And continues the narration. “Then” is also possible. Other translators have found it more natural to restructure verses 1 and 2 slightly: “1 People were talking about the things that Jesus was doing. When Herod the ruler of Galilee heard these reports, 2 he said to his officials….”

The he of he said is Herod, not Jesus.

Servants translates the noun first used in 2.16; most recently it occurred in 12.18. Here the persons referred to are Herod’s court officials, and New Jerusalem Bible uses the collective term “his court.” New English Bible renders “his attendants,” and Phillips translates “his men.”

This is John the Baptist (so also New English Bible) is emphatic in the Greek sentence structure, which explains the restructuring of Good News Translation: (“He is really John the Baptist”) and New Jerusalem Bible (“This is John the Baptist himself”). It may be necessary to render This as “Jesus” or “this man Jesus.”

For John the Baptist, see comments on 3.1.

He has been raised from the dead (New English Bible “John has been raised to life”) is a passive construction, and many languages more naturally use an active sentence, such as “God has raised him back to life.” However, in order to avoid having Herod refer to God directly, a sentence such as “he is alive again,” “he has risen from the dead” (New Jerusalem Bible, Moffatt, An American Translation), or “who has come back to life” (Good News Translation) may be better.

That is why these powers are at work in him reflects a popular belief among the Jews and others that a person who has come back from the dead possesses unusual powers which enable him to perform miracles. Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition translates “That is why he can perform such miracles”; Good News Translation has “That is why he has this power to perform miracles.” For comments on “miracles,” see 7.22. “That is why he can do such mighty acts” or “That is why he has this power to do such acts” are also renderings that may be natural here.

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 .