Mat 5:11 Blessed are you, when [men] shall revile you...
Mat 5:11 Blessed are ye, when [men] shall revile you, and persecute [you], and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Alternative: You are lucky whenever people might accuse and hound you and proclaim all types of worthless stuff, lying on account of me.
While this lines sounds a lot like the last line of the Beatitudes, there are important differences. First, it is the first of these "Blessed" phrases address to the listener. while in the previous stanza, dioko includes a lot of possible meanings not all of them negative, here "persecute" is clearly the best meaning because dioko is used with other unambiguously negative attacks.
The meaning is narrower here than in the last stanza because this is the type of parallel and contrast that distinguishes Christ's words from everything else that has been written. The fact that we can be pursued for seeking perfection here is compared with the ideas
The is another parallel here where the pursuit of excellence (righteousness) is paired with the idea of following Christ. While people can compete with you in a non-negative way when you are simply trying to be the best you can be, you will encounter more negatively when you seek excellence through pursuing Christ. Following Christ (as opposed to simply embracing a mainstream "Christian" religion) has never been and will never something that is applauded publicly. Later one, Christ explains many reasons why this must be true.
"Blessed" is from makarios (makarios) which means "blessed," "happy," and "fortunate."
"You" is from humas (humas) and humôn (humon), which are the plural forms of su the pronoun of the second person, "you."
"When" is from hotan (hotan), which means "whenever (as a condition)," and "since (as a cause)."
"Revile" is from oneidizô (oneidizo), which means "cast in one's teeth," "make a reproach," "upbraid," and "chide."
"Persecuted" is from diôkô (dioko), which means "to pursue," "to chase," "to urge on," or "to drive." It means "persecute" when used as a legal term.
"Say" is from eipon (eipon), which means "to speak," "to say," "to recite," "to address," "to mention," "to name," "to proclaim," "to plead," "to promise," and "to offer."
"All manner" is from pas (pas), which means "all," "the whole," "every," "anyone," "all kinds," and "anything."
"Evil" is from ponêros (poneros), which we discuss extensively in this page. In a moral sense, it means "worthless," "base," and "cowardly."
"Word" is from rhêma (rhema), which means "that which is spoken," "word," "saying," "word for word," "subject of speech," and "matter."
"Against" is from kata (kata), which means "downwards," "down from," "down into," "against," "down toward," "opposite," "separately," "individually," "at a time," "towards," "in accordance with," "concerning," "corresponding with," "during the course of a period," and "severally."
"Falsely" is from pseudomai (pseudomai), which means to "lie," "speak false," "play false," "pretend," and "to say what is untrue." It is a form of the verb pseudo, which means "to cheat by lies," "to beguile," and "to cheat" or "dissapoint" someone about something. In the passive, "to be cheated," "to be deceived" "to be deceived about something," and "to be mistaken about something."
"For" is from heneka (heneka), which means "on account of," "as far as regards," "in consequence of," and "because."
