Luke 6:20

6:20 Then ¹  he looked up ²  at his disciples and said:

“Blessed ³  are you who are poor, ⁴  for the kingdom of God belongs ⁵  to you.

Luke 7:22

7:22 So ⁶  he answered them, ⁷  “Go tell ⁸  John what you have seen and heard: ⁹  The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the ¹⁰  deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news proclaimed to them.

Isaiah 29:19

29:19 The downtrodden will again rejoice in the Lord;

the poor among humankind will take delight ¹¹  in the Holy One of Israel. ¹² 

Zephaniah 3:12

3:12 I will leave in your midst a humble and meek group of people, ¹³ 

and they will find safety in the Lord’s presence. ¹⁴ 

Zechariah 11:11

11:11 So it was annulled that very day, and then the most afflicted of the flock who kept faith with me knew that that was the word of the Lord.

Matthew 5:3

5:3 “Blessed ¹⁵  are the poor in spirit, ¹⁶  for the kingdom of heaven belongs ¹⁷  to them.

Matthew 11:5

11:5 The blind see, the ¹⁸  lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them.

James 2:5

2:5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! ¹⁹  Did not God choose the poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

² 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.

³ 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.

⁴ 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.

⁵ 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.”

⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the relationship to Jesus’ miraculous cures in the preceding sentence.

⁷ tn Grk “answering, he said to them.” This is redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation to “he answered them.”

⁸ sn The same verb has been translated “inform” in 7:18.

⁹ sn What you have seen and heard. The following activities all paraphrase various OT descriptions of the time of promised salvation: Isa 35:5-6; 26:19; 29:18-19; 61:1. Jesus is answering not by acknowledging a title, but by pointing to the nature of his works, thus indicating the nature of the time.

¹⁰ tn Grk “and the,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

¹¹ tn Or “will rejoice” (NIV, NCV, NLT).

¹² sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

¹³ tn Heb “needy and poor people.” The terms often refer to a socioeconomic group, but here they may refer to those who are humble in a spiritual sense.

¹⁴ tn Heb “and they will take refuge in the name of the Lord.”

¹⁵ 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.

¹⁶ 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.

¹⁷ 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.

¹⁸ tn Grk “and the,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more. Two other conjunctions are omitted in this series.

¹⁹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.