Psalms 18:23-25

18:23 I was innocent before him,

and kept myself from sinning. ¹ 

18:24 The Lord rewarded me for my godly deeds; ² 

he took notice of my blameless behavior. ³ 

18:25 You prove to be loyal ⁴  to one who is faithful; ⁵ 

you prove to be trustworthy ⁶  to one who is innocent. ⁷ 

Matthew 10:42

10:42 And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple, I tell you the truth, ⁸  he will never lose his reward.”

Matthew 25:34-40

25:34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 25:36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 25:37 Then the righteous will answer him, ⁹  ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 25:38 When ¹⁰  did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? 25:39 When ¹¹  did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 25:40 And the king will answer them, ¹²  ‘I tell you the truth, ¹³  just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters ¹⁴  of mine, you did it for me.’

Mark 9:41

9:41 For I tell you the truth, ¹⁵  whoever gives you a cup of water because ¹⁶  you bear Christ’s ¹⁷  name will never lose his reward.

¹ tn Heb “from my sin,” that is, from making it my own in any way.

² tn Heb “according to my righteousness.”

³ tn Heb “according to the purity of my hands before his eyes.” 2 Sam 22:25 reads “according to my purity before his eyes.” The verbal repetition (compare vv. 20 and 24) sets off vv. 20-24 as a distinct sub-unit within the psalm.

⁴ tn The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 25-29 draw attention to God’s characteristic actions. Based on his experience, the psalmist generalizes about God’s just dealings with people (vv. 25-27) and about the way in which God typically empowers him on the battlefield (vv. 28-29). The Hitpael stem is used in vv. 26-27 in a reflexive resultative (or causative) sense. God makes himself loyal, etc. in the sense that he conducts or reveals himself as such. On this use of the Hitpael stem, see GKC 149-50 §54.e.

⁵ tn Or “to a faithful follower.” A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 16:10; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).

⁶ tn Or “innocent.”

⁷ tn Heb “a man of innocence.”

⁸ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

⁹ tn Grk “answer him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

¹⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

¹¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

¹² tn Grk “answering, the king will say to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

¹³ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

¹⁴ 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.

¹⁵ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

¹⁶ tn Grk “in [the] name that of Christ you are.”

¹⁷ tn Or “bear the Messiah’s”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”