His son differs significantly from the text of Mark, which has “a beloved son” (12.6). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “his own son.”

Saying, though an accurate rendering of the Greek, here it must mean “said to himself,” a meaning which the Greek verb has in certain contexts. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “he thought,” and New American Bible has “thinking.” In translation it may be necessary to invert the order of the two sentences: “Then the man thought, ‘They will surely respect my son.’ So he sent his son to them.”

Will respect (used only here in Matthew) is the rendering preferred by most. Good News Translation introduces “Surely” to intensify the contrast between the treatment of the servants and what the owner believes will be the treatment accorded his son. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch accomplishes the same goal by translating “They will at least have respect for my son.” Will respect can be expressed as “act respectfully toward,” “treat with respect,” or “have regard for.”

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 .