity; says R. Akiba; even the poor in Israel, they consider them as if they were noblemen, who are fallen from their estates, for they are the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 38-42 - The plain instruction is, Suffer any injury that can be borne, for the sake of peace, committing your concerns to the Lord's keeping. And the sum of all is, that Christians must avoid disputing and striving. I any say, Flesh and blood cannot pass by such an affront, let the remember, that flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God and those who act upon right principles will have most peace an comfort.
Greek Textus Receptus
και 2532 CONJ τω 3588 T-DSM θελοντι 2309 5723 V-PAP-DSM σοι 4671 P-2DS κριθηναι 2919 5683 V-APN και 2532 CONJ τον 3588 T-ASM χιτωνα 5509 N-ASM σου 4675 P-2GS λαβειν 2983 5629 V-2AAN αφες 863 5628 V-2AAM-2S αυτω 846 P-DSM και 2532 CONJ το 3588 T-ASN ιματιον 2440 N-ASN
Vincent's NT Word Studies
40. Coat, cloke (citwna, iJuation). The former, the shirt-like under-garment or tunic; the latter, the mantle, or ampler over-garment, which served as a covering for the night, and therefore was forbidden by the Levitical law to be retained in pledge over night (Exod. xxii. 26, 27). To yield up this without resistance therefore implies a higher degree of concession.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
5:40 {Thy coat ... thy cloke also} (ton citwna sou kai to himation). The "coat" is really a sort of shirt or undergarment and would be demanded at law. A robber would seize first the outer garment or cloke (one coat). If one loses the undergarment at law, the outer one goes also (the more valuable one).
