Explainer / Torah
Matthew 5:18
For truly I say to you, Until heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall by no means pass away from the Torah, until all things are accomplished.
ἀμὴν γὰρ λέγω ὑμῖν, ἕως ἂν παρέλθῃ ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ, ἰῶτα ἓν ἢ μία κεραία οὐ μὴ παρέλθῃ ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου, ἕως ἂν πάντα γένηται.
Compare with the ASV
For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished.
We kept the ASV's wording, in modern English, and printed "Torah" for νόμος.
Why
νόμος
here is the Mosaic law, as in 5:17, so it is rendered "Torah."
"Jot and tittle."
The ἰῶτα is the smallest Greek letter, standing for the Hebrew yod (י), the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
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The κεραία ("horn") is a tiny stroke that tells one Hebrew letter from another, such as ב from כ. Together they name the smallest written detail. The ASV's "jot" and "tittle" are the traditional English words for them.
οὐ μὴ
with the subjunctive is the strongest form of negation in Greek.
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"Shall by no means pass away" carries it.
Two "until" clauses
The verse has ἕως ἂν twice: "until heaven and earth pass away" and "until all things are accomplished" (πάντα γένηται, "all things come to pass").
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We kept both as the Greek has them.
The same saying
appears in Luke 16:17, which has only the heaven-and-earth clause.