So may also be rendered “Then” or “At this.” Good News Translation finds it more natural in English to drop this transitional.

Fell on his knees (so also Good News Translation) translates a participle which is literally “falling” or “having fallen,” and the action is best understood as falling face down rather than upon the knees. Moreover, the meaning of the verb imploring (Good News Translation “begged”) is “approach in dog-like fashion,” descriptive of the manner in which a dog approaches its master on all fours in hopes of escaping punishment. Though root meanings may be deceptive, the root meaning seems best to suit the needs of the context. New American Bible, though at a high-language level, is accurate: “prostrated himself in homage and said.” New Jerusalem Bible translates “the servant threw himself down at his master’s feet,” and An American Translation has “threw himself down before him and implored him.” The man is about to lose everything, and so he approaches his king in the most humble way possible. Translators should use whatever expression makes this clear; for example, “knelt down” or “lay down on the ground in front of.”

Have patience translates a verb made from the same stem as the adjective used in the Septuagint, with the meaning “patient” or “long-suffering.” Sometimes an expression such as “be patient” does not fit well, and translators say instead “give me some time.”

I will pay you everything may be expressed as “I will pay you back everything I have taken,” “I will give you everything I owe you,” or “I will pay back the entire debt.” I will pay you everything is, of course, an exaggeration. It is inconceivable that the man could have repaid the enormous amount. For example, the annual income of King Herod was only nine hundred talents, and for this man to have repaid ten thousand talents would have been an impossible feat.

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 .