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 21:35

21:35 But the tenants seized his slaves, beat one, ³  killed another, and stoned another.

Matius 23:34-37

23:34 “For this reason I ⁴  am sending you prophets and wise men and experts in the law, ⁵  some of whom you will kill and crucify, ⁶  and some you will flog ⁷  in your synagogues ⁸  and pursue from town to town, 23:35 so that on you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, ⁹  whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 23:36 I tell you the truth, ¹⁰  this generation will be held responsible for all these things! ¹¹ 

Judgment on Israel

23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, ¹²  you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! ¹³  How often I have longed ¹⁴  to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but ¹⁵  you would have none of it! ¹⁶ 

[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.

[21:35]  ³ sn The image of the tenants mistreating the owner’s slaves pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.

[23:34]  ⁴ tn Grk “behold I am sending.” 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).

[23:34]  ⁵ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:34]  ⁶ sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.

[23:34]  ⁷ tn BDAG 620 s.v. μαστιγόω 1.a states, “of flogging as a punishment decreed by the synagogue (Dt 25:2f; s. the Mishna Tractate Sanhedrin-Makkoth, edited w. notes by SKrauss ’33) w. acc. of pers. Mt 10:17; 23:34.”

[23:34]  ⁸ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.

[23:35]  ⁹ sn Spelling of this name (Βαραχίου, Baraciou) varies among the English versions: “Barachiah” (RSV, NRSV); “Berechiah” (NASB); “Berachiah” (NIV).

[23:36]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[23:36]  ¹¹ tn Grk “all these things will come on this generation.”

[23:37]  ¹² sn The double use of the city’s name betrays intense emotion.

[23:37]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[23:37]  ¹³ tn Although the opening address (“Jerusalem, Jerusalem”) is direct (second person), the remainder of this sentence in the Greek text is third person (“who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her”). The following sentences then revert to second person (“your… you”), so to keep all this consistent in English, the third person pronouns in the present verse were translated as second person (“you who kill… sent to you”).

[23:37]  ¹⁴ sn How often I have longed to gather your children. Jesus, like a lamenting prophet, speaks for God here, who longed to care tenderly for Israel and protect her.

[23:37]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[23:37]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “you were not willing.”