Think not that I have come is repeated word for word in 10.34. “Do not think” (Good News Translation) or “You should not think” are natural ways to express Think not in English.
Jesus does not mean by I have come simply that he had gone to the mountain at that particular time. He is referring to his ministry in the world, so translations can have “I have come to the world” or “I have come teaching and preaching.”
The Greek verb abolish (Good News Translation “do away with”) has the root meaning of “to destroy”; it is found in 2 Maccabees 2.22 and 4 Maccabees 5.33 with precisely the same meaning that it has here.
To translate abolish, translators have used “put an end to,” “render (or, make) useless,” “cancel,” “say the Law has no value,” or “say you don’t have to obey the Law anymore.” The term used should fit both the Law and the Prophets as direct objects.
The law and the prophets is translated in Good News Translation as “the Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets.” In the Greek text and here is literally “or”; elsewhere Matthew uses this phrase with the Greek for “and” (7.12; 11.3; 22.40), as it also occurs elsewhere in the New Testament (Luke 16.16; 24.44; John 1.45; Acts 13.15; 28.23; Rom 3.21). The use of “or” here in place of the usual “and” is probably caused by the negative construction; most translations have “and”; no difference in meaning is to be sought between the two forms.
One approach to translating the law and the prophets has been to use an expression such as in Good News Translation and say “the Law (or, laws) given by Moses and the teachings given by the prophets (or, written in the books of the prophets).” Another way has been to use a general word to cover both, such as “the teachings of the Scriptures” or “the teachings in the holy writings.”
I have come translates the first of five “I came” sayings of Matthew’s Gospel (5.17 [twice]; 9.13; 10.34, 35); all are aorist in Greek.
The meaning of to fulfil is hotly disputed. The Greek verb means literally to fill up something, as to fill a jar with water. The use here is figurative, and it can have two basic meanings: 1) “fulfil” in the sense of actions or events that are required by the Law or predicted by the prophets; and 2) “fill up” in the sense of making complete what was not yet complete.
The first meaning is represented by those translations that use fulfil (Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, Barclay). Good News Translation has “to make their teachings come true.” The advantage of this interpretation is that it fits the use of the term elsewhere in Matthew (as in 1.22; 2.15, 17, 23; 3.15).
The second meaning can refer to bringing the Law and the Prophets themselves to completion, as if they were not yet completely set forth. This interpretation has the advantage of tying verse 17 closely to verses 21-48, where Jesus gives the fuller implications of certain commands in the Law. Or this second meaning can refer to bringing to completion the understanding people should have about the Law and the Prophets. Several commentators understand it in this sense, “to bring into clear light the true scope and meaning,” and one can understand verses 21-48 in that light as well. Similarly Traduction œcuménique de la Bible translates the verb as “accomplish,” but in the sense of making complete; the Traduction œcuménique de la Bible (footnote) concludes that the meaning in this context is that of bringing the Law to perfection by giving it its true sense. So also Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition, “to give them their true meaning.” Some commentators trace the verb back to the Aramaic mother tongue of Jesus and maintain that the meaning is “to bring into effect” or “to confirm” by means of teaching, which is also accomplished in verses 21-48. It is possible to see a relation between these two variations, since the meaning “to complete,” as in New English Bible, Phillips, New Jerusalem Bible, carries the sense of “to set forth in its true meaning” (see Jerusalem Bible footnote).
The better interpretation seems to be that of Good News Translation, which follows the first meaning. This interpretation is consistent with the use of the term in Matthew. However, if a translator has reason to disagree, a variation of the second meaning will be appropriate. No one has provided final proof for either interpretation.
If translators accept the interpretation that fulfil here means “complete,” then they can say “to make them perfect (or, the way they should be).” If they prefer the idea seen in Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition, “to give them their true meaning,” they can have “to make the Law and the Prophets understood properly,” “to make the Law and the Prophets have their true sense,” or “to show people what the Law and the Prophets were really saying.”
As we pointed out, however, there is good evidence to prefer the interpretation of Good News Translation: (“to make their teachings come true”) and to have a sentence such as “to cause to happen what those teachings said would happen.” See also comments on 1.22.
In this verse, a very strong contrast is given between false assumptions about why Jesus came and the real reasons. Some languages have to express this in a style that almost overemphasizes the contrast: “Don’t think that the reason I have come to the world is to do away with the Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets. I have not come to do away with them at all. On the contrary, the reason I am here is to make them come true.” Translators should keep this contrast in mind and express it in the way that will be most natural for them.
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 .