The verse says when they saw him, leaving it clear that Jesus appeared to them when they reached the mountain. In many languages this is not possible, so translators have had to begin this verse by saying “There they saw Jesus, and when they saw him….”
Worshiped translates a verb frequently used in this Gospel (see 2.2; 28.9 for its first and most recent occurrences). Him is not found in all Greek manuscripts, but many languages will require that the verb be accompanied by an object indicating the one to whom their worship was directed.
But some doubted (so also New International Version, Luther 1984) appears in Good News Translation as “even though some … doubted.” New American Bible renders as though their doubt was something that took place prior to the resurrection appearance (“those who had entertained doubts”), although it follows with a footnote (“literally, ‘some doubted’ ”). New Jerusalem Bible offers the time perspective of New American Bible as a possibility in its alternative reading (“though some had hesitated”), but the translators confess that this has less grammatical support than the reading which they place in the text (“though some hesitated”). As a matter of fact, it is difficult to find any grammatical support for the interpretation of New American Bible; it appears rather to be an attempt to force a theological judgment on the text.
The clause is also difficult to interpret for other reasons. First, some may refer exclusively to the eleven disciples (“some of the disciples”) or to others outside the group of the disciples (“some other disciples”). But even if the exegesis of Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation (“the eleven”) is accepted, then two possibilities still result: (1) “All eleven of the disciples worshiped Jesus, even though some of them had their doubts”; and (2) “Some of the eleven disciples worshiped Jesus, but others of them only doubted.” If the alternative exegesis is followed, then once again two possibilities result: (1) “The eleven disciples worshiped Jesus, while a larger group of disciples who were there only doubted”; and (2) “The eleven disciples worshiped Jesus, as did some others in the larger group of disciples who were there, but others of them doubted.”
The second major concern is that of the time perspective of the two events (“doubting” and “worshiping”), which Matthew almost with certainty regards as simultaneous. Moreover, since he specifically identifies only the eleven as the participants in the event, it is logical to conclude that he conceives of them all as both doubting and believing. The nearest grammatical antecedent to this construction is found in 26.66, where “they” in Greek is the same as some here: “They answered, ‘He deserves death.’ ” This cannot possibly be taken to mean “Some of them answered”; it must mean “They all answered.” On the basis of this grammatical pattern, one is forced to conclude: all eleven saw him, all eleven worshiped him, and yet all eleven doubted! Thus one can translate “When they saw him, they worshiped him, even though they were not completely sure that it was Jesus.” In this same regard it is of interest to note that the only other occurrence of the verb “doubt” in Matthew’s Gospel has the disciples as its subject (14.31). Doubted is often expanded to “doubted it was Jesus” or “were not sure it was really him.”
It is also “them” (that is, the eleven) to whom the risen Lord announces his authority (verse 18), gives the commission (verses 19-20a), and grants the promise of his presence (verse 20b). It is this word that dispels doubt and evokes faith!
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 .