Truly, I say to you: see comments on 5.18.

The use of the passive it shall be more tolerable is a typical Jewish way of referring to the action of God without mentioning his sacred name, and so Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch makes the same restructuring as Good News Translation. The phrase be more tolerable can be translated “God will be less harsh in his punishment” or, similar to Good News Bible, “God will be more merciful towards.”

The use of land as a marker for the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah is confusing for the modern reader. It may be necessary to translate “the people of the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah.” (Similarly, that town may be “the people of that town.”) In the Old Testament (Gen 19; see also Isa 1.9), and frequently in the New Testament (Matt 11.22, 24; Luke 17.29; Rom 9.29; 2 Peter 2.6; Jude 7), the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah are depicted as examples of the most sinful towns. But here the rejection of Jesus’ message is described as even more terrible than the sins committed by the people of those towns.

Matthew’s readers were completely familiar with the reputation of Sodom and Gomorrah, but many modern readers will not be, particularly in languages where there is no Old Testament. For this reason some translators say “the wicked people of Sodom and Gomorrah” or “those wicked towns of Sodom and Gomorrah.” Some have said “towns of Sodom and Gomorrah that God destroyed because the people were so wicked.”

The day of judgment is clearly a reference to the final judgment; INCL employs a technical term, originally from Islam, but now in everyday usage, which means the final judgment. The day of judgment is usually translated as “the Day when God will judge the world (or, the people of the world”) or “the Day of God’s final judgment of all people.”

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 .