While he was still speaking: both Good News Translation and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch identify he as Jesus, since a new section begins with this verse.
The verb phrase was still speaking connects this narrative closely to that which precedes it (compare “While he was thus speaking to them” of 9.18); as noted above, this linking formula does not occur in the Marcan parallel (3.31).
Some translations (for example, Barclay) render people with “crowds” or “the crowd.”
Behold (see comments on 1.20) is not represented by any specific word in Good News Translation, Jerusalem Bible, or New English Bible. Other translations have “at that time” or “it happened that.”
Roman Catholic scholars generally interpret Jesus’ brothers to be either “cousins” or “half-brothers” (that is, sons of Joseph by a previous marriage). New American Bible does not provide a note, but Jerusalem Bible does: “Not Mary’s children but near relations, cousins perhaps….” Jerusalem Bible bases its exegesis upon the influence of Hebrew or Aramaic on Matthew’s Greek, since in these two languages “brother” has a wider meaning than in Greek. But, as other scholars observe, the word “brother” is used in John, Acts, and Paul’s letters to refer to Jesus’ relatives, and in each case these writings are addressed to non-Jews who would not understand the word to mean “cousin.” Thus brothers should be retained in the translation, but possibly with an accompanying note if translators want it. Some languages have a word “sibling” that covers males and females. That will perhaps be acceptable, although the Greek word means male sibling. There are a number of languages where the normal way to say brothers is “sons of my (or, his) mother” or “sons of my (or, his) father.” Either is acceptable here.
Stood outside is translated “arrived. They stood outside” by Good News Translation. In English the inclusion of this additional verb is helpful; in other languages it may be obligatory. New English Bible, Jerusalem Bible, and New American Bible each have “appeared,” which somewhat relieves the difficulty. But unless something is done translationally, the reader will conclude either that Jesus’ mother and brothers had been with him during the conflict with the Pharisees, or that they had suddenly made a miraculous appearance out of nowhere. Matthew himself has altered the first part of the verse to make a smoother transition, but he has not resolved the problem of the unannounced appearance of Jesus’ family. “Arrived and were standing outside” is thus a common rendering.
The adverb outside is as ambiguous in Greek as it is in English. One is forced to ask “Outside of what?” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch assumes that Jesus is in a house, and translates “in front of the house,” while An American Translation renders “outside the crowd.” The basis for An American Translation is the mention of the crowds in the earlier part of the verse. On the other hand Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch finds support in 13.1, “That same day Jesus left the house….” The translator must assume either that Jesus is now in the house, and that in 13.1 he first leaves it, or that he is now outside the house but later enters the house, and then later (13.1) leaves it. This is in all probability a question that did not concern Matthew, but if one must be explicit, the simplest solution is that of Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch.
Asking translates a verb which does not necessarily imply verbal action, though it may be used in this sense. The basic meaning of the verb is “seek, look for”; it is translated “wanting” by New English Bible and “anxious” by New Jerusalem Bible. New American Bible leaves the meaning implicit: “appeared outside to speak with him.”
To make the translation of asking smooth and natural, translators can say “they wanted to speak to Jesus,” “they were looking for Jesus so they could speak to him,” or “they were asking to speak to Jesus.” This latter can be in direct speech also: “They asked, ‘We would like to speak with Jesus.’ ”
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 .