Matthew 5:13
King James Version
28 Jul 2026
“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.”
ἅλας
Salt in Jesus's time preserved food from decay and gave it flavor — here it represents the preserving, life-giving influence his followers are meant to have in the world, an influence that can be lost if they blend in rather than stand out.
γῆ
Earth
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γῆ
In this verse, "earth" refers to the whole world and everyone living in it — the full scope of humanity that followers of Jesus are called to influence and preserve.
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φῶς
Light
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φῶς
Wait — "Light" does not appear in Matthew 5:13. That verse is about salt only. The word "light" appears in Matthew 5:14-16. Please check the verse reference and resubmit.
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ἐάν
if
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ἐάν
There's an open question hanging in the air — the possibility that salt could fail at its one job raises a warning worth sitting with.
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μωραίνω
shall become tasteless,
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μωραίνω
When your faith loses its edge and blends into the culture around you, it becomes as useless as seasoning that no longer seasons anything.
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τίς
what
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τίς
If salt loses what makes it salt, the question isn't rhetorical — it's a mirror held up to anything that has abandoned its essential purpose.
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οὐδείς
no thing
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οὐδείς
Salt that has lost its purpose becomes completely worthless — not partially useful, not salvageable, but zero value, fit only to be thrown out and walked on.
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ἰσχύω
it is useful
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ἰσχύω
Salt without its saltiness has no strength left to do what salt is meant to do — and neither do we when we've drifted from the source of our purpose.
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ἔτι
any longer
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ἔτι
Once salt has lost what makes it salt, there is no getting that quality back — the window has closed, and what remains serves no purpose worth having.
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εἰ
only
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εἰ
The whole warning rests on a condition — salt losing its purpose is not inevitable, but it becomes worthless the moment it does.
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καταπατέω
is to be trampled upon
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καταπατέω
Salt that has lost its purpose gets walked over — a picture of how influence, once squandered, invites not just uselessness but outright contempt.
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