21“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’
Though some commentators understand Jesus to be referring to the oral tradition of the scribes and Pharisees,1 the people of long ago is most likely the people of Israel as they were gathered at the foot of Mount Sinai (Exodus 19—Numbers 10).2
21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’