Prophesy to us refers specifically to the second command: Who is it that struck you? Several translations restructure, though in different ways, so as to make this relationship evident: “Now, Messiah, if you are a prophet, tell us who hit you” (New English Bible), “Show us you are a prophet, you Christ! Who was it that struck you?” (An American Translation), and “You Savior, who just struck you? You are after all a prophet!” (Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition).

Christ is to be understood as a Messianic title (“Messiah”), not as a proper name, as some translations imply (see comments at 1.1, 17). One may wish to translate you Christ as “you who claim to be the chosen King” or “… chosen Savior.”

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 .