"Live by the sword, die by the sword" is a proverb in the form of a parallel phrase, derived from the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 26, 26:52): "Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword."
The Arrest of Christ (c. 1500) by the Master of the Evora Altarpiece, showing Jesus intervening after one of the disciples cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest Caiaphas
The phrase comes from Matthew 26:52, in which one of Jesus's disciples is described as having struck the servant of the High Priest of Israel and cut off his ear.[1] Jesus is described as having rebuked him, saying:[2]
"Put your sword back in its place", Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword".
The saying "all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword" is only found in the Gospel of Matthew and not in any of the other gospels.[2] The Latin version refers to the weapon as a gladius, while the Greek version refers to it as a makhaira.
Interpretations
According to St. John Chrysostom, when Jesus rebuked the unnamed disciple, it was a lesson that "The disciples might accept meekly whatever befell him when they had learned that this also is occurring according to God’s will". Thus, contrary to the common proverbial understanding, St. John Chrysostom explains where there is God's will (not the will of men) there is no need to react in passion.[5]
The saying is sometimes interpreted to mean "those who live by violence will die by violence",[6] which some have interpreted as a call for Christian pacifism[7] or even complete nonviolence, including in self-defense.
In modern times, the saying may also be applied to those who knowingly engage in dangerous activities as part of their occupations or for entertainment purposes, but accept the risk of serious injury or death from those activities.
History
A very similar line can be found in the Agamemnon, the first play of the Oresteia trilogy by the ancient Greek tragedian and playwright Aeschylus.[8][9][10] The line, spoken by Queen Clytemnestra of Mycenae after she murders her husband King Agamemnon in an act of vengeance, is rendered in the original Greek and translated to English (with varying levels of similarity to the original) as:
"[...] he has paid for just that deed, felled in death by the sword."[13]
The line differs across translators and is variously understood as "live by the sword, die by the sword" or "an eye for an eye", emphasizing the irony or appropriateness of the means by which he was killed. The play, first performed in 458 BCE, predates the similar concept espoused in the Gospel of Matthew, and remains popular to this day with regular performances [14][15] and readings.[16][17]
The song “Live By The Sword” off of hyperpop artist Dorian Electra’s 2019 studio album, Flamboyant, is both named after the saying, and uses the saying in its hook.
^"Latin Vulgate Bible with Douay-Rheims and King James Version Side-by-Side+Complete Sayings of Jesus Christ". Latinvulgate.com. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
^Simonetti, Manlio; Oden, Thomas C. (2014-02-19). Matthew 14-28. InterVarsity Press. ISBN978-0-8308-9742-1.
^"Those who live by the sword die by the sword - Idiom Definition". UsingEnglish.com. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
^John David Geib (2007). Gail M. Presbey (ed.). Philosophical Perspectives on the 'War on Terrorism'. p. 401. ISBN978-9042021969. War and Peace in Christian Tradition: Why I am an engaged Christian pacifist
Senior, Donald (1985), The Passion of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, ISBN0-8146-5460-6
January 09, 2023
live, sword, sword, this, article, uses, bare, urls, which, uninformative, vulnerable, link, please, consider, converting, them, full, citations, ensure, article, remains, verifiable, maintains, consistent, citation, style, several, templates, tools, available. This article uses bare URLs which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting such as Reflinks documentation reFill documentation and Citation bot documentation August 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Live by the sword die by the sword is a proverb in the form of a parallel phrase derived from the Gospel of Matthew Matthew 26 26 52 Then said Jesus unto him Put up again thy sword into his place for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword The Arrest of Christ c 1500 by the Master of the Evora Altarpiece showing Jesus intervening after one of the disciples cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest Caiaphas Contents 1 Original Biblical quotation 2 Interpretations 3 History 4 References in popular culture 5 See also 6 References 6 1 BibliographyOriginal Biblical quotation EditThe phrase comes from Matthew 26 52 in which one of Jesus s disciples is described as having struck the servant of the High Priest of Israel and cut off his ear 1 Jesus is described as having rebuked him saying 2 Version TextOriginal Greek New Testament tote legei aὐtῶ ὁ ἰhsoῦs ἀpostrepson tὴn maxairan soy eἰs tὸn topon aὐtῆs pantes gὰr oἱ labontes maxairan ἐn maxairῃ ἀpoloῦntai 3 Latin Vulgate Tunc ait illi Jesus Converte gladium tuum in locum suum omnes enim qui acceperint gladium gladio peribunt 4 King James Version KJV Then said Jesus unto him Put up again thy sword into his place for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword New Revised Standard Version NRSV Then Jesus said to him Put your sword back into its place for all who take the sword will perish by the sword New International Version NIV Put your sword back in its place Jesus said to him for all who draw the sword will die by the sword The saying all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword is only found in the Gospel of Matthew and not in any of the other gospels 2 The Latin version refers to the weapon as a gladius while the Greek version refers to it as a makhaira Interpretations EditAccording to St John Chrysostom when Jesus rebuked the unnamed disciple it was a lesson that The disciples might accept meekly whatever befell him when they had learned that this also is occurring according to God s will Thus contrary to the common proverbial understanding St John Chrysostom explains where there is God s will not the will of men there is no need to react in passion 5 The saying is sometimes interpreted to mean those who live by violence will die by violence 6 which some have interpreted as a call for Christian pacifism 7 or even complete nonviolence including in self defense In modern times the saying may also be applied to those who knowingly engage in dangerous activities as part of their occupations or for entertainment purposes but accept the risk of serious injury or death from those activities History EditA very similar line can be found in the Agamemnon the first play of the Oresteia trilogy by the ancient Greek tragedian and playwright Aeschylus 8 9 10 The line spoken by Queen Clytemnestra of Mycenae after she murders her husband King Agamemnon in an act of vengeance is rendered in the original Greek and translated to English with varying levels of similarity to the original as Version TextOriginal Greek Agamemnon l 1529 3ifodhlhtῳ 8anatῳ tisas ᾇper ἦrxen 9 11 Trans by R C Trevelyan As he sinned by the sword So is death by the sword his atonement 9 Trans by Dr Timothy Chappell The Open University He killed her by falsehoods by falsehoods he dies as well 12 Trans by Robert Fagles Princeton University By the sword you did your work and by the sword you die 8 Trans by Christopher Collard The Queen s College Oxford he has paid for just that deed felled in death by the sword 13 The line differs across translators and is variously understood as live by the sword die by the sword or an eye for an eye emphasizing the irony or appropriateness of the means by which he was killed The play first performed in 458 BCE predates the similar concept espoused in the Gospel of Matthew and remains popular to this day with regular performances 14 15 and readings 16 17 References in popular culture Edit Live by the bomb die by the bomb at the White House Peace Vigil started by Thomas in 1981 The song Live By The Sword off of hyperpop artist Dorian Electra s 2019 studio album Flamboyant is both named after the saying and uses the saying in its hook The saying is paraphrased in the slogan live by the bomb die by the bomb used in the White House Peace Vigil protest In the second verse of Geto Boys song Mind Playing Tricks on Me the idiom is used to describe the violent life the protagonist leads See also Edit Look up live by the sword die by the sword in Wiktionary the free dictionary Violence begets violenceReferences Edit Senior 1985 pp 85 86 a b Senior 1985 p 86 Kata Mat8aion Biki8hkh el wikisource org Latin Vulgate Bible with Douay Rheims and King James Version Side by Side Complete Sayings of Jesus Christ Latinvulgate com Retrieved 2017 01 15 Simonetti Manlio Oden Thomas C 2014 02 19 Matthew 14 28 InterVarsity Press ISBN 978 0 8308 9742 1 Those who live by the sword die by the sword Idiom Definition UsingEnglish com Retrieved 2017 01 15 John David Geib 2007 Gail M Presbey ed Philosophical Perspectives on the War on Terrorism p 401 ISBN 978 9042021969 War and Peace in Christian Tradition Why I am an engaged Christian pacifist a b Fagles Robert 1984 The Oresteia Penguin Books ISBN 9780140443332 a b c Aeschylus 1920 The Agamemnon Translated by Trevelyan R C p 63 ISBN 978 1290827652 Retrieved 2017 07 26 Hughes Ted 2000 The Oresteia of Aeschylus A New Translation by Ted Hughes Farrar Straus and Giroux ISBN 9780374527051 Aeschylus 1926 Aeschylus in Two Volumes PDF Vol II Translated by Smyth Herbert Weir p 134 ISBN 978 0674991613 Archived from the original PDF on 2020 10 16 Retrieved 2020 10 16 The Definitive Agamemnon Translated by Chappell Timothy Archived from the original on 2021 01 22 Retrieved 2021 01 22 Aeschylus 2002 Oresteia Translated by Collard Christopher Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 953781 5 Agamemnon The Cambridge Greek Play www cambridgegreekplay com https events ku edu tr detail php i 9120 Agamemnon Oresteia 1 www goodreads com Aeschylus Amazon Bibliography Edit Senior Donald 1985 The Passion of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew Collegeville Minnesota Liturgical Press ISBN 0 8146 5460 6 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Live by the sword die by the sword amp oldid 1120567102, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
