Discovery BoxMatthew 5:1-37
Context5:1 When 1 he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain. 2 After he sat down his disciples came to him. 5:2 Then 3 he began to teach 4 them by saying:
5:3 “Blessed 5 are the poor in spirit, 6 for the kingdom of heaven belongs 7 to them.
5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 8
5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger 9 and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children 10 of God.
5:10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
5:11 “Blessed are you when people 11 insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely 12 on account of me. 5:12 Rejoice and be glad because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.
5:13 “You are the salt 13 of the earth. But if salt loses its flavor, 14 how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by people. 5:14 You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. 5:15 People 15 do not light a lamp and put it under a basket 16 but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven.
5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish these things but to fulfill them. 17 5:18 I 18 tell you the truth, 19 until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter 20 will pass from the law until everything takes place. 5:19 So anyone who breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others 21 to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever obeys them and teaches others to do so will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 5:20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law 22 and the Pharisees, 23 you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
5:21 “You have heard that it was said to an older generation, 24 ‘Do not murder,’ 25 and ‘whoever murders will be subjected to judgment.’ 5:22 But I say to you that anyone who is angry with a brother 26 will be subjected to judgment. And whoever insults 27 a brother will be brought before 28 the council, 29 and whoever says ‘Fool’ 30 will be sent 31 to fiery hell. 32 5:23 So then, if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 5:24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother and then come and present your gift. 5:25 Reach agreement 33 quickly with your accuser while on the way to court, 34 or he 35 may hand you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the warden, and you will be thrown into prison. 5:26 I tell you the truth, 36 you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny! 37
5:27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ 38 5:28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 5:29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away! It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into hell. 39 5:30 If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away! It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into hell.
5:31 “It was said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a legal document.’ 40 5:32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
5:33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to an older generation, 41 ‘Do not break an oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ 42 5:34 But I say to you, do not take oaths at all – not by heaven, because it is the throne of God, 5:35 not by earth, because it is his footstool, and not by Jerusalem, 43 because it is the city of the great King. 5:36 Do not take an oath by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black. 5:37 Let your word be ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no.’ More than this is from the evil one. 44
[5:1] 1 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
[5:1] 2 tn Or “up a mountain” (εἰς τὸ ὄρος, eis to oro").
[5:2] 3 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[5:2] 4 tn Grk “And opening his mouth he taught them, saying.” The imperfect verb ἐδίδασκεν (edidasken) has been translated ingressively.
[5:3] 5 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.
[5:3] 6 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.
[5:3] 7 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.
[5:4] 8 sn The promise they will be comforted 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.
[5:6] 9 sn Those 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).
[5:9] 10 tn Grk “sons,” though traditionally English versions have taken this as a generic reference to both males and females, hence “children” (cf. KJV, NAB, NRSV, NLT).
[5:11] 11 tn Grk “when they insult you.” The third person pronoun (here implied in the verb ὀνειδίσωσιν [ojneidiswsin]) has no specific referent, but refers to people in general.
[5:11] 12 tc Although ψευδόμενοι (yeudomenoi, “bearing witness falsely”) could be a motivated reading, clarifying that the disciples are unjustly persecuted, its lack in only D it sys Tert does not help its case. Since the Western text is known for numerous free alterations, without corroborative evidence the shorter reading must be judged as secondary.
[5:13] 13 sn Salt was used as seasoning or fertilizer (BDAG 41 s.v. ἅλας a), or as a preservative. If salt ceased to be useful, it was thrown away. With this illustration Jesus warned about a disciple who ceased to follow him.
[5:13] 14 sn The difficulty of this saying is understanding how salt could lose its flavor since its chemical properties cannot change. It is thus often assumed that Jesus was referring to chemically impure salt, perhaps a natural salt which, when exposed to the elements, had all the genuine salt leached out, leaving only the sediment or impurities behind. Others have suggested that the background of the saying is the use of salt blocks by Arab bakers to line the floor of their ovens; under the intense heat these blocks would eventually crystallize and undergo a change in chemical composition, finally being thrown out as unserviceable. A saying in the Talmud (b. Bekhorot 8b) attributed to R. Joshua ben Chananja (ca.
[5:15] 15 tn Grk “Nor do they light.” The plural in Greek is indefinite, referring to people in general.
[5:15] 16 tn Or “a bowl”; this refers to any container for dry material of about eight liters (two gallons) capacity. It could be translated “basket, box, bowl” (L&N 6.151).
[5:17] 17 tn Grk “not come to abolish but to fulfill.” Direct objects (“these things,” “them”) were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but have been supplied here to conform to contemporary English style.
[5:18] 18 tn Grk “For I tell.” Here an explanatory γάρ (gar) has not been translated.
[5:18] 19 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
[5:18] 20 tn Grk “Not one iota or one serif.”
[5:19] 21 tn Grk “teaches men” ( in a generic sense, people).
[5:20] 22 tn Or “that of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.
[5:20] 23 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
[5:21] 24 tn Grk “to the ancient ones.”
[5:21] 25 sn A quotation from Exod 20:13; Deut 5:17.
[5:22] 26 tc The majority of
[5:22] 27 tn Grk “whoever says to his brother ‘Raca,’” an Aramaic word of contempt or abuse meaning “fool” or “empty head.”
[5:22] 28 tn Grk “subjected,” “guilty,” “liable.”
[5:22] 29 tn Grk “the Sanhedrin.”
[5:22] 30 tn The meaning of the term μωρός (mwros) is somewhat disputed. Most take it to mean, following the Syriac versions, “you fool,” although some have argued that it represents a transliteration into Greek of the Hebrew term מוֹרֵה (moreh) “rebel” (Deut 21:18, 20; cf. BDAG 663 s.v. μωρός c).
[5:22] 31 tn Grk “subjected,” “guilty,” “liable.”
[5:22] 32 tn Grk “the Gehenna of fire.”
[5:25] 33 tn Grk “Make friends.”
[5:25] 34 tn The words “to court” are not in the Greek text but are implied.
[5:25] 35 tn Grk “the accuser.”
[5:26] 36 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
[5:26] 37 tn Here the English word “penny” is used as opposed to the parallel in Luke 12:59 where “cent” appears since the Greek word there is different and refers to a different but similar coin.
[5:27] 38 sn A quotation from Exod 20:14; Deut 5:17.
[5:29] 39 sn On this word here and in the following verse, see the note on the word hell in 5:22.
[5:31] 40 sn A quotation from Deut 24:1.
[5:33] 41 tn Grk “the ancient ones.”
[5:33] 42 sn A quotation from Lev 19:12.
[5:35] 43 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[5:37] 44 tn The term πονηροῦ (ponhrou) may be understood as specific and personified, referring to the devil, or possibly as a general reference to evil. It is most likely personified, however, since it is articular (τοῦ πονηροῦ, tou ponhrou). Cf. also “the evildoer” in v. 39, which is the same construction.
