Matius 5:46-47

5:46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors ¹  do the same, don’t they? 5:47 And if you only greet your brothers, what more do you do? Even the Gentiles do the same, don’t they?

Matius 20:25-26

20:25 But Jesus called them and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions use their authority over them. 20:26 It must not be this way among you! Instead whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant,

Mazmur 17:14

17:14 Lord, use your power to deliver me from these murderers, ² 

from the murderers of this world! ³ 

They enjoy prosperity; ⁴ 

you overwhelm them with the riches they desire. ⁵ 

They have many children,

and leave their wealth to their offspring. ⁶ 

Lukas 12:30

12:30 For all the nations of the world pursue ⁷  these things, and your Father knows that you need them.

Efesus 4:17

Live in Holiness

4:17 So I say this, and insist ⁸  in the Lord, that you no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility ⁹  of their thinking. ¹⁰ 

Efesus 4:1

Live in Unity

4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, ¹¹  urge you to live ¹²  worthily of the calling with which you have been called, ¹³ 

Efesus 4:5

4:5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

[5:46]  ¹ sn The tax collectors would bid to collect taxes for the Roman government and then add a surcharge, which they kept. Since tax collectors worked for Rome, they were viewed as traitors to their own people and were not well liked.

[17:14]  ² tc Heb “from men [by] your hand, Lord.” The translation assumes an emendation (both here and in the following line) of מִמְתִים (mimtim, “from men”) to מִמְמִתִים (mimmitim, “from those who kill”). For other uses of the plural form of the Hiphil participle of מוּת (mut, “die”), see 2 Kgs 17:26 (used with lions as subject), Job 33:22 (apparently referring to the agents of death), and Jer 26:15 (used of those seeking Jeremiah’s life).

[17:14]  ³ tn Heb “from men, from [the] world.” On the emendation of “men” to “murderers,” see the preceding note on the word “murderers.”

[17:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “their portion, in life.”

[17:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “and [with] your treasures you fill their belly.”

[17:14]  sn You overwhelm them with the riches they desire. The psalmist is not accusing God of being unjust; he is simply observing that the wicked often prosper and that God is the ultimate source of all blessings that human beings enjoy (see Matt 5:45). When the wicked are ungrateful for God’s blessings, they become even more culpable and deserving of judgment. So this description of the wicked actually supports the psalmist’s appeal for deliverance. God should rescue him because he is innocent (see vv. 3-5) and because the wicked, though blessed abundantly by God, still have the audacity to attack God’s people.

[17:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “they are satisfied [with] sons and leave their abundance to their children.”

[12:30]  ⁷ tn Grk “seek.”

[4:17]  ⁸ tn On the translation of μαρτύρομαι (marturomai) as “insist” see BDAG 619 s.v. 2.

[4:17]  ⁹ tn On the translation of ματαιότης (mataioth") as “futility” see BDAG 621 s.v.

[4:17]  ¹⁰ tn Or “thoughts,” “mind.”

[4:1]  ¹¹ tn Grk “prisoner in the Lord.”

[4:1]  ¹² tn Grk “walk.” The verb “walk” in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.

[4:1]  ¹³ sn With which you have been called. The calling refers to the Holy Spirit’s prompting that caused them to believe. The author is thus urging his readers to live a life that conforms to their saved status before God.