22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
23 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 phrase "if thine eye be evil" stuck out to me, and I started where I usually start when studying out a phrase in the Bible; I looked at all the verses I could find with a similar phrase. (Hint: the meaning of the phrase is directly related to the context of the verses before and after Vv. 22 and 23).
Once again, the Bible really defines itself!
Here are some verses for you to look at (click on the verses to open the links):
- Proverbs 23:1-8 (evil eye of the king with his dainties)
- Proverbs 28:22 (someone with an "evil eye" hasteth to be rich) (compare to the “bountiful eye” in Proverbs 22:9)
- Mark 7:22 (an "evil eye" is something that comes out of the heart of a man)
- Deuteronomy 15:7-11 (One whose eye is evil chooses not to help his poor brethren)
- Deuteronomy 28:54-56 (evil eye of the tender man/delicate woman…)