Leave your gift must not be translated in a way that would give the impression it was left as a sacrifice. On the contrary, the instruction is to not complete the offering. This can be “put your gift aside in front of the altar” or “leave your gift in front of the altar without offering it to God.”

Go can be “go from there,” but it is probably better to combine it with the next clause, as in “go find your brother” or “first go to your brother.”

First … and then is translated “at once … and then” by Good News Translation, and “First … and only then” by New English Bible. Other ways translations can express this are to say “only after you have first reconciled yourself to your brother should you come and offer your gift” or “you should be reconciled to your brother first before you come back and offer your gift to God.”

Be reconciled to (New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible “be reconciled with”) is translated “make peace with” by Good News Translation and “make your peace with” by Phillips and New English Bible. The reference is to a broken relationship which must be healed; here it is the responsibility of the guilty person to take the initiative. Be reconciled to your brother can therefore be translated as “do what is necessary to be friends with your brother again” or “become friends again….”

And then come and offer your gift: again Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch specify God as the one to whom the gift is offered (see verse 23).

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 .