Genesis 15:1

The Cutting of the Covenant

15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield ¹  and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” ² 

Ruth 2:12

2:12 May the Lord reward your efforts! ³  May your acts of kindness be repaid fully ⁴  by the Lord God of Israel, from whom you have sought protection!” ⁵ 

Psalms 19:11

19:11 Yes, your servant finds moral guidance there; ⁶ 

those who obey them receive a rich reward. ⁷ 

Psalms 58:11

58:11 Then ⁸  observers ⁹  will say,

“Yes indeed, the godly are rewarded! ¹⁰ 

Yes indeed, there is a God who judges ¹¹  in the earth!”

Matthew 5:12

5:12 Rejoice and be glad because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.

Matthew 5:46

5:46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors ¹²  do the same, don’t they?

Matthew 6:1

Pure-hearted Giving

6:1 “Be ¹³  careful not to display your righteousness merely to be seen by people. ¹⁴  Otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven.

Matthew 6:4

6:4 so that your gift may be in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. ¹⁵ 

Matthew 6:6

6:6 But whenever you pray, go into your room, ¹⁶  close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. ¹⁷ 

Matthew 6:18

6:18 so that it will not be obvious to others when you are fasting, but only to your Father who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 10:41-42

10:41 Whoever receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. Whoever ¹⁸  receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 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, ¹⁹  he will never lose his reward.”

Luke 6:35

6:35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back. ²⁰  Then ²¹  your reward will be great, and you will be sons ²²  of the Most High, ²³  because he is kind to ungrateful and evil people. ²⁴ 

Romans 4:4-5

4:4 Now to the one who works, his pay is not credited due to grace but due to obligation. ²⁵  4:5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in the one who declares the ungodly righteous, ²⁶  his faith is credited as righteousness.

Romans 4:1

The Illustration of Justification

4:1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh, ²⁷  has discovered regarding this matter? ²⁸ 

Colossians 3:8

3:8 But now, put off all such things ²⁹  as anger, rage, malice, slander, abusive language from your mouth.

Colossians 3:14

3:14 And to all these ³⁰  virtues ³¹  add ³²  love, which is the perfect bond. ³³ 

Colossians 1:17-18

1:17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together ³⁴  in him.

1:18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn ³⁵  from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. ³⁶ 

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ³⁷  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 3:24

3:24 because you know that you will receive your ³⁸  inheritance ³⁹  from the Lord as the reward. Serve ⁴⁰  the Lord Christ.

Hebrews 6:10

6:10 For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love you have demonstrated for his name, in having served and continuing to serve the saints.

Hebrews 10:35

10:35 So do not throw away your confidence, because it ⁴¹  has great reward.

Hebrews 10:2

10:2 For otherwise would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers would have been purified once for all and so have ⁴²  no further consciousness of sin?

Hebrews 1:8

1:8 but of ⁴³  the Son he says, ⁴⁴ 

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, ⁴⁵ 

and a righteous scepter ⁴⁶  is the scepter of your kingdom.

[15:1]  ¹ sn The noun “shield” recalls the words of Melchizedek in 14:20. If God is the shield, then God will deliver. Abram need not fear reprisals from those he has fought.

[15:1]  ² tn Heb “your reward [in] great abundance.” When the phrase הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ (harbeh mÿod) follows a noun it invariably modifies the noun and carries the nuance “very great” or “in great abundance.” (See its use in Gen 41:49; Deut 3:5; Josh 22:8; 2 Sam 8:8; 12:2; 1 Kgs 4:29; 10:10-11; 2 Chr 14:13; 32:27; Jer 40:12.) Here the noun “reward” is in apposition to “shield” and refers by metonymy to God as the source of the reward. Some translate here “your reward will be very great” (cf. NASB, NRSV), taking the statement as an independent clause and understanding the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a substitute for a finite verb. However, the construction הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ is never used this way elsewhere, where it either modifies a noun (see the texts listed above) or serves as an adverb in relation to a finite verb (see Josh 13:1; 1 Sam 26:21; 2 Sam 12:30; 2 Kgs 21:16; 1 Chr 20:2; Neh 2:2).

[2:12]  ³ tn Heb “repay your work”; KJV, ASV “recompense thy work.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer (note the jussive form in the next clause).

[2:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “may your wages be complete”; NCV “May your wages be paid in full.” The prefixed verbal form is a distinct jussive form, indicating that this is a prayer for blessing.

[2:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “under whose wings you have sought shelter”; NIV, NLT “have come to take refuge.”

[19:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “moreover your servant is warned by them.”

[19:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “in the keeping of them [there is] a great reward.”

[58:11]  ⁸ tn Following the imperfects of v. 10, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive probably indicates a result or consequence of what precedes.

[58:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “man.” The singular is representative here.

[58:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “surely [there] is fruit for the godly.”

[58:11]  ¹¹ tn The plural participle is unusual here if the preceding אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is here a plural of majesty, referring to the one true God. Occasionally the plural of majesty does take a plural attributive (see GKC 428-29 §132.h). It is possible that the final mem (ם) on the participle is enclitic, and that it was later misunderstood as a plural ending. Another option is to translate, “Yes indeed, there are gods who judge in the earth.” In this case, the statement reflects the polytheistic mindset of pagan observers who, despite their theological ignorance, nevertheless recognize divine retribution when they see it.

[5:46]  ¹² sn The tax collectors would bid to collect taxes for the Roman government and then add a surcharge, which they kept. Since tax collectors worked for Rome, they were viewed as traitors to their own people and were not well liked.

[6:1]  ¹³ tc ‡ Several mss (א L Z Θ Ë¹ 33 892 1241 1424 al) have δέ (de, “but, now”) at the beginning of this verse; the reading without δέ is supported by B D W 0250 ˹³ Ï lat. A decision is difficult, but apparently the conjunction was added by later scribes to indicate a transition in the thought-flow of the Sermon on the Mount. NA²⁷ has δέ in brackets, indicating reservations about its authenticity.

[6:1]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “before people in order to be seen by them.”

[6:4]  ¹⁵ tc L W Θ 0250 Ï it read ἐν τῷ φανερῷ (en tw fanerw, “openly”) at the end of this verse, giving a counterweight to what is done in secret. But this reading is suspect because of the obvious literary balance, because of detouring the point of the passage (the focus of vv. 1-4 is not on two kinds of public rewards but on human vs. divine approbation), and because of superior external testimony that lacks this reading (א B D Z Ë^1,13 33 al).

[6:6]  ¹⁶ sn The term translated room refers to the inner room of a house, normally without any windows opening outside, the most private location possible (BDAG 988 s.v. ταμεῖον 2).

[6:6]  ¹⁷ tc See the tc note on “will reward you” in 6:4: The problem is the same and the ms support differs only slightly.

[10:41]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “And whoever.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[10:42]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[6:35]  ²⁰ tn Or “in return.”

[6:35]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the outcome or result. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started in the translation at this point.

[6:35]  ²² sn The character of these actions reflects the grace and kindness of God, bearing witness to a “line of descent” or relationship of the individual to God (sons of the Most High). There is to be a unique kind of ethic at work with disciples. Jesus refers specifically to sons here because in the ancient world sons had special privileges which were rarely accorded to daughters. However, Jesus is most likely addressing both men and women in this context, so women too would receive these same privileges.

[6:35]  ²³ sn That is, “sons of God.”

[6:35]  ²⁴ tn Or “to the ungrateful and immoral.” The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[4:4]  ²⁵ tn Grk “not according to grace but according to obligation.”

[4:5]  ²⁶ tn Or “who justifies the ungodly.”

[4:1]  ²⁷ tn Or “according to natural descent” (BDAG 916 s.v. σάρξ 4).

[4:1]  ²⁸ tn Grk “has found?”

[3:8]  ²⁹ tn The Greek article with τὰ πάντα (ta panta) is anaphoric, referring to the previous list of vices, and has been translated here as “all such things.”

[3:14]  ³⁰ tn BDAG 365 s.v. ἐπί 7 suggests “to all these” as a translation for ἐπὶ πᾶσιν δὲ τούτοις (epi pasin de toutoi").

[3:14]  ³¹ tn The term “virtues” is not in the Greek text, but is included in the translation to specify the antecedent and to make clear the sense of the pronoun “these.”

[3:14]  ³² tn The verb “add,” though not in the Greek text, is implied, picking up the initial imperative “clothe yourselves.”

[3:14]  ³³ tn The genitive τῆς τελειότητος (th" teleiothto") has been translated as an attributive genitive, “the perfect bond.”

[1:17]  ³⁴ tn BDAG 973 s.v. συνίστημι B.3 suggests “continue, endure, exist, hold together” here.

[1:18]  ³⁵ tn See the note on the term “firstborn” in 1:15. Here the reference to Jesus as the “firstborn from among the dead” seems to be arguing for a chronological priority, i.e., Jesus was the first to rise from the dead.

[1:18]  ³⁶ tn Grk “in order that he may become in all things, himself, first.”

[1:1]  ³⁷ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[3:24]  ³⁸ tn The article τῆς (ths) has been translated as a possessive pronoun, “your” (ExSyn 215). It may also be functioning to indicate a well-known concept (inheritance as eternal life). See BDAG 548 s.v. κληρονομία 3: “common in Christian usage (corresp. to the LXX) (the possession of) transcendent salvation (as the inheritance of God’s children).”

[3:24]  ³⁹ tn The genitive τῆς κληρονομίας (th" klhronomia") is a genitive of apposition: The reward consists of the inheritance.

[3:24]  ⁴⁰ tn The form of the term δουλεύετε (douleuete) is ambiguous; it can be read as either indicative or imperative. In favor of the indicative: (1) it seems to explain better the first part of v. 24, esp. “from the Lord” which would then read as: “because you know that you will receive your inheritance from the Lord as a reward for it is the Lord you are serving.” The “for” is supplied to make the relation explicit (it is actually added in many mss – D¹ Ψ 075 Ï – but the best ms evidence is against its inclusion). (2) With the imperative, one might expect ὡς τῷ κυρίῳ (Jw" tw kuriw), as for example in Eph 6:7. In favor of the imperative: (1) an imperative resumes the ἐργάζεσθε (ergazesqe) in v. 23a and forms a chiasm with it; (2) an imperative makes more sense of the γάρ (gar) in v. 25a; (3) an imperative relates equally well to the preceding statement; (4) a parallel can be found in Rom 12:11 which uses an imperatival participle δουλεύοντες (douleuonte") with the dative τῷ κυρίῳ. For an elaboration of these points see M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 185-86.

[10:35]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “which,” but showing the reason.

[10:2]  ⁴² tn Grk “the worshipers, having been purified once for all, would have.”

[1:8]  ⁴³ tn Or “to.”

[1:8]  ⁴⁴ tn The verb “he says” (λέγει, legei) is implied from the λέγει of v. 7.

[1:8]  ⁴⁵ tn Or possibly, “Your throne is God forever and ever.” This translation is quite doubtful, however, since (1) in the context the Son is being contrasted to the angels and is presented as far better than they. The imagery of God being the Son’s throne would seem to be of God being his authority. If so, in what sense could this not be said of the angels? In what sense is the Son thus contrasted with the angels? (2) The μέν…δέ (men…de) construction that connects v. 7 with v. 8 clearly lays out this contrast: “On the one hand, he says of the angels…on the other hand, he says of the Son.” Thus, although it is grammatically possible that θεός (qeos) in v. 8 should be taken as a predicate nominative, the context and the correlative conjunctions are decidedly against it. Hebrews 1:8 is thus a strong affirmation of the deity of Christ.

[1:8]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “the righteous scepter,” but used generically.