4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness 8 to be tempted by the devil.
5:3 “Blessed 11 are the poor in spirit, 12 for the kingdom of heaven belongs 13 to them.
1 tn Heb “if hearing, you will hear.” The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute to emphasize the verbal idea. The translation renders this emphasis with the word “close.”
2 tn Again, the Hebrew term אָהַב (’ahav) draws attention to the reciprocation of divine love as a condition or sign of covenant loyalty (cf. Deut 6:5).
3 tn Heb “heart and soul” or “heart and being.” See note on the word “being” in Deut 6:5.
4 tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
5 tn Grk “You will love.” The future indicative is used here with imperatival force (see ExSyn 452 and 569).
6 sn A quotation from Deut 6:5. The threefold reference to different parts of the person says, in effect, that one should love God with all one’s being.
7 tn Grk “glory.”
8 tn Or “desert.”
9 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
10 tn Grk “And opening his mouth he taught them, saying.” The imperfect verb ἐδίδασκεν (edidasken) has been translated ingressively.
11 sn The term Blessed introduces the first of several beatitudes promising blessing to those whom God cares for. They serve as an invitation to come into the grace God offers.
12 sn The poor in spirit is a reference to the “pious poor” for whom God especially cares. See Ps 14:6; 22:24; 25:16; 34:6; 40:17; 69:29.
13 sn The present tense (belongs) here is significant. Jesus makes the kingdom and its blessings currently available. This phrase is unlike the others in the list with the possessive pronoun being emphasized.