Matthew 5:19

5:19 So anyone who breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others¹ to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever obeys them and teaches others to do so will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 2:6

2:6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are in no way least among the rulers of Judah,

for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”²

Matthew 11:11

11:11 “I tell you the truth,³ among those born of women, no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least⁴ in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is.

Matthew 25:40

25:40 And the king will answer them,⁵ ‘I tell you the truth,⁶ just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters⁷ of mine, you did it for me.’

Matthew 25:45

25:45 Then he will answer them,⁸ ‘I tell you the truth,⁹ just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.’

¹tn Grk “teaches men” ( in a generic sense, people).

²sn A quotation from Mic 5:2.

³tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

⁴sn After John comes a shift of eras. The new era is so great that the lowest member of it (the one who is least in the kingdom of God) is greater than the greatest one of the previous era.

⁵tn Grk “answering, the king will say to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

⁶tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

⁷tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). In this context Jesus is ultimately speaking of his “followers” (whether men or women, adults or children), but the familial connotation of “brothers and sisters” is also important to retain here.

⁸tn Grk “answer them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

⁹tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”