Translation commentary on Matthew 15:6

Most translators will render honor here the same as they did in verse 4, although “do your duty to” fits most easily in this context. “Do the thing that would honor” is another good rendering.

As the TEV footnote indicates, some manuscripts have “his father or mother” in place of his father. But the UBS Greek New Testament has a very high degree of doubt concerning which is the better manuscript. And in either case there is no real difference in meaning. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “his parents.”

So is literally “and”; Good News Translation has “In this way.” The meaning may be expressed more fully as “By allowing a person to do this.”

For the sake of your tradition is slightly reformulated in Good News Translation: “in order to follow your own teaching.” Tradition is the same noun used in verse 3. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “through your own regulations.”

Made void is translated “disregard” by Good News Translation. Both Jerusalem Bible and New English Bible render “made … null and void.” New American Bible and An American Translation render “nullified” (New International Version “nullify”). Elsewhere in the New Testament the verb is found in the Marcan parallel (7.13) and in Galatians 3.17, where it is used as a technical legal term (Revised Standard Version “annul a covenant”). “Count for nothing” or “make have no value” are other phrases that convey the meaning well, but sometimes “disobey” or “pay no attention to” have been used by translators.

The word of God (Good News Translation “God’s command”) appears as “the law of God” in some manuscripts (see the RSV footnote). However, in the present context both “word” and “law” are synonymous with “command.” Restructuring may be necessary: “what God commanded you to do.”

Notice that Good News Translation has reordered the verse. As we have advised throughout this Handbook, the important thing is for translators to decide what form or order is the most natural in their language.

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 .

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