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Selected Verse: Matthew 10:42 - King James

Verse	Translation	Text
Mt 10:42	King James	And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones--Beautiful epithet! Originally taken from Zac 13:7. The reference is to their lowliness in spirit, their littleness in the eyes of an undiscerning world, while high in Heaven's esteem. a cup of cold water only--meaning, the smallest service. in the name of a disciple--or, as it is in Mark (Mar 9:41), because ye are Christ's: from love to Me, and to him from his connection with Me. verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward--There is here a descending climax--"a prophet," "a righteous man," "a little one"; signifying that however low we come down in our services to those that are Christ's, all that is done for His sake, and that bears the stamp of love to His blessed name, shall be divinely appreciated and owned and rewarded.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones--Beautiful epithet! Originally taken from Zac 13:7. The reference is to their lowliness in spirit, their littleness in the eyes of an undiscerning world, while high in Heaven's esteem.

a cup of cold water only--meaning, the smallest service.

in the name of a disciple--or, as it is in Mark (Mar 9:41), because ye are Christ's: from love to Me, and to him from his connection with Me.

verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward--There is here a descending climax--"a prophet," "a righteous man," "a little one"; signifying that however low we come down in our services to those that are Christ's, all that is done for His sake, and that bears the stamp of love to His blessed name, shall be divinely appreciated and owned and rewarded.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
One of these little ones - The very least Christian. Mar 9:41.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]

One of these little ones - The very least Christian. Mar 9:41.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
A cup of cold water - Υδατος, of water, is not in the common text, but it is found in the Codex Bezae, Coptic, Armenian, Gothic, Anglo-Saxon, Slavonic, all copies of the Itala, Vulgate, and Origen. It is necessarily understood; the ellipsis of the same substantive is frequent, both in the Greek and Latin writers. See Wakefield. Little ones - My apparently mean and generally despised disciples. But a cup of water in the eastern countries was not a matter of small worth. In India, the Hindoos go sometimes a great way to fetch it, and then boil it that it may do the less hurt to travelers when they are hot; and, after that, they stand from morning to night in some great road, where there is neither pit nor rivulet, and offer it, in honor of their god, to be drunk by all passengers. This necessary work of charity, in these hot countries, seems to have been practised by the more pious and humane Jews; and our Lord assures them that, if they do this in his name, they shall not lose their reward. See the Asiatic Miscellany, vol. ii. p. 142. Verily - he shall in no wise lose his reward - The rabbins have a similar saying: "He that gives food to one that studies in the law, God will bless him in this world, and give him a lot in the world to come." Syn. Sohar. Love heightens the smallest actions, and gives a worth to them which they cannot possess without it. Under a just and merciful God every sin is either punished or pardoned, and every good action rewarded. The most indigent may exercise the works of mercy and charity; seeing even a cup of cold water, given in the name of Jesus, shall not lose its reward. How astonishing is God's kindness! It is not the rich merely whom he calls on to be charitable; but even the poor, and the most impoverished of the poor! God gives the power and inclination to be charitable, and then rewards the work which, it may be truly said, God himself hath wrought. It is the name of Jesus that sanctifies every thing, and renders services, in themselves comparatively contemptible, of high worth in the sight of God. See Quesnel.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826

A cup of cold water - Υδατος, of water, is not in the common text, but it is found in the Codex Bezae, Coptic, Armenian, Gothic, Anglo-Saxon, Slavonic, all copies of the Itala, Vulgate, and Origen. It is necessarily understood; the ellipsis of the same substantive is frequent, both in the Greek and Latin writers. See Wakefield.

Little ones - My apparently mean and generally despised disciples.

But a cup of water in the eastern countries was not a matter of small worth. In India, the Hindoos go sometimes a great way to fetch it, and then boil it that it may do the less hurt to travelers when they are hot; and, after that, they stand from morning to night in some great road, where there is neither pit nor rivulet, and offer it, in honor of their god, to be drunk by all passengers. This necessary work of charity, in these hot countries, seems to have been practised by the more pious and humane Jews; and our Lord assures them that, if they do this in his name, they shall not lose their reward. See the Asiatic Miscellany, vol. ii. p. 142.

Verily - he shall in no wise lose his reward - The rabbins have a similar saying: "He that gives food to one that studies in the law, God will bless him in this world, and give him a lot in the world to come." Syn. Sohar.

Love heightens the smallest actions, and gives a worth to them which they cannot possess without it. Under a just and merciful God every sin is either punished or pardoned, and every good action rewarded. The most indigent may exercise the works of mercy and charity; seeing even a cup of cold water, given in the name of Jesus, shall not lose its reward. How astonishing is God's kindness! It is not the rich merely whom he calls on to be charitable; but even the poor, and the most impoverished of the poor! God gives the power and inclination to be charitable, and then rewards the work which, it may be truly said, God himself hath wrought.

It is the name of Jesus that sanctifies every thing, and renders services, in themselves comparatively contemptible, of high worth in the sight of God. See Quesnel.

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