Matius 5:22

5:22 But I say to you that anyone who is angry with a brother ¹  will be subjected to judgment. And whoever insults ²  a brother will be brought before ³  the council, ⁴  and whoever says ‘Fool’ ⁵  will be sent ⁶  to fiery hell. ⁷ 

Matius 6:24

6:24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate ⁸  the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise ⁹  the other. You cannot serve God and money. ¹⁰ 

Matius 9:3

9:3 Then ¹¹  some of the experts in the law ¹²  said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming!” ¹³ 

Matius 9:13

9:13 Go and learn what this saying means: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice.’ ¹⁴  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Matius 10:42

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, ¹⁵  he will never lose his reward.”

Matius 12:31-32

12:31 For this reason I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, ¹⁶  but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 12:32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven. ¹⁷  But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, ¹⁸  either in this age or in the age to come.

Matius 18:10

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

18:10 “See that you do not disdain one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.

Matius 25:40

25:40 And the king will answer them, ¹⁹  ‘I tell you the truth, ²⁰  just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters ²¹  of mine, you did it for me.’

Matius 25:45

25:45 Then he will answer them, ²²  ‘I tell you the truth, ²³  just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.’

Matius 27:39

27:39 Those ²⁴  who passed by defamed him, shaking their heads

Matius 27:44

27:44 The ²⁵  robbers who were crucified with him also spoke abusively to him. ²⁶ 

[5:22]  ¹ tc The majority of mss read the word εἰκῇ (eikh, “without cause”) here after “brother.” This insertion has support from א² D L W Θ 0233 Ë^1,13 33 Ï it sy co Ir^lat Or^mss Cyp Cyr. Thus the Western, Caesarean, and Byzantine texttypes all include the word, while the best Alexandrian and some other witnesses (Ì⁶⁴ א* B 1424^mg pc aur vg Or Hier^mss) lack it. The ms evidence favors its exclusion, though there is a remote possibility that εἰκῇ could have been accidentally omitted from these witnesses by way of homoioarcton (the next word, ἔνοχος [enocos, “guilty”], begins with the same letter). An intentional change would likely arise from the desire to qualify “angry,” especially in light of the absolute tone of Jesus’ words. While “without cause” makes good practical sense in this context, and must surely be a true interpretation of Jesus’ meaning (cf. Mark 3:5), it does not commend itself as original.

[5:22]  ² tn Grk “whoever says to his brother ‘Raca,’” an Aramaic word of contempt or abuse meaning “fool” or “empty head.”

[5:22]  ³ tn Grk “subjected,” “guilty,” “liable.”

[5:22]  ⁴ tn Grk “the Sanhedrin.”

[5:22]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Grk “subjected,” “guilty,” “liable.”

[5:22]  ⁷ tn Grk “the Gehenna of fire.”

[5:22]  sn The word translated hell is “Gehenna” (γέεννα, geenna), a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew words ge hinnom (“Valley of Hinnom”). This was the valley along the south side of Jerusalem. In OT times it was used for human sacrifices to the pagan god Molech (cf. Jer 7:31; 19:5-6; 32:35), and it came to be used as a place where human excrement and rubbish were disposed of and burned. In the intertestamental period, it came to be used symbolically as the place of divine punishment (cf. 1 En. 27:2, 90:26; 4 Ezra 7:36).

[6:24]  ⁸ sn The contrast between hate and love here is rhetorical. The point is that one will choose the favorite if a choice has to be made.

[6:24]  ⁹ tn Or “and treat [the other] with contempt.”

[6:24]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “God and mammon.”

[6:24]  sn The term money is used to translate mammon, the Aramaic term for wealth or possessions. The point is not that money is inherently evil, but that it is often misused so that it is a means of evil; see 1 Tim 6:6-10, 17-19. God must be first, not money or possessions.

[9:3]  ¹¹ tn Grk “And behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1). Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events in the narrative.

[9:3]  ¹² tn Or “some of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[9:3]  ¹³ sn Blaspheming meant to say something that dishonored God. To claim divine prerogatives or claim to speak for God when one really does not would be such an act of offense. The remark raised directly the issue of the nature of Jesus’ ministry.

[9:13]  ¹⁴ sn A quotation from Hos 6:6 (see also Matt 12:7).

[10:42]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[12:31]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men.”

[12:32]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “it will be forgiven him.”

[12:32]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “it will not be forgiven him.”

[12:32]  sn Whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. This passage has troubled many people, who have wondered whether or not they have committed this sin. Three things must be kept in mind: (1) the nature of the sin is to ascribe what is the obvious work of the Holy Spirit (e.g., releasing people from Satan’s power) to Satan himself; (2) it is not simply a momentary doubt or sinful attitude, but is indeed a settled condition which opposes the Spirit’s work, as typified by the religious leaders who opposed Jesus; and (3) a person who is concerned about it has probably never committed this sin, for those who commit it here (i.e., the religious leaders) are not in the least concerned about Jesus’ warning.

[25:40]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “answering, the king will say to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[25:40]  ²⁰ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[25:40]  ²¹ 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.

[25:45]  ²² tn Grk “answer them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[25:45]  ²³ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[27:39]  ²⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[27:44]  ²⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[27:44]  ²⁶ sn Matthew’s wording suggests that both of the criminals spoke abusively to him. If so, one of them quickly changed his attitude toward Jesus (see Luke 23:40-43).