Genesis 27:29

27:29 May peoples serve you

and nations bow down to you.

You will be ¹  lord ²  over your brothers,

and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. ³ 

May those who curse you be cursed,

and those who bless you be blessed.”

Exodus 23:22

23:22 But if you diligently obey him ⁴  and do all that I command, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will be an adversary to your adversaries.

Numbers 24:9

24:9 They crouch and lie down like a lion,

and as a lioness, ⁵  who can stir him?

Blessed is the one who blesses you,

and cursed is the one who curses you!’”

Matthew 25:40

25:40 And the king will answer them, ⁶  ‘I tell you the truth, ⁷  just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters ⁸  of mine, you did it for me.’

Matthew 25:45

25:45 Then he will answer them, ⁹  ‘I tell you the truth, ¹⁰  just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.’

¹ tn Heb “and be.” The verb is an imperative, which is used rhetorically in this oracle of blessing. It is an invitation to exercise authority his brothers and indicates that he is granted such authority by the patriarch of the family. Furthermore, the blessing enables the recipient to accomplish this.

² tn The Hebrew word is גְבִיר (gevir, “lord, mighty one”). The one being blessed will be stronger and therefore more powerful than his brother. See Gen 25:23. The feminine form of this rare noun means “mistress” or “queen-mother.”

³ tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (which is either an imperfect or a jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

⁴ tn The infinitive absolute here does not add as great an emphasis as normal, but emphasizes the condition that is being set forth (see GKC 342-43 §113.o).

⁵ tn On the usage of this word see HALOT 517 s.v. לָבִיא.

⁶ tn Grk “answering, the king will say to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

⁷ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

⁸ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). In this context Jesus is ultimately speaking of his “followers” (whether men or women, adults or children), but the familial connotation of “brothers and sisters” is also important to retain here.

⁹ tn Grk “answer them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

¹⁰ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”