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 - Χιτωνα, upper garment. - Cloke, ἱματιον, under garment. What we call strait coat, and great coat. - See on Luke 6:29 (note).

And if any man will sue thee at the law,.... Or "will contend with thee", or as the Syriac renders it, , "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 "the upper garment": and what we render a "cloak", answers to "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 (i), 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, or "should take his coat from him", or uncover a woman's 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.''

(i) Misn. Bava Kama, c. 8. sect. 6.

Coat, cloke (χιτῶνα, ἱμάτιον)

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 overnight (Exodus 22:26, Exodus 22:27). To yield up this without resistance therefore implies a higher degree of concession.

And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.

5:40 If any man will sue. That is, is about to sue thee.

Take away thy coat. The inner garment, the tunic or shirt.

Cloke. The outer garment, the covering at night. It could not be held by a creditor (Ex 22:26-27). Better to give it up, too, than to engage in litigation. Many a poor soul has realized this when it was too late, and the lawyers had divided his property. Avoid lawsuits.

5:40-41 Where the damage is not great, choose rather to suffer it, though possibly it may on that account be repeated, than to demand an eye for an eye, to enter into a rigorous prosecution of the offender. The meaning of the whole passage seems to be, rather than return evil for evil, when the wrong is purely personal, submit to one bodily wrong after another, give up one part of your goods after another, submit to one instance of compulsion after another. That the words are not literally to be understood, appears from the behaviour of our Lord himself, John 18:22,23.

40. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat-the inner garment; in pledge for a debt (Ex 22:26, 27).

let him have thy cloak also-the outer and more costly garment. This overcoat was not allowed to be retained over night as a pledge from the poor because they used it for a bed covering.

5:38-42 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. If any say, Flesh and blood cannot pass by such an affront, let them remember, that flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God; and those who act upon right principles will have most peace and comfort.