The verb translated Take normally has the meaning “acquire,” “get,” or “possess.” Take no gold … may therefore be interpreted as either (1) a command not to take money for their journey or (2) a command not to accept money for their ministry. The present context, however, demands the meaning of Take or “carry” (Good News Translation), and so most scholars believe the first interpretation is intended here. Take no gold … can be expressed as “Don’t carry with you (in your money belt) any gold….”

Gold … silver … copper refer to coins made of these substances, which is the basis for Good News Translation “money.” One may need to render “gold coins, silver coins, or copper coins.” Sometimes even this makes for a complicated sentence, and so translators may wish to drop the metals altogether and say simply “money of any kind.”

Belts represents the place where a man would have usually carried his money. Good News Translation “pockets” provides a cultural equivalent, as is “purse” of New English Bible and “purses” of New Jerusalem Bible. New American Bible retains belts, while Barclay translates “money-belts.” Some translators will use a general term, as in “money carriers” or “things where you carry your money,” but more often it is dropped altogether, as in “carry no money 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 .