As he entered Capernaum: since this is a new section, Good News Translation replaces the pronoun he of the Greek text with the noun “Jesus.” This is the second mention of Capernaum in the Gospel; the town is first mentioned in 4.13. The name Capernaum literally means “village of Nahum,” and it lies on the northwest coast of Lake Galilee near the northeast edge of the plain of Gennesaret. Translations usually retain the name Capernaum and do not translate it as “village of Nahum.” As with many geographical places with which modern readers are not familiar, translators sometimes use a generic term with the name, as in “town of Capernaum.”
The phrase As he entered presupposes some movement on the part of Jesus since the previous section. This does not always need to be mentioned, but in some languages the narrative will sound very awkward unless there is some phrase such as “Jesus went to Capernaum. As he entered the town…” or “Jesus traveled on. When he entered Capernaum….”
Centurion is the traditional rendering of most English translations, but it is translated “Roman officer” by Good News Translation. In the Roman army a man of this rank commanded one hundred men, and so the origin of the term centurion, which derives from a Latin noun meaning “one hundred.” The man was probably a Gentile from Syria serving in the Roman army. Centurions were career soldiers, and as such they were often the most experienced and most highly regarded men in the Roman army. This centurion was probably stationed in Palestine|fig:Map_Palestine-Jesus.jpg for the sake of police duty. The Romans would not have allowed the governor of Galilee (Herod Antipas at this time) to maintain a Jewish army. Outside of this story the noun is used in Matthew’s Gospel only in 27.54.
Centurion can be translated as “a Roman officer,” “officer of the Roman army,” “a man over one hundred Roman soldiers,” or “a leader of a group in the Roman army.”
Came forward translates a verb used 51 times by Matthew; it is in fact the same verb translated “came” by Revised Standard Version in verse 2. The problem with “met him” of Good News Translation is that the reader may be left with the impression that this is a chance meeting. It is not; the officer intentionally approaches Jesus. Thus it can be translated as “came to meet him” or “approached him.”
Beseeching is translated “begged for help” by Good News Translation. New English Bible renders “to ask his help,” and New Jerusalem Bible “pleaded with him.” The verb itself may be used in a wide variety of contexts and so have a number of different meanings. Most frequently in Matthew it means either “beg,” “request” (8.31, 34; 14.36; 18.29), or “request help” (26.53). It can also be expressed as “he asked for his help” or “he made an earnest request.”
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 .