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Matthew 5:40 is the fortieth verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. This is the third verse of the antithesis on punishment.

In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:

And if any man will sue thee at the law, and

take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.

The World English Bible translates the passage as:

If anyone sues you to take away your

coat, let him have your cloak also.

The word coat here can also be translated as shirt, and it refers to the basic garment one would wear on one's upper body. The cloak was a more important piece of clothing used both for warmth during the day and as a blanket during the night. In the sometimes quite cold climate of the region, a cloak was a necessity for survival. Jewish law thus states that one's cloak is distrainable, it cannot be lost in a lawsuit or seized to pay debts because of its importance. This rule is laid out in Exodus 22:25-26.

This is often interpreted as an example of the non-resistance Jesus advocated in the previous verse. France, however, disagrees with this view. He sees this verse as far more closely linked to Jesus renunciation of property and the material. If one has faith in God one should not be afraid to lose all materials possessions, for even if it leads to great hardship on Earth, they will be properly rewarded by God.

This verse closely parallels a section in Luke, but with some significant changes. In Luke the situation involves highway robbers who demand the more valuable outer cloak, and in Luke Jesus states that the proper path is to then also offer the robbers your shirt. It may also be linked to a tale about the Greek philosopher Diogenes, who is said to have given robbers his shirt as well when they demanded his cloak.

References

France, R.T. The Gospel According to Matthew: an Introduction and Commentary. Leicester: Inter-Varsity, 1985.
Gundry, Robert H. Matthew a Commentary on his Literary and Theological Art. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982.
Schweizer, Eduard. The Good News According to Matthew. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1975

Gospel of Matthew
Preceded by: Matthew 5:39	Chapter 5	Followed by: Matthew 5:41

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 The word [[coat]] here can also be translated as [[shirt]], and it refers to the basic garment one would wear on one's upper body. The [[cloak]] was a more important piece of clothing used both for warmth during the day and as a [[blanket]] during the night. In the sometimes quite cold climate of the region, a cloak was a necessity for survival. Jewish law thus states that one's cloak is [[distrainable]], it cannot be lost in a lawsuit or seized to pay debts because of its importance. This rule is laid out in [[Exodus 22:25]]-[[Exodus 22:26|26]].
-This is often interpreted as a example of the non-resistance Jesus advocated in the previous verse. France, however, disagrees with this view. He sees this verse as far more closely linked to Jesus renunciation of property and the material. If one has faith in God one should not be afraid to lose all materials possessions, for even if it leads to great hardship on Earth, they will be properly rewarded by God.
+This is often interpreted as an example of the non-resistance Jesus advocated in the previous verse. France, however, disagrees with this view. He sees this verse as far more closely linked to Jesus renunciation of property and the material. If one has faith in God one should not be afraid to lose all materials possessions, for even if it leads to great hardship on Earth, they will be properly rewarded by God.
 This verse closely parallels a section in Luke, but with some significant changes. In Luke the situation involves highway robbers who demand the more valuable outer cloak, and in Luke Jesus states that the proper path is to then also offer the robbers your shirt. It may also be linked to a tale about the Greek philosopher [[Diogenes]], who is said to have given robbers his shirt as well when they demanded his cloak.