MAT 5:46 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) If you people just love people who love you, what reward would you expect for that? Don’t even the tax collectors do that?

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT For if you love the ones loving you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same thing?

UST Further, if you care for only those who care for you, do not expect God to reward you for doing that. Even unkind tax collectors care for those who care for them.

BLB For if you love those loving you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

AICNT “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do {the same}?[fn]

5:46, the same: Some manuscripts read “thus.” D(05)

OEB For, if you love only those who love you, what reward will you have? Even the tax collectors do this!

2DT For if you love the ones loving you, what wage do you have? Don’t even tax agents do the same?

WEBBE For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?

WMBB (Same as above)

NET For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors do the same, don’t they?

LSV For if you may love those loving you, what reward do you have? Do the tax collectors not also do the same?

FBV For if you only love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don't even the tax-collectors do that?

TCNT For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

T4T If you love only the people who love you, ◄do not expect God to reward you in heaven!/will God reward you in heaven?► [RHQ] This is based on the fact that everyone, even the tax collectors, who you think are very great sinners, love [RHQ] those who love them. If you act like them, ◄you are not any different from tax collectors!/in what way are you different from tax collectors?► [RHQ]

LEB For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not the tax collectors also do the same?

BBE For if you have love for those who have love for you, what credit is it to you? do not the tax-farmers the same?

Moff For if you love only those who love you, what reward do you get for that?
⇔ do not the very taxgatherers do as much?

Wymth For if you love only those who love you, what reward have you earned? Do not even the tax-gatherers do that?

ASV For if ye love them that love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

DRA For if you love them that love you, what reward shall you have? do not even the publicans this?

YLT 'For, if ye may love those loving you, what reward have ye? do not also the tax-gatherers the same?

Drby For if ye should love those who love you, what reward have ye? Do not also the tax-gatherers the same?

RV For if ye love them that love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
(For if ye/you_all love them that love you, what reward have ye/you_all? do not even the publicans the same? )

SLT For if ye love them loving you, what reward have you? do not also the tax collectors the same?

Wbstr For if ye love them who love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

KJB-1769 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
( For if ye/you_all love them which love you, what reward have ye/you_all? do not even the publicans the same? )

KJB-1611 For if yee loue them which loue you, what reward haue yee? Doe not euen the Publicanes the same?
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation)

Bshps For yf ye loue them which loue you, what rewarde haue ye? Do not the publicans also euen the same?
(For if ye/you_all love them which love you, what reward have ye/you_all? Do not the publicans also even the same?)

Gnva For if ye loue them, which loue you, what rewarde shall you haue? Doe not the Publicanes euen the same?
(For if ye/you_all love them, which love you, what reward shall you have? Do not the Publicans even the same? )

Cvdl For yf ye loue them which loue you, what rewarde shall ye haue? Do not the Publicans eue so?
(For if ye/you_all love them which love you, what reward shall ye/you_all have? Do not the Publicans eve/even so?)

TNT For yf ye love them which love you: what rewarde shall ye have? Doo not the Publicans euen so?
(For if ye/you_all love them which love you: what reward shall ye/you_all have? Doo not the Publicans even so? )

Wycl For if ye louen hem that louen you, what mede schulen ye han? whether pupplicans doon not this?
(For if ye/you_all love hem that love you, what mede should ye/you_all han? whether pupplicans done not this?)

Luth Denn so ihr liebet, die euch lieben, was werdet ihr für Lohn haben? Tun nicht dasselbe auch die Zöllner?
(Because so you(pl)/their/her loves, the you love(v), what/which become you(pl)/their/her for/in_favour_of wage/salary have? Do/Doing not the_same also the Zöllner?)

ClVg Si enim diligitis eos qui vos diligunt, quam mercedem habebitis? nonne et publicani hoc faciunt?[fn]
(When/But_if because you(pl)_love them who/which you(pl) they_love, how a_reward you_will_have? isn't_it and publicni this they_do? )

5.46 Publicani. Exactores Romanorum, quos Judæi sic vocant, quia de republica curam gerebant. Dicuntur et nomen traxisse a Publio Romano rege, qui prius eos ordinavit.

5.46 Publicani. Exactores Romanorum, which Jews so they_call, because from/about republica care gerebant. Sayuntur and name traxisse from Publio Romano king, who/which first/before them he_ordered.

UGNT ἐὰν γὰρ ἀγαπήσητε τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας ὑμᾶς, τίνα μισθὸν ἔχετε? οὐχὶ καὶ οἱ τελῶναι τὸ αὐτὸ ποιοῦσιν?
(ean gar agapaʸsaʸte tous agapōntas humas, tina misthon eⱪete? ouⱪi kai hoi telōnai to auto poiousin?)

SBL-GNT ἐὰν γὰρ ἀγαπήσητε τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας ὑμᾶς, τίνα μισθὸν ἔχετε; οὐχὶ καὶ οἱ τελῶναι ⸂τὸ αὐτὸ⸃ ποιοῦσιν;
(ean gar agapaʸsaʸte tous agapōntas humas, tina misthon eⱪete; ouⱪi kai hoi telōnai ⸂to auto⸃ poiousin;)

RP-GNT Ἐὰν γὰρ ἀγαπήσητε τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας ὑμᾶς, τίνα μισθὸν ἔχετε; Οὐχὶ καὶ οἱ τελῶναι τὸ αὐτὸ ποιοῦσιν;
(Ean gar agapaʸsaʸte tous agapōntas humas, tina misthon eⱪete; Ouⱪi kai hoi telōnai to auto poiousin;)

TC-GNT Ἐὰν γὰρ ἀγαπήσητε τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας ὑμᾶς, τίνα μισθὸν ἔχετε; Οὐχὶ καὶ οἱ τελῶναι τὸ αὐτὸ ποιοῦσι;
(Ean gar agapaʸsaʸte tous agapōntas humas, tina misthon eⱪete; Ouⱪi kai hoi telōnai to auto poiousi; )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 5:1–7:29: Jesus preached a sermon on a mountain

For many years, English versions and Christians have commonly referred to Matthew 5–7 as “The Sermon on the Mount.” In some translations, it may be helpful to include a heading for chapters 5–7 that is on a level above the section heading for 5:1–12.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

The Sermon on the Mountain

The sermon that Jesus preached on a mountain

Jesus taught people on the side of a mountain/hill

5:46a

If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?

If you^(plur) love only the people who love you, do you deserve a reward/gift?
If you^(plur) are kind only to those who are kind to you, God will not honor/bless you for that.

The Greek of 5:46a begins with a conjunction that is often translated as “for.” It introduces one basis/reason for the commands to “love your enemies” (in 5:44a) and “pray for them” (in 5:44b). We are commanded to love our enemies and pray for them for/because we will not have a reward if we pray only for those who love us.

The BSB and many English versions do not translate this conjunction. In some languages, it will not be necessary to translate this conjunction either.

If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?: This is a rhetorical question. Jesus used this rhetorical question to emphasize that you should not expect a reward for loving those people who love you.

Here are some other ways to translate this emphasis:

As a rhetorical question. For example:
If you love those who love you, do you deserve a reward? (GW)
Why should God reward you if you love only the people who love you? (GNT)
As a statement. For example:
If you love only the people who love you, you will get no reward. (NCV)
If you only show kindness to those who are kind to you, God will not reward you.

Translate this emphasis in a way that is natural in your language.

love: See love in the note at 5:43b above.

what reward will you get: In this context, the word reward refers to a gift given for behavior that God approves of. It could be a special honor or blessing that God gives to that kind of person.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

what gift will you get

will God pay you for that

God will not do something special for you for doing that

5:46b

Do not even tax collectors do the same?

Even the tax collectors love those who love them, don’t they?
Even evil/dishonest tax collectors show kindness to those who are kind to them.

Do not even tax collectors do the same?: This is a rhetorical question. Jesus used this rhetorical question to emphasize that even the tax collectors love the people who love them. The point is that no one expected God to reward corrupt people such as tax collectors. So if Jesus’ followers expected God to reward them, they must be better than people like tax collectors.

Here are some other ways to translate this emphasis:

As a rhetorical question. For example:
Even the tax collectors do the same, don’t they? (NET)
Do not even the tax collectors do the same? (RSV)
As a statement. For example:
Even the tax-collectors do as much as that. (REB)
Even the tax collectors love those people who love them.

Translate this emphasis in a way that is natural in your language.

tax collectors: The term tax collectors refers to Jews who collected taxes from their fellow Jews. These Jews were employed by the conquering Romans to do this. The Romans did not pay them wages. Rather they allowed the tax collectors to take extra taxes as their pay. But many tax collectors took a lot extra and made themselves rich. So most Jews considered them to be traitors who worked for an oppressive foreign power They also considered them to be thieves as well. And since they had contact with the Gentile Romans, they were also considered to be religiously contaminated (“unclean”).

You may need a footnote explaining tax collectors. Here is a sample footnote:

Tax collectors were hated by their fellow Jews for three reasons:

(1) They often unjustly took extra money from people and kept it for themselves and became rich.

(2) They worked for the Roman oppressors.

(3) Because of their frequent contact with the Romans (non-Jews), they were considered to be ritually contaminated (“unclean”).

If people in your area will not think of tax collectors as bad people, you may want to include that implied information. For example:

corrupt tax collectors (NLT)

evil tax collectors

Here are some other ways to translate tax collectors:

people who collect taxes

people who gather money from other people for the government

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

γὰρ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐάν Γάρ ἀγαπήσητε τούς ἀγαπῶντας ὑμᾶς τίνα μισθόν ἔχετε Οὐχί καί οἱ τελῶναι τό αὐτό ποιοῦσιν)

Here, the word For introduces further support for Jesus’ command to love enemies. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces support for a claim, or you could leave For untranslated. Alternate translation: [You should love your enemies because] or [You should do what I am saying since]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

τίνα μισθὸν ἔχετε?

what (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐάν Γάρ ἀγαπήσητε τούς ἀγαπῶντας ὑμᾶς τίνα μισθόν ἔχετε Οὐχί καί οἱ τελῶναι τό αὐτό ποιοῦσιν)

Jesus uses this question to show that people who only love others who love them will not receive any reward. If you would not use the question form for this purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or an exclamation. Alternate translation: [you have no reward.] or [there is no reward for you!]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

οὐχὶ καὶ οἱ τελῶναι τὸ αὐτὸ ποιοῦσιν?

Jesus uses this question to show that even tax collectors, who were often considered to be unloving people, love people who love them. If you would not use the question form for this purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or an exclamation. Alternate translation: [Even the tax collectors do the same.] or [Even tax collectors do that very thing!]

Parallel MAT 5:46

Section 5:1–7:29: Jesus preached a sermon on a mountain

5:46a

5:46b