They may need to be “those people” or “those men.”

Deliver … up: see comments on verse 17.

Don not be anxious: see 6.25. Here it may be “don’t worry about” or “don’t be upset thinking about.”

How you are to speak or what you are to say is retained in this form by most translations. But New English Bible condenses the two clauses into one (“what you are to say”), on the assumption that the two clauses linked by or are in reality expressing the same thought. This sort of construction is used rather frequently in the Scriptures, and it is technically called a hendiadys. Support for this interpretation is found in the last part of the verse, which repeats only the second half of the construction: what you are to say. If translators try to retain the two clauses, they may possibly do something very similar to Good News Translation. Otherwise they can say simply “what you are going to say” or “what you should say.”

For here is a transitional of cause: “because” or “the reason I tell you that is.”

Will be given to you, on the basis of what is said in verse 20, may be transformed into an active expression: “your Father in heaven will give you” or “the Spirit of your Father in heaven will give you.”

Sometimes given does not fit easily in the passage. “You will know” may be acceptable, although better is “your Father in heaven will cause you to know what you should say.” Also possible is “you will be told” or “God will tell you (or, will show you).”

Notice that in the text, the object of given comes before the verb, a feature of a passive sentence. In the examples in the preceding paragraph, what you are to say comes after the verb. Even if the passive is retained, this order may be better, as in Good News Translation “you will be given what you will say.”

In that hour: see 8.13 for essentially the same construction. Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, and New English Bible all have “when the time comes.” Phillips and Barclay have “at that time,” and An American Translation has “at that very moment.” In many languages it will be better to put this phrase at the beginning of the clause: “for at that time, God will tell you what to say.”

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 .