Tool Beta
The Ancient World Behind the Text
Pick a passage anywhere in the New Testament. See the customs and ideas a first reader knew without being told.
Luke 6:20-36, Blessings, woes and lending with nothing back
Jesus blesses the poor, the hungry, the weeping and the hated, pronounces woes on the rich and the well fed, and tells his hearers to love enemies, turn the other cheek and lend without expecting anything back.
Luke 6:20-36, in every translation this tool compares.
Jesus turns to his followers and pronounces God's blessing on the poor, the hungry, the grieving and the hated, promising them the kingdom and a reversal of their state. He matches each blessing with a warning to the wealthy, the well fed, the carefree and the popular. He then calls for love of enemies, for not hitting back, for giving freely and for lending without expecting repayment, because that is how God himself treats the thankless.
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The poor had become a name for the pious in some Jewish circles, and one Aramaic word may stand behind both Luke's poor and Matthew's poor in spirit (Keener and his notes); the ESV Study Bible reads Luke's poor as those poor in things who trust God. Many Jews expected a reversal of status at the end, the lowly raised and the exalted brought low (Keener and his notes). The backhanded blow on the right cheek was an insult to honor that could be taken to court, and the coat was the one thing a creditor could not legally seize (Exodus 22:26-27; Keener's notes). The usual rule was to harm enemies and help friends, as the Greek orator Lysias put it, and the Qumran scroll that tells its members to leave vengeance to God also tells them to detest the sons of darkness (Strauss). The Golden Rule was known in other forms, from Seneca to Hillel, who said, "What is hateful to you, do not do to anyone else" (Strauss). Because the law canceled debts in the seventh year, the rich were slow to lend as it came near (Deuteronomy 15:9; Strauss).
- NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, notes on Luke 6:20, 6:21, 6:29 and 6:34
- Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, on Luke 6:17-26, 6:20, 6:22-23 and 6:34-35
- ESV Study Bible, study note on Luke 6:20
- Mark L. Strauss, Luke, in Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, ed. Clinton E. Arnold, on Luke 6:31, 6:32 and 6:34-35 and sidebars Blessings and Woes and Love Your Enemies
