It may be advisable to identify they as “Jesus and his disciples.”

The hymn was in all probability the second half of the “Hallel,” a song of praise to the Lord, which was sung at the end of the Passover. The “Hallel” consisted of two parts (Psa 113 or Psa 113–114 and Psa 115–118), the first part of which was recited at the beginning of the Passover meal. Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition translates “the song of thanks.” “A song of praise to God” is a common translation.

The Mount of Olives was last mentioned in 24.3. It lies to the east of the city of Jerusalem.

In some translations, for example Good News Translation, this verse is a single paragraph which is followed by a new section and heading. Also it is common to find this verse as the first sentence of the next paragraph, so that the next section heading comes at the beginning of this verse rather than after it. Translators should decide according to the needs of the receptor 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 .