These two verses are similar to 5.29-30; therefore, only a few additional comments need be made: (1) The body parts differ. In 5.29-30 the arrangement is “right eye … right hand”; here it is your hand or your foot … eye. (2) The place of final punishment is described in slightly different terms. In 5.29-30 it is “hell” as opposed to eternal fire … hell of fire of the present passage. (3) The expression enter life, absent from the earlier passage, is used twice here.

The expression enter life is difficult, because for many readers it will mean simply “enter into this life,” that is, “be born.” The reference is to eternal life, and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “to live with God” (verse 8) and “to live eternally” (verse 9). INCL translates both times as “to live with God.” “To receive real life” or “to have the life that doesn’t end” are also good. Traduction œcuménique de la Bible provides a footnote, indicating that the meaning is eternal life, and at the same time noting that the word “life” is used in the same sense as in 7.14; 19.16, 29; 25.46.

The majority of translators and commentators understand both eternal fire and hell of fire as references to the place of final destruction. Phillips, however, wrongly distinguishes between the two: “the everlasting fire … the fire of the rubbish-heap.” One way to avoid a false distinction is to render eternal fire by “hell, where the fire doesn’t go out (or, burns forever)” and hell of fire as “the fire of hell” or “hell, where the fire is.” For more comments on the terms hell and “Gehenna,” see also 5.22, 29.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .