Matthew 7:12-14

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Matthew 7:12 tn Grk “Therefore in.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated.
2. Matthew 7:12 tn This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos), referring to both males and females.
3. Matthew 7:12 sn Jesus’ teaching as reflected in the phrase treat others as you would want them to treat you, known generally as the Golden Rule, is not completely unique in the ancient world, but here it is stated in its most emphatic, selfless form. It is stated negatively in Tobit 4:15, and can also be found in the Talmud in a story about the great rabbi Hillel, who is said to have told a Gentile who asked to be taught the Torah, “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor; that is the whole Torah, while the rest is the commentary thereof; go and learn it” (b. Shabbat 31a).
4. Matthew 7:12 tn Grk “is”; cf. CEV “This is what the Law and the Prophets are all about”; NIV “for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
5. Matthew 7:13 sn The same verb is used in Matt 5:20, suggesting that the kingdom of heaven is to be understood here as the object.
6. Matthew 7:14 tn See BDAG 1007 s.v. τίς for the translation of τί (ti) as an exclamation.
7. Matthew 7:14 sn Here the destination is specified as life. In several places Matthew uses “life” or “eternal life” in proximity with “the kingdom of heaven,” suggesting a close relationship between the two concepts (compare Matt 25:34 with v. 46; Matt 19:16, 17, 29 with vv. 23, 24). Matthew consistently portrays “eternal life” as something a person enters in the world to come, whereas the Gospel of John sees “eternal life” as beginning in the present and continuing into the future (cf. John 5:24).