Matthew 5:12

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

Rejoice and be glad, because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

Χαίρετε, καὶ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε: ὅτι ὁ μισθὸς ὑμῶν πολὺς ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς: οὕτως γὰρ ἐδίωξαν τοὺς προφήτας τοὺς πρὸ ὑμῶν.

Transliteration

Chairete, and agalliasthe: hoti the misthos of-you polys in the ouranois: houtōs gar they-ediōxan the prophētas the before you.

Grammar Details

• *Chairete*: present active imperative, 2nd person plural - rejoice!
• *agalliasthe*: present middle/passive imperative, 2nd person plural - be exceedingly glad!
• *hoti*: conjunction - because/for
• *misthos*: nominative masculine singular - reward/wages
• *polys*: nominative masculine singular - great/much
• *ouranois*: dative masculine plural - in heavens
• *houtōs*: adverb - in this manner/thus
• *gar*: postpositive conjunction - for/because
• *ediōxan*: aorist active indicative, 3rd person plural - they persecuted
• *prophētas*: accusative masculine plural - prophets

Word Meanings

• *Chairete*: rejoice/be glad/greet
• *agalliasthe*: be exceedingly glad/exult/rejoice greatly
• *misthos*: reward/wages/payment
• *polys*: great/much/many
• *ouranois*: heavens/skies
• *houtōs*: thus/in this manner/so
• *ediōxan*: persecuted/pursued/harassed
• *prophētas*: prophets/those who speak forth

Referenced Verses

• Luke 6:23 : 23 Rejoice in that day, and jump for joy, because your reward is great in heaven. For their ancestors did the same things to the prophets.
• Rom 5:3 : 3 Not only this, but we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
• Jas 1:2 : 2 Joy in Trials My brothers and sisters, consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials,
• 1 Pet 4:13 : 13 But rejoice in the degree that you have shared in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may also rejoice and be glad.
• Col 1:24 : 24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my physical body– for the sake of his body, the church– what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ.
• Matt 16:27 : 27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.
• 2 Chr 36:16 : 16 But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his warnings, and ridiculed his prophets. Finally the LORD got very angry at his people and there was no one who could prevent his judgment.
• Gen 15:1 : 1 The Cutting of the Covenant After these things the LORD’s message came to Abram in a vision:“Fear not, Abram! I am your shield and the one who will reward you in great abundance.”
• Ruth 2:12 : 12 May the LORD reward your efforts! May your acts of kindness be repaid fully by the LORD God of Israel, from whom you have sought protection!”
• Ps 58:11 : 11 Then observers will say,“Yes indeed, the godly are rewarded! Yes indeed, there is a God who judges in the earth!”
• Prov 11:18 : 18 The wicked person earns deceitful wages, but the one who sows righteousness reaps a genuine reward.
• Isa 3:10 : 10 Tell the innocent it will go well with them, for they will be rewarded for what they have done.
• Jer 2:30 : 30 “It did no good for me to punish your people. They did not respond to such correction. You slaughtered your prophets like a voracious lion.”
• 1 Kgs 18:13 : 13 Certainly my master is aware of what I did when Jezebel was killing the LORD’s prophets. I hid one hundred of the LORD’s prophets in two caves in two groups of fifty and I brought them food and water.
• 1 Kgs 22:26-27 : 26 Then the king of Israel said,“Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the city official and Joash the king’s son. 27 Say,‘This is what the king says,“Put this man in prison. Give him only a little bread and water until I safely return.”’”
• Matt 21:34-38 : 34 When the harvest time was near, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his portion of the crop. 35 But the tenants seized his slaves, beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other slaves, more than the first, and they treated them the same way. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying,‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves,‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’
• Acts 5:41 : 41 So they left the council rejoicing because they had been considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.
• 1 Cor 3:8 : 8 The one who plants and the one who waters work as one, but each will receive his reward according to his work.
• Acts 16:25 : 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the rest of the prisoners were listening to them.
• Phil 2:17 : 17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice together with all of you.
• Jer 26:21-23 : 21 When King Jehoiakim and all his bodyguards and officials heard what he was prophesying, the king sought to have him executed. But Uriah found out about it and fled to Egypt out of fear. 22 However, King Jehoiakim sent some men to Egypt, including Elnathan son of Achbor, 23 and they brought Uriah back from there. They took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him executed and had his body thrown into the burial place of the common people.
• Matt 6:16 : 16 Proper Fasting“When you fast, do not look sullen like the hypocrites, for they make their faces unattractive so that people will see them fasting. I tell you the truth, they have their reward!
• Col 3:24 : 24 because you know that you will receive your inheritance from the Lord as the reward. Serve the Lord Christ.
• 1 Thess 2:15 : 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets and persecuted us severely. They are displeasing to God and are opposed to all people,
• Heb 11:6 : 6 Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
• Luke 6:35 : 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to ungrateful and evil people.
• Luke 11:47-51 : 47 Woe to you! You build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed. 48 So you testify that you approve of the deeds of your ancestors, because they killed the prophets and you build their tombs! 49 For this reason also the wisdom of God said,‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ 50 so that this generation may be held accountable for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation.
• Luke 13:34 : 34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would have none of it!
• Matt 10:41-42 : 41 Whoever receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. Whoever receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple, I tell you the truth, he will never lose his reward.”
• Matt 6:1-2 : 1 Pure-hearted Giving“Be careful not to display your righteousness merely to be seen by people. Otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven. 2 Thus whenever you do charitable giving, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in synagogues and on streets so that people will praise them. I tell you the truth, they have their reward!
• Matt 6:4-5 : 4 so that your gift may be in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. 5 Private Prayer“Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray while standing in synagogues and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward!
• 2 Cor 4:17 : 17 For our momentary, light suffering is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison
• Acts 7:51-52 : 51 “You stubborn people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, like your ancestors did! 52 Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold long ago the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become!
• Matt 23:31-37 : 31 By saying this you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up then the measure of your ancestors! 33 You snakes, you offspring of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 “For this reason I am sending you prophets and wise men and experts in the law, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town, 35 so that on you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 I tell you the truth, this generation will be held responsible for all these things! 37 Judgment on Israel“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would have none of it!
• 2 Kgs 1:9 : 9 The king sent a captain and his fifty soldiers to retrieve Elijah. The captain went up to him, while he was sitting on the top of a hill. He told him,“Prophet, the king says,‘Come down!’”
• 2 Chr 16:10 : 10 Asa was so angry at the prophet, he put him in jail. Asa also oppressed some of the people at that time.
• 2 Chr 24:20-22 : 20 God’s Spirit energized Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood up before the people and said to them,“This is what God says:‘Why are you violating the commands of the LORD? You will not be prosperous! Because you have rejected the LORD, he has rejected you!’” 21 They plotted against him and by royal decree stoned him to death in the courtyard of the LORD’s temple. 22 King Joash disregarded the loyalty his father Jehoiada had shown him and killed Jehoiada’s son. As Zechariah was dying, he said,“May the LORD take notice and seek vengeance!”
• 1 Kgs 19:2 : 2 Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah with this warning,“May the gods judge me severely if by this time tomorrow I do not take your life as you did theirs!”
• 1 Kgs 19:10-14 : 10 He answered,“I have been absolutely loyal to the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies, even though the Israelites have abandoned the covenant they made with you, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and now they want to take my life.” 11 The LORD said,“Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD. Look, the LORD is ready to pass by.”A very powerful wind went before the LORD, digging into the mountain and causing landslides, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the windstorm there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a soft whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his robe and went out and stood at the entrance to the cave. All of a sudden a voice asked him,“Why are you here, Elijah?” 14 He answered,“I have been absolutely loyal to the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies, even though the Israelites have abandoned the covenant they made with you torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and now they want to take my life.”
• 1 Kgs 21:20 : 20 When Elijah arrived, Ahab said to him,“So, you have found me, my enemy!” Elijah replied,“I have found you, because you are committed to doing evil in the sight of the LORD.
• 1 Kgs 22:8 : 8 The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat,“There is still one man through whom we can seek the LORD’s will. But I despise him because he does not prophesy prosperity for me, but disaster. His name is Micaiah son of Imlah.” Jehoshaphat said,“The king should not say such things.”
• Jer 26:8 : 8 Jeremiah had just barely finished saying all the LORD had commanded him to say to all the people. All at once some of the priests, the prophets, and the people grabbed him and shouted,“You deserve to die!
• 1 Kgs 18:4 : 4 When Jezebel was killing the LORD’s prophets, Obadiah took one hundred prophets and hid them in two caves in two groups of fifty. He also brought them food and water.)
• Neh 9:26 : 26 “Nonetheless they grew disobedient and rebelled against you; they disregarded your law. They killed your prophets who had solemnly admonished them in order to cause them to return to you. They committed atrocious blasphemies.
• Ps 19:11 : 11 Yes, your servant finds moral guidance there; those who obey them receive a rich reward.
• Heb 11:26 : 26 He regarded abuse suffered for Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for his eyes were fixed on the reward.