In place of Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, Mark has a more detailed introduction: “Not long afterward another large crowd came together. When the people had nothing left to eat, Jesus called the disciples to him and said…” (8.1, Good News Bible).

Then (so also An American Translation) translates a Greek particle generally rendered “But” (so New Jerusalem Bible, Phillips). Good News Translation, together with several other translations (New American Bible, Moffatt, Barclay), does not represent this particle by any particular word in translation. To render “But” in English assumes a contrast with what precedes, which is not the intention of the Greek text. In Greek the particle is frequently used, as here, merely to mark a transition.

Called (so also Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible) is a participle that is dependent upon the main verb said. The verb called was first used in 10.1; in this chapter it appears first in verse 10, then here; elsewhere in Matthew it is used in 18.2, 32; 20.25. Here “asked them to come near him” will convey the meaning.

Have compassion on represents a verb that signals the deepest possible feelings of compassion (Good News Translation, New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible “feel sorry for”); it was previously used in 9.36.

They have been with me now three days, and have nothing to eat is ambiguous, both in Greek and in English. It is possible to interpret the words to mean that the people had been with Jesus for three days, during which time they had gone without food. This interpretation receives at least indirect support from the observation that the adjective hungry may also mean “without eating” or “without food,” and it derives from a verb which means “to fast.” Matthew may then be describing a scene in which the people spontaneously followed Jesus, without preparing food to take along with them, and as a result they had gone without food for three days. On the other hand, Matthew may be depicting a situation in which the people had originally taken along some food with them, but now had run out of anything to eat, as is indicated by Good News Translation: (“and now have nothing to eat”), An American Translation (“and they have nothing left to eat”), and Phillips (“and have no more food”). Most translations remain ambiguous, and as a rule the issue is left undiscussed in the commentaries.

I am unwilling to send them away hungry can be expressed “I don’t want to have them leave here while they are hungry” or “I don’t want to ask them to leave until they have had something to eat.”

Lest means “so that not.” Some translations use a positive phrase beginning with “for” or “because otherwise.” Others keep the negative by saying “so that they don’t.” Another method is to use a new sentence starting with “I am afraid some of them would faint otherwise” or “I don’t want any of them to faint.”

In contexts such as this, the verb faint may mean “become weary,” “be worn out,” or “collapse” (so New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Barclay, Phillips). An American Translation translates “give out.” In other contexts it is possible for the verb to mean “give up” (Gal 6.9). “Pass out” is another possibility.

Although in itself the phrase on the way may signify travel of any sort, the present context clearly signals that the meaning is “on their way home,” as Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, and Bible en français courant make clear.

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 .