Essay The Sermon on the Mountain
The word of Jesus found in Luke 6:20 26 are the opening statements of His Sermon
on the Plain. As with any other passage there are translation differences, literary,
historical, linguistic, economic and sociological backgrounds for this passage. It is
sometimes difficult to discern the original, or real, meaning of biblical passages and
Luke 6:20 26, and beatitudesin general, are no different.
The Sermon on the Mount, found in Mark 5 7, is generally referred to as the greatest
sermon ever preached. Jesus begins His sermon by stating the eight beatitudes, and
the passage in Luke 6:20 26 contains a subset of these beatitudes combined with a
corresponding set of woes.
There are two genres used in this passage. Each of the first four ... Show more content
on Helpwriting.net ...
The first three beatitudes (blessings for the poor, hungry, and weeping; verses 20
21) has same wording in the NIV and the NASB and the only textual difference in
the NLT is the beginning of God blesses. Verse 22 (blessings for the persecuted)
expresses blessing for the hated, excluded, insulted, and rejected in the NIV; the
hated, excluded mocked, and cursed in the NLT; and the hated, ostracized,
insulted and scorned in the NASB. A common attributed of the persecuted among
the NIV, the NLT, and the NASB is hated, and the remaining three vary. Verse 23
contains no significant textual differences among the NIV, the NLT, and the
NASB. Like the first three beatitudes, the first three woes (woe to the rich, well
fed, and laughing; verses 24 25) are the same in the NIV and the NASB, but the
NLT uses, what sorrows await you are to describe the woes. In verse 26, woe is
expressed for those who everyone speaks well of in the NIV, for those who are
praised by the crowds in the NLT, and those who all men speak well of in the NASB.
(Note that any biblical quotation from this point forward, unless otherwise indicated,
is quoted from the New International Version published in 2011.)
The tense of the beatitudes and their corresponding woes can also be explored. The
first and fourth of the beatitudes and their woes describe a blessing or woe that is
placed in the