6:22
In the fourth statement that begins with “Blessed are you,” Jesus describes the opposition that those who are a part of God’s kingdom will experience. They will experience these things because they are Jesus’ disciples.
6:22a
Blessed are you: Translate this phrase the same way you did in 6:20b.
when people hate you: The phrase when people hate you means “when people hate you as Jesus’ disciples.” Jesus was not implying that being hated (or excluded or insulted) is a blessing in itself. Being hated was a sign that they were faithful followers of God. They were supposed to recognize that they were blessed because of that. Some other ways to translate this are:
when others hate you (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
when you are hated
6:22b
and when they exclude you: The word exclude means “refuse to accept someone as part of a social or religious group.” Some other ways to translate this are:
won’t have anything to do with you (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
avoid you (God’s Word)
-or-
when they separate you from their group
and insult you: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as insult also means “to reproach.” This word implies that the person being insulted is wrong and should be blamed.
6:22c
and reject your name as evil: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as reject your name as evil is literally “cast out your(plur) name as evil.” It means “to speak against someone in a way that harms him or his reputation.”
Some other ways to translate this are:
slander your very name (Revised English Bible)
-or-
defame you (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
say cruel things about you (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
spoil your name/reputation
your name: For the Jews, a person’s name symbolized that person himself and his reputation. So the phrase your name is a figure of speech. It is another way to refer to a person himself. Another way to translate it here is:
you
6:22d
because of the Son of Man: The phrase because of the Son of Man means “because you are disciples of the Son of Man.” Many people would act badly toward Jesus’ disciples because those disciples followed Jesus, the Son of Man. Some other ways to translate this are:
because you follow the Son of Man (New Century Version)
-or-
because you are committed to the Son of Man (God’s Word)
-or-
because you are loyal to the Son of Man (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
the Son of Man: Jesus used the title the Son of Man to refer to himself. In some languages, it may be necessary to make it clear that Jesus was talking about himself. For example:
me, the Son of Man (New Living Translation (1996))
The phrase the Son of Man also occurs in Luke at 6:5.
General Comment on 6:22a–d
The phrase, “because of the Son of Man,” goes with all of the four verbs in 6:22a–c. Jesus was saying that his disciples are blessed when:
(a) people hate them because of the Son of Man,
(b) people exclude them because of the Son of Man,
(c) people insult them because of the Son of Man, and
(d) people reject them as evil because of the Son of Man.
To make this clear, you could move the phrase “because of the Son of Man” to the beginning of the list of the four verbs. For example:
⌊You have chosen to follow me,⌋ the Son of Man. Because of that, you are blessed when people hate you, when they exclude you…
Or you could leave it at its present position and add a phrase to include all four verbs. For example:
Blessed are you when men hate you…and reject your name as evil—all of this because you follow me, the Son of Man.
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