6:21 “Blessed are you who hunger 4 now, for you will be satisfied. 5
“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. 6
6:20 Then 15 he looked up 16 at his disciples and said:
“Blessed 17 are you who are poor, 18 for the kingdom of God belongs 19 to you.
6:22 “Blessed are you when people 20 hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject you as evil 21 on account of the Son of Man!
1 tn Grk “And if not.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated; “succeed” is implied and has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Grk “a messenger.”
3 sn This image is slightly different from the former one about the tower (vv. 28-30). The first part of the illustration (sit down first and determine) deals with preparation. The second part of the illustration (ask for terms of peace) has to do with recognizing who is stronger. This could well suggest thinking about what refusing the “stronger one” (God) might mean, and thus constitutes a warning. Achieving peace with God, the more powerful king, is the point of the illustration.
4 sn You who hunger are people like the poor Jesus has already mentioned. The term has OT roots both in conjunction with the poor (Isa 32:6-7; 58:6-7, 9-10; Ezek 18:7, 16) or by itself (Ps 37:16-19; 107:9).
5 sn The promise you will be satisfied is the first of several “reversals” noted in these promises. The beatitudes and the reversals that accompany them serve in the sermon as an invitation to enter into God’s care, because one can know God cares for those who turn to him.
6 sn You will laugh alludes to the joy that comes to God’s people in the salvation to come.
7 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the concluding point of the story.
8 tn Grk “man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females.
9 sn The point of the story is that to fail to respond is to risk a worse fate than when one started.
10 tn Grk “whoever.”
13 sn This repentance has its roots in declarations of the Old Testament. It is the Hebrew concept of a turning of direction.
14 tn Or “preached,” “announced.”
15 sn To all nations. The same Greek term (τὰ ἔθνη, ta eqnh) may be translated “the Gentiles” or “the nations.” The hope of God in Christ was for all the nations from the beginning.
16 sn Beginning from Jerusalem. See Acts 2, which is where it all starts.
16 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
17 tn Grk “lifting up his eyes” (an idiom). The participle ἐπάρας (epara") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
18 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.
19 sn You who are poor 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.
20 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. Jesus was saying, in effect, “the kingdom belongs even now to people like you.”
19 tn This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females.
20 tn Or “disdain you”; Grk “cast out your name as evil.” The word “name” is used here as a figure of speech to refer to the person as a whole.