Proverbs 19:17

19:17 The one who is gracious ¹  to the poor lends ²  to the Lord,

and the Lord ³  will repay him ⁴  for his good deed. ⁵ 

Matthew 10:40-42

Rewards

10:40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. ⁶  10:41 Whoever receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. Whoever ⁷  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, ⁸  he will never lose his reward.”

Matthew 25:34-40

25:34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 25:36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 25:37 Then the righteous will answer him, ⁹  ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 25:38 When ¹⁰  did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? 25:39 When ¹¹  did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 25:40 And the king will answer them, ¹²  ‘I tell you the truth, ¹³  just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters ¹⁴  of mine, you did it for me.’

Luke 14:12-14

14:12 He ¹⁵  said also to the man ¹⁶  who had invited him, “When you host a dinner or a banquet, ¹⁷  don’t invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors so you can be invited by them in return and get repaid. 14:13 But when you host an elaborate meal, ¹⁸  invite the poor, the crippled, ¹⁹  the lame, and ²⁰  the blind. ²¹  14:14 Then ²²  you will be blessed, ²³  because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid ²⁴  at the resurrection of the righteous.”

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.

[19:17]  ¹ sn The participle חוֹנֵן (khonen, “shows favor to”) is related to the word for “grace.” The activity here is the kind favor shown poor people for no particular reason and with no hope of repayment. It is literally an act of grace.

[19:17]  ² tn The form מַלְוֵה (malveh) is the Hiphil participle from לָוָה (lavah) in construct; it means “to cause to borrow; to lend.” The expression here is “lender of the Lord.” The person who helps the poor becomes the creditor of God.

[19:17]  ³ tn Heb “he.” The referent of the 3rd person masculine singular pronoun is “the Lord” in the preceding line, which has been supplied here in the translation for clarity.

[19:17]  ⁴ sn The promise of reward does not necessarily mean that the person who gives to the poor will get money back; the rewards in the book of Proverbs involve life and prosperity in general.

[19:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “and his good deed will repay him.” The word גְּמֻלוֹ (gÿmulo) could be (1) the subject or (2) part of a double accusative of the verb. Understanding it as part of the double accusative makes better sense, for then the subject of the verb is God. How “his deed” could repay him is not immediately obvious.

[10:40]  ⁶ sn The one who sent me refers to God.

[10:41]  ⁷ tn Grk “And whoever.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[10:42]  ⁸ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[25:37]  ⁹ tn Grk “answer him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[25:38]  ¹⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[25:39]  ¹¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[25:40]  ¹² tn Grk “answering, the king will say to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[25:40]  ¹³ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[25:40]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). In this context Jesus is ultimately speaking of his “followers” (whether men or women, adults or children), but the familial connotation of “brothers and sisters” is also important to retain here.

[14:12]  ¹⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[14:12]  ¹⁶ sn That is, the leader of the Pharisees (v. 1).

[14:12]  ¹⁷ tn The meaning of the two terms for meals here, ἄριστον (ariston) and δεῖπνον (deipnon), essentially overlap (L&N 23.22). Translators usually try to find two terms for a meal to use as equivalents (e.g., lunch and dinner, dinner and supper, etc.). In this translation “dinner” and “banquet” have been used, since the expected presence of rich neighbors later in the verse suggests a rather more elaborate occasion than an ordinary meal.

[14:13]  ¹⁸ tn This term, δοχή (doch), is a third term for a meal (see v. 12) that could also be translated “banquet, feast.”

[14:13]  ¹⁹ sn Normally the term means crippled as a result of being maimed or mutilated (L&N 23.177).

[14:13]  ²⁰ tn Here “and” has been supplied between the last two elements in the series in keeping with English style.

[14:13]  ²¹ sn This list of needy is like Luke 7:22. See Deut 14:28-29; 16:11-14; 26:11-13.

[14:14]  ²² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate that this follows from the preceding action. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[14:14]  ²³ sn You will be blessed. God notes and approves of such generosity.

[14:14]  ²⁴ sn The passive verb will be repaid looks at God’s commendation.