Matthew 5:12-14
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
12 [a]Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.(A) Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
The Similes of Salt and Light.[b] 13 (B)“You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.[c] 14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.(C)
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- 5:12 The prophets who were before you: the disciples of Jesus stand in the line of the persecuted prophets of Israel. Some would see the expression as indicating also that Matthew considered all Christian disciples as prophets.
- 5:13–16 By their deeds the disciples are to influence the world for good. They can no more escape notice than a city set on a mountain. If they fail in good works, they are as useless as flavorless salt or as a lamp whose light is concealed.
- 5:13 The unusual supposition of salt losing its flavor has led some to suppose that the saying refers to the salt of the Dead Sea that, because chemically impure, could lose its taste.
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