King James Bible
"But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!"
The 'evil eye' in Jewish thought referred to stinginess or greed, contrasting with the 'good eye' of generosity in the previous verse. Jesus uses this physical metaphor to describe a spiritual condition where one's perspective is corrupted by materialism. A diseased eye prevents light from entering, leaving the entire body in darkness. Similarly, when greed clouds spiritual vision, it affects one's entire being—thoughts, actions, and relationships become dominated by this spiritual blindness. This paradox emphasizes the tragedy of self-deception: when what should illuminate (one's spiritual perception) becomes darkness itself, the condition is far worse than simple ignorance. Jesus warns that corrupted spiritual insight leads to profound moral blindness.