To set … against (so also Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible) is the wording of many translations; New American Bible has “to set … at odds with” and An American Translation “to turn … against,” and it can also be “to make sons their fathers’ enemies.”

This is the only passage to which the lexicons assign this meaning for the verb, which has “divide in two” as its primary meaning. But the primary meaning also suits the context well, especially the figure of the sword in verse 34. If this symbolism is carried into verse 35, then one can translate “I have come like a sword that separates sons from their fathers….” And if the separation is understood in the sense of “setting against,” then it is possible to arrive at “… that separates sons from their fathers and makes them enemies.” Unless something of this nature is done, then there is not a clear relation between verses 34 and 35.

A man against his father may require slight rewording: “a son against his father.” On the other hand, a daughter against her mother may need to be “a woman against her mother,” and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law may be here “a woman against her mother-in-law.” In the Jewish culture sons and daughters were to be obedient to their parents, and a daughter-in-law was expected to obey her mother-in-law.

A man’s foes (Good News Translation “a man’s worst enemies”) will be those of his own household (Good News Translation “the members of his own family”): Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch widens the application: “The closest relatives will become enemies.” The purpose of the saying is to underline the division that comes in families when some of its members accept the Christian message and others do not. Since Jesus is addressing his disciples, it may be necessary to shift to the second person: “The members of your own family will become your worst enemies.”

Most of verses 35-36 are taken from Micah 7.6, a quotation also found in Luke 12.53; but neither Gospel follows precisely either the Hebrew or the Septuagint. Some translators have indicated that Jesus is quoting (or referring to) an Old Testament passage. They have said “For, as it is written in the Scriptures, I have come….”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .