Hebrews 11:26

11:26 He regarded abuse suffered for Christ ¹  to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for his eyes were fixed on ²  the reward.

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 ³  and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” ⁴ 

Ruth 2:12

2:12 May the Lord reward your efforts! ⁵  May your acts of kindness be repaid fully ⁶  by the Lord God of Israel, from whom you have sought protection!” 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!”

Proverbs 11:18

11:18 The wicked person ¹²  earns ¹³  deceitful wages, ¹⁴ 

but the one who sows ¹⁵  righteousness reaps ¹⁶  a genuine ¹⁷  reward. ¹⁸ 

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 6:1-2

Pure-hearted Giving

6:1 “Be ¹⁹  careful not to display your righteousness merely to be seen by people. ²⁰  Otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven. 6:2 Thus whenever you do charitable giving, ²¹  do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in synagogues ²²  and on streets so that people will praise them. I tell you the truth, ²³  they have their reward.

Matthew 6:5

Private Prayer

6:5 “Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray while standing in synagogues ²⁴  and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward.

Matthew 6:16

Proper Fasting

6:16 “When ²⁵  you fast, do not look sullen like the hypocrites, for they make their faces unattractive ²⁶  so that people will see them fasting. I tell you the truth, ²⁷  they have their reward.

Matthew 10:41-42

10:41 Whoever receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. Whoever ²⁸  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, ²⁹  he will never lose his reward.”

Luke 6:35

6:35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back. ³⁰  Then ³¹  your reward will be great, and you will be sons ³²  of the Most High, ³³  because he is kind to ungrateful and evil people. ³⁴ 

[11:26]  ¹ tn Grk “the abuse [or ‘reproach’] of Christ.”

[11:26]  ² tn Grk “he was looking away to.”

[15:1]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “under whose wings you have sought shelter”; NIV, NLT “have come to take refuge.”

[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.

[11:18]  ¹² tn The form is the masculine singular adjective used as a substantive.

[11:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “makes” (so NAB).

[11:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “wages of deception.”

[11:18]  ¹⁵ sn The participle “sowing” provides an implied comparison (the figure is known as hypocatastasis) with the point of practicing righteousness and inspiring others to do the same. What is sown will yield fruit (1 Cor 9:11; 2 Cor 9:6; Jas 3:18).

[11:18]  ¹⁶ tn The term “reaps” does not appear in the Hebrew but has been supplied in the translation from context for the sake of smoothness.

[11:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “true” (so NASB, NRSV); KJV, NAB, NIV “sure.”

[11:18]  ¹⁸ sn A wordplay (paronomasia) occurs between “deceptive” (שָׁקֶר, shaqer) and “reward” (שֶׂכֶר, sekher), underscoring the contrast by the repetition of sounds. The wages of the wicked are deceptive; the reward of the righteous is sure.

[6:1]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Grk “before people in order to be seen by them.”

[6:2]  ²¹ tn Grk “give alms,” but this term is not in common use today. The giving of alms was highly regarded in the ancient world (Deut 15:7-11).

[6:2]  ²² sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.

[6:2]  ²³ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[6:5]  ²⁴ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.

[6:16]  ²⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[6:16]  ²⁶ tn Here the term “disfigure” used in a number of translations was not used because it could convey to the modern reader the notion of mutilation. L&N 79.17 states, “‘to make unsightly, to disfigure, to make ugly.’ ἀφανίζουσιν γὰρ τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν ‘for they make their faces unsightly’ Mt 6:16.”

[6:16]  ²⁷ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[10:41]  ²⁸ tn Grk “And whoever.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[10:42]  ²⁹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[6:35]  ³⁰ tn Or “in return.”

[6:35]  ³¹ 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]  ³² 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]  ³³ sn That is, “sons of God.”

[6:35]  ³⁴ tn Or “to the ungrateful and immoral.” The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.