Matius 5:10-12

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 ¹  insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely ²  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.

Matius 10:28-31

10:28 Do ³  not be afraid of those who kill the body ⁴  but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. ⁵  10:29 Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? ⁶  Yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. ⁷  10:30 Even all the hairs on your head are numbered. 10:31 So do not be afraid; ⁸  you are more valuable than many sparrows.

[5:11]  ¹ 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]  ² 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 sy^s 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.

[10:28]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[10:28]  ⁴ sn Judaism had a similar exhortation in 4 Macc 13:14-15.

[10:28]  ⁵ sn See the note on the word hell in 5:22.

[10:29]  ⁶ sn The penny refers to an assarion, a small Roman copper coin. One of them was worth one-sixteenth of a denarius or less than a half hour’s average wage. Sparrows were the cheapest items sold in the market. God knows about even the most financially insignificant things; see Isa 49:15.

[10:29]  ⁷ tn Or “to the ground without the knowledge and consent of your Father.”

[10:31]  ⁸ sn Do not be afraid. One should respect and show reverence to God, but need not fear his tender care.