<P> Striking on the right cheek refers to a back - handed slap to the face . In Jesus' time, and still today in the Middle East, such a gesture is one of the highest forms of contempt . According to France, the gesture is a grave insult, not a physical attack, further distancing this verse from one espousing non-violence . Schweizer notes that this might be a reference to Isaiah 50: 6, and that this verse might thus be referencing the cheek slap specifically as something used on blasphemers . Jesus' followers might have been subject to these affronts by those who saw them as heretics . </P> <P> This verse, as with Matthew 5: 37, is vague on evil . It could be interpreted as a reference to the Evil One, i.e. Satan, the general evil of the world, as translated by the KJV, or the evil of specific individuals, as is translated by the WEB . The third interpretation is the one held by most modern scholars . </P> <P> This verse is partially paralleled in Luke 6: 9 . </P>

What does it say in the bible about turning the other cheek