The house (so also New English Bible) refers specifically to the house mentioned in verse 11; one may then render “his house” (New Jerusalem Bible, An American Translation, Phillips) or “his home” (New American Bible). “A house” of Good News Translation suggests that a general rule is being laid down apart from a specific reference to the house of verse 11, but the alternative interpretation seems more appropriate. Thus a possible translation is “When you go into that house” or “When you enter that man’s house.”

Salute it (so also New Jerusalem Bible) means “greet it” or better “greet the people who live there.” New Jerusalem Bible does provide a note indicating that the greeting is a wish of peace, and that the particular content of the wish is brought out in verse 13. A number of translations have attempted a dynamic equivalent: “give it your blessing” (Phillips), “wish it well” (An American Translation), “wish the house peace” (New English Bible). When verses 12 and 13 are taken together, Barclay has the best restructuring: “greet it” (verse 12) is rendered “give your greeting to it,” which is made explicit in verse 13, where “let your peace remain on it” is translated “let your prayer for God’s blessing rest upon it.” INCL uses direct discourse and has the one entering say “May God bless you.” See further at verse 13.

For languages in which it would sound strange to greet a house, as in salute it, it is better to say “give your greeting to the people in it.” Of course, it is also possible to use direct speech, as in “say to the people in it, ‘I greet you’ ” or “… ‘May all be well with you.’ ”

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 .