And he came up to Jesus at once and said is translated by Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch so that he of the Greek text is clearly marked: “Judas went immediately to Jesus and said.” Compare also Good News Translation.

Hail (so also Moffatt, New English Bible) is definitely archaic for speakers of American English. Moreover, it has the disadvantage of sounding like “Hell!” which is frequently used as a swear word. More appropriate choices are “Greetings” (New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version, Barclay, Phillips), “Good evening” (An American Translation), “Peace” (New American Bible), or “Peace be with you” (Good News Translation). The word is used again in 27.29; 28.9.

Master (Good News Translation “Teacher”) is a translation of the Aramaic term transliterated “Rabbi” by New Jerusalem Bible and New English Bible. It is also the term by which Judas addresses Jesus during the course of the last meal (verse 25). See comment on “rabbi” at 23.7.

Two pronouns are used in And he kissed him. Normally translators find it is clear who does the kissing, but in some cases it is helpful to say “And Judas kissed him.”

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 .