“The Son of Man will die” of Good News Translation and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates The Son of man goes. All commentators are agreed that the verb goes is used figuratively of Jesus’ journey to his death: “is going to his fate” (New Jerusalem Bible) and “is going the way appointed for him” (New English Bible). Note that many translations use the future tense (“will die”) to render the present tense goes, since that is clearly the meaning of the form here.

As it is written of him is similar to the “quotation formula” first used in 2.5. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “as it is predicted in the Holy Scriptures.” As elsewhere, there may be need of an active sentence such as “as people wrote in the Scriptures.” Barclay renders the sentence “The Son of Man goes out on the road the scripture says he must go.”

Woe (Good News Translation “how terrible”) translates the same expression first used in 11.21; see also 23.13.

Betrayed, here used of the Son of man, has “me” as its object in verse 23. In this way Jesus is clearly identified as the Son of Man. The passive by whom the Son of man is betrayed may be rendered better by an active construction; for example, “who will betray the Son of Man” (Good News Translation).

In place of the impersonal construction It would have been better for that man if he had not been born, it is possible to translate “That man would have been better off, if he had never been born!” The threat is similar to that of 18.6-7.

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 .