Matthew 5:6

5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger ¹  and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

Matthew 5:10

5:10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.

Matthew 6:33

6:33 But above all pursue his kingdom ²  and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 3:15

3:15 So Jesus replied ³  to him, “Let it happen now, ⁴  for it is right for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John ⁵  yielded ⁶  to him.

Matthew 5:20

5:20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law ⁷  and the Pharisees, ⁸  you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 6:1

Pure-hearted Giving

6:1 “Be ⁹  careful not to display your righteousness merely to be seen by people. ¹⁰  Otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven.

Matthew 21:32

21:32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe. Although ¹¹  you saw this, you did not later change your minds ¹²  and believe him.

[5:6]  ¹ 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).

[6:33]  ² tc ‡ Most mss (L W Θ 0233 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat sy mae) read τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὴν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ (thn basileian tou qeou kai thn dikaiosunhn aujtou, “the kingdom of God and his righteousness”) here, but the words “of God” are lacking in א B pc sa bo Eus. On the one hand, there is the possibility of accidental omission on the part of these Alexandrian witnesses, but it seems unlikely that the scribe’s eye would skip over both words (especially since τοῦ θεοῦ is bracketed by first declension nouns). Intrinsically, the author generally has a genitive modifier with βασιλεία – especially θεοῦ or οὐρανῶν (ouranwn) – but this argument cuts both ways: Although he might be expected to use such an adjunct here, scribes might also be familiar with his practice and would thus naturally insert it if it were missing in their copy of Matthew. Although a decision is difficult, the omission of τοῦ θεοῦ is considered most likely to be original. NA²⁷ includes the words in brackets, indicating doubt as to their authenticity.

[3:15]  ³ tn Grk “but Jesus, answering, said.” This construction with passive participle and finite verb is pleonastic (redundant) and has been simplified in the translation to “replied to him.”

[3:15]  ⁴ tn Grk “Permit now.”

[3:15]  ⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:15]  ⁶ tn Or “permitted him.”

[5:20]  ⁴ tn Or “that of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[5:20]  ⁵ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[6:1]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Grk “before people in order to be seen by them.”

[21:32]  ⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:32]  ⁷ sn The word translated change your minds is the same verb used in v. 29 (there translated had a change of heart). Jesus is making an obvious comparison here, in which the religious leaders are viewed as the disobedient son.