1 sn Merciful is a characteristic of God often noted in the OT: Exod 34:6; Deut 4:31; Joel 2:31; Jonah 4:2; 2 Sam 24:14. This remark also echoes the more common OT statements like Lev 19:2 or Deut 18:13: “you must be holy as I am holy.”
2 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of thought.
3 sn The assumption is that the rich are blessed, so if they risk exclusion, who is left to be saved?