Revised Standard Version gives a literal rendering of this verse. The first part of the verse employs a literary device known as ellipsis, where words may be omitted if they are not necessary for the understanding of the text. In English this is most frequently done in commands where the subject is not mentioned. For example, “Stop!” is a command which assumes both a definite subject and a specific action, neither of which are indicated. When the verse is read through to the end, it becomes clear that the verse contains an explanation of some reasons why men do not marry, which Good News Translation makes explicit: “For there are different reasons why men cannot marry” (see also Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch and Bible en français courant).
For indicates that Jesus is explaining his statement. Some translators have said “I tell you this because” or “What I said is true because.” In other cases it is more natural in the paragraph to have no transition word, starting simply with “There are some men.”
For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth (Good News Translation “For … some, because they were born that way”) provides the first explanation of why some men do not marry. Phillips translates “For some are incapable of marriage from birth,” and Barclay “There are some who have been born incapable of marriage.” New American Bible (“Some men are incapable of sexual activity from birth”) and Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition (“Some men are impotent from birth on”) are even more specific.
There are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men (Good News Translation “others, because men made them that way”) provides the second explanation. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “others—such as eunuchs—are made impotent by something that happens later on.” New American Bible translates “some have been deliberately made so,” referring back to “incapable of sexual activity” of the previous clause. Another rendering some have used is “Other men can’t get married because men did something to them so they couldn’t.” In other languages sentences like the ones above will be too vague to be understood, and translators will have to be quite specific, as in “Other men have been castrated.”
And there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven (Good News Translation “and others do not marry for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven”) is the third explanation. Both New American Bible (“some there are who have freely renounced sex for the sake of God’s reign”) and Barclay (“There are some who have voluntarily made marriage impossible for themselves for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven”) represents a step in the right direction, though neither of them deals adequately with the kingdom of heaven, as does Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition (“Still others deny themselves marriage so that they can serve God better”).
Some have taken made themselves eunuchs to refer to self-mutilation, and others understand it to mean simply that these men renounced sexual activity. The latter is probably better, but a translation like Barclay (above) does leave open both interpretations. “Have voluntarily treated their bodies as if they were unable to engage in sexual activity” is another possibility.
For the sake of the kingdom of heaven can be “so they can accept God’s rule fully,” “so that as people ruled over by God they can do his will,” or “so they can do only the things that serve God’s Kingdom.” For kingdom of heaven, see comments on 3.2.
He who is able to receive this, let him receive it: the verb receive is the same verb used in verse 11, and, as one would expect, the translations deal with it here in a manner similar to what they did in its earlier occurrence. Most translators will use the same word in the two verses for example, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible has “Let those who are capable of understanding, understand”; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch is succinct: “Understand it, if you can!”
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 .