Matthew 6:1

Pure-hearted Giving

6:1 “Be ¹  careful not to display your righteousness merely to be seen by people. ²  Otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven.

Luke 6:32-35

6:32 “If ³  you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners ⁴  love those who love them. ⁵  6:33 And ⁶  if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ⁷  sinners ⁸  do the same. 6:34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to be repaid, ⁹  what credit is that to you? Even sinners ¹⁰  lend to sinners, so that they may be repaid in full. ¹¹  6:35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back. ¹²  Then ¹³  your reward will be great, and you will be sons ¹⁴  of the Most High, ¹⁵  because he is kind to ungrateful and evil people. ¹⁶ 

Luke 6:1

Lord of the Sabbath

6:1 Jesus ¹⁷  was going through the grain fields on ¹⁸  a Sabbath, ¹⁹  and his disciples picked some heads of wheat, ²⁰  rubbed them in their hands, and ate them. ²¹ 

Luke 2:20-23

2:20 So ²²  the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising ²³  God for all they had heard and seen; everything was just as they had been told. ²⁴ 

2:21 At ²⁵  the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given by the angel ²⁶  before he was conceived in the womb.

Jesus’ Presentation at the Temple

2:22 Now ²⁷  when the time came for their ²⁸  purification according to the law of Moses, Joseph and Mary ²⁹  brought Jesus ³⁰  up to Jerusalem ³¹  to present him to the Lord 2:23 (just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male ³²  will be set apart to the Lord” ³³ ),

[6:1]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Grk “before people in order to be seen by them.”

[6:32]  ³ tn Grk “And if.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. This is a first class condition, but the next two conditional clauses are third class conditions, so that stylistic variation is probably at work.

[6:32]  ⁴ sn Here the term sinners may refer to people who had no concern for observing the details of the Mosaic law; these were often treated as social outcasts. See L&N 88.295.

[6:32]  ⁵ sn Jesus’ point in the statement even sinners love those who love them is that disciples are to go farther than sinners do. The examples replay vv. 29-30.

[6:33]  ⁶ tc ‡ Three key mss (Ì⁷⁵ א* B) have “for” here, but it is unlikely that it was present originally. The addition of conjunctions, especially to the beginning of a clause, are typically suspect because they fit the pattern of Koine tendencies toward greater explicitness. NA²⁷ has the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[6:33]  ⁷ tc Most mss (A D L Θ Ξ Ψ Ë¹³ 33 Ï lat) include γάρ (gar, “for”) following καί (kai, here translated “even”), but a few important mss (א B W 700 892* 1241 pc) lack the conjunction. The inclusion of the conjunction seems to be motivated by clarity and should probably be considered inauthentic.

[6:33]  ⁸ sn See the note on the word sinners in v. 32.

[6:34]  ⁹ tn Grk “to receive”; but in context the repayment of the amount lent is implied. Jesus was noting that utilitarian motives are the way of the world.

[6:34]  ¹⁰ sn See the note on the word sinners in v. 32.

[6:34]  ¹¹ tn Grk “to receive as much again.”

[6:35]  ¹² tn Or “in return.”

[6:35]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ sn That is, “sons of God.”

[6:35]  ¹⁶ tn Or “to the ungrateful and immoral.” The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[6:1]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:1]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “Now it happened that on.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[6:1]  ¹⁹ tc Most later mss (A C D Θ Ψ [˹³] Ï lat) read ἐν σαββάτῳ δευτεροπρώτῳ (en sabbatw deuteroprwtw, “a second-first Sabbath”), while the earlier and better witnesses have simply ἐν σαββάτῳ (Ì⁴ א B L W ˹ 33 579 1241 2542 it sa). The longer reading is most likely secondary, though various explanations may account for it (for discussion, see TCGNT 116).

[6:1]  ²⁰ tn Or “heads of grain.” While the generic term στάχυς (stacus) can refer to the cluster of seeds at the top of grain such as barley or wheat, in the NT the term is restricted to wheat (L&N 3.40; BDAG 941 s.v. 1).

[6:1]  ²¹ tn Grk “picked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands.” The participle ψώχοντες (ywconte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style, and the order of the clauses has been transposed to reflect the logical order, which sounds more natural in English.

[2:20]  ²² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the conclusion of the topic.

[2:20]  ²³ sn The mention of glorifying and praising God is the second note of praise in this section; see Luke 2:13-14.

[2:20]  ²⁴ tn Grk “just as [it] had been spoken to them.” This has been simplified in the English translation by making the prepositional phrase (“to them”) the subject of the passive verb.

[2:21]  ²⁵ tn Grk “And when eight days were completed.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[2:21]  ²⁶ sn Jesus’ parents obeyed the angel as Zechariah and Elizabeth had (1:57-66). These events are taking place very much under God’s direction.

[2:22]  ²⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[2:22]  ²⁸ tc The translation follows most mss, including early and important ones ({א A B L}). Some copyists, aware that the purification law applied to women only, produced mss ({76 it^pt vg} [though the Latin word eius could be either masculine or feminine]) that read “her purification.” But the extant evidence for an unambiguous “her” is shut up to one late minuscule ({codex 76}) and a couple of patristic citations of dubious worth ({Pseudo-Athanasius} whose date is unknown, and the {Catenae in euangelia Lucae et Joannis}, edited by J. A. Cramer. The Catenae is a work of collected patristic sayings whose exact source is unknown [thus, it could come from a period covering hundreds of years]). A few other witnesses (D pc lat) read “his purification.” The KJV has “her purification,” following Beza’s Greek text (essentially a revision of Erasmus’). Erasmus did not have it in any of his five editions. Most likely Beza put in the feminine form αὐτῆς (auths) because, recognizing that the eius found in several Latin mss could be read either as a masculine or a feminine, he made the contextually more satisfying choice of the feminine. Perhaps it crept into one or two late Greek witnesses via this interpretive Latin back-translation. So the evidence for the feminine singular is virtually nonexistent, while the masculine singular αὐτοῦ (autou, “his”) was a clear scribal blunder. There can be no doubt that “their purification” is the authentic reading.

[2:22]  ²⁹ tn Grk “they”; the referents (Joseph and Mary) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:22]  ³⁰ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:22]  ³¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:23]  ³² tn Grk “every male that opens the womb” (an idiom for the firstborn male).

[2:23]  ³³ sn An allusion to Exod 13:2, 12, 15.