Yesaya 57:15

57:15 For this is what the high and exalted one says,

the one who rules ¹  forever, whose name is holy:

“I dwell in an exalted and holy place,

but also with the discouraged and humiliated, ² 

in order to cheer up the humiliated

and to encourage the discouraged. ³ 

Matius 5:3-4

5:3 “Blessed ⁴  are the poor in spirit, ⁵  for the kingdom of heaven belongs ⁶  to them.

5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. ⁷ 

Lukas 18:13-14

18:13 The tax collector, however, stood ⁸  far off and would not even look up ⁹  to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful ¹⁰  to me, sinner that I am!’ ¹¹  18:14 I tell you that this man went down to his home justified ¹²  rather than the Pharisee. ¹³  For everyone who exalts ¹⁴  himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

[57:15]  ¹ tn Heb “the one who dwells forever.” שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) is sometimes translated “the one who lives forever,” and understood as a reference to God’s eternal existence. However, the immediately preceding and following descriptions (“high and exalted” and “holy”) emphasize his sovereign rule. In the next line, he declares, “I dwell in an exalted and holy [place],” which refers to the place from which he rules. Therefore it is more likely that שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) means “I dwell [in my lofty palace] forever” and refers to God’s eternal kingship.

[57:15]  ² tn Heb “and also with the crushed and lowly of spirit.” This may refer to the repentant who have humbled themselves (see 66:2) or more generally to the exiles who have experienced discouragement and humiliation.

[57:15]  ³ tn Heb “to restore the lowly of spirit and to restore the heart of the crushed.”

[5:3]  ⁴ sn The term Blessed introduces the first of several beatitudes promising blessing to those whom God cares for. They serve as an invitation to come into the grace God offers.

[5:3]  ⁵ sn The poor in spirit is a reference to the “pious poor” for whom God especially cares. See Ps 14:6; 22:24; 25:16; 34:6; 40:17; 69:29.

[5:3]  ⁶ sn The present tense (belongs) here is significant. Jesus makes the kingdom and its blessings currently available. This phrase is unlike the others in the list with the possessive pronoun being emphasized.

[5:4]  ⁷ sn The promise they will be comforted is the first of several “reversals” noted in these promises. The beatitudes and the reversals that accompany them serve in the sermon as an invitation to enter into God’s care, because one can know God cares for those who turn to him.

[18:13]  ⁸ tn Grk “standing”; the Greek participle has been translated as a finite verb.

[18:13]  ⁹ tn Grk “even lift up his eyes” (an idiom).

[18:13]  ¹⁰ tn The prayer is a humble call for forgiveness. The term for mercy (ἱλάσκομαι, Jilaskomai) is associated with the concept of a request for atonement (BDAG 473-74 s.v. 1; Ps 51:1, 3; 25:11; 34:6, 18).

[18:13]  ¹¹ tn Grk “the sinner.” The tax collector views himself not just as any sinner but as the worst of all sinners. See ExSyn 222-23.

[18:14]  ¹² sn The prayer that was heard and honored was the one given with humility; in a surprising reversal it was the tax collector who went down to his home justified.

[18:14]  ¹³ tn Grk “the other”; the referent (the Pharisee, v. 10) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:14]  ¹⁴ sn Everyone who exalts himself. See Luke 14:11. Jesus often called for humility and condemned those who sought honor.