Matius 5:9

5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children ¹  of God.

Lukas 6:35

6:35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back. ²  Then ³  your reward will be great, and you will be sons ⁴  of the Most High, ⁵  because he is kind to ungrateful and evil people. ⁶ 

Yohanes 13:35

13:35 Everyone ⁷  will know by this that you are my disciples – if you have love for one another.”

Efesus 5:1

Live in Love

5:1 Therefore, be ⁸  imitators of God as dearly loved children

Efesus 5:1

Live in Love

5:1 Therefore, be ⁹  imitators of God as dearly loved children

Yohanes 3:9

3:9 Nicodemus replied, ¹⁰  “How can these things be?” ¹¹ 

[5:9]  ¹ tn Grk “sons,” though traditionally English versions have taken this as a generic reference to both males and females, hence “children” (cf. KJV, NAB, NRSV, NLT).

[6:35]  ² tn Or “in return.”

[6:35]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the outcome or result. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started in the translation at this point.

[6:35]  ⁴ sn The character of these actions reflects the grace and kindness of God, bearing witness to a “line of descent” or relationship of the individual to God (sons of the Most High). There is to be a unique kind of ethic at work with disciples. Jesus refers specifically to sons here because in the ancient world sons had special privileges which were rarely accorded to daughters. However, Jesus is most likely addressing both men and women in this context, so women too would receive these same privileges.

[6:35]  ⁵ sn That is, “sons of God.”

[6:35]  ⁶ tn Or “to the ungrateful and immoral.” The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[13:35]  ⁷ tn Grk “All people,” although many modern translations have rendered πάντες (pantes) as “all men” (ASV, RSV, NASB, NIV). While the gender of the pronoun is masculine, it is collective and includes people of both genders.

[5:1]  ⁸ tn Or “become.”

[5:1]  ⁹ tn Or “become.”

[3:9]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Nicodemus answered and said to him.”

[3:9]  ¹¹ sn “How can these things be?” is Nicodemus’ answer. It is clear that at this time he has still not grasped what Jesus is saying. Note also that this is the last appearance of Nicodemus in the dialogue. Having served the purpose of the author, at this point he disappears from the scene. As a character in the narrative, he has served to illustrate the prevailing Jewish misunderstanding of Jesus’ teaching about the necessity of a new, spiritual birth from above. Whatever parting words Nicodemus might have had with Jesus, the author does not record them.