The Greek in Matthew 18:15 that is translated with some rendering of “in private” in English versions is translated in most German versions with the idiom unter vier Augen (“under four eyes”) which means “privately” or “confidentially.” (See also the Hebrew equivalent in 2 Samuel 3:27.)
magi, wise men
The Greek magoi originally referred to Persian Zoroastrian “priests who were experts in astrology and in the interpretation of dreams. But the word may also be used in a derogatory sense of ‘magician’ or ‘charlatan,’ a meaning which it has in its only other New Testament occurrences outside Matthew’s nativity narrative (Acts 13:6,8). Matthew most likely has Babylonian astrologers in mind.” (Source: Newman / Stine; see also this interview .)
While most English translations either transliterate this as “magi” or translate it as “wise men,” most German versions (with the exceptions of Luther and Menge [publ. 1909]) use Sterndeuter, an old-fashioned term for astrologer. The Pfälzisch translation by Walter Sauer (publ. 2012) uses Sternegugger, also an old-fashioned term for astrologer with the verbatim meaning of “star watchers.”
In Luxembourgish, it is translated as weis Astronomen or “wise astronomers.” (Source: Zetzsche)
In Kwakum it is translated as “guardians of religious rites who look up at the starts to see the things to come” or “guardians of religions rites.” (Source: Stacey Hare in this post )
See also complete verse (Matthew 2:1) and who know the laws.
Learn more on Bible Odyssey: The Magi .
sound a trumpet before you
The Greek in Matthew 6:2 that is often translated in English as “sound a trumpet before you” is translated in Kayaw as “blow flutes beat drums.” “Flutes and drums are always played at Kayaw festivals and special occasions; flute and drum bands normally accompany visiting dignitaries in a procession as they arrive at a festival.” (Source: Anonymous)
In the English Good News Version (publ. 1966) it is translated non-figuratively as do not make a big show of it and the German equivalent, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (publ. 1968) uses an existing German figure of speech with nicht an die große Glocke hängen (literally: “don’t hang it on the great bell”), meaning “don’t make a big fuss about it” or “don’t broadcast it all around.” (Source: Newman / Stine) See also expose to public disgrace.
The newly-created expression that Luther used in 1522 in the German New Testament translation, ausposaunen, has become a widely used idiom with the meaning of “broadcast (new information)” (literally “to trumpet out”). (Source: Jost Zetzsche)
Translation commentary on Matthew 13:26
Then the weeds appeared also must not be taken to imply that the weeds suddenly shot up after the wheat had matured. The meaning is that the distinction between the weeds and the wheat was not evident until heads of grain began to form on the wheat. A sentence that would make this point clear is “When the plants began to bear grain (or, fruits), at that time people were able to see the weeds, too.”
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 .
Translation commentary on Matthew 13:58
Did not do is slightly different from the Marcan parallel (6.5), “could not do.”
Mighty works: the same word is used in verse 54; in both instances the meaning is “miracles.”
The noun phrase because of their unbelief may be translated “because they did not believe in him” (Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition “because they rejected him”).
In some languages it will be necessary to reverse the order of the sentence: “They did not believe in him, and for this reason Jesus did not do many miracles there” or “Since they did not believe in him, Jesus did not perform many mighty acts there.”
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 .
Translation commentary on Matthew 14:32
Got (into) translates a Greek participle which indicates an action which took place before that of the main verb ceased (Good News Translation “died down”).
They refers to Peter and Jesus, as Good News Translation makes clear, “They both.”
The text can be rendered either to indicate that the wind stopped because they got into the boat, or simply that it was after they got into the boat that the wind stopped.
The wind ceased or “stopped blowing (hard).”
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 .
Translation commentary on Matthew 15:28
Then has been expressed as “So” by Good News Translation. Perhaps the most natural rendering in English is that of Barclay: “At that.”
O woman, great is your faith is translated “You are a woman of great faith” by Good News Translation (New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible “Woman, you have great faith”; Moffatt “O woman, you have great faith”). The shift from great is your faith to “you have great faith” is more natural for English speakers, as is the omission of the noun of address, woman, which explains the shift in Good News Bible. Other translations have also recognized these two factors, and a few of them have even dropped the noun of address: both An American Translation and Barclay translate “You have great faith,” and Phillips renders “You certainly don’t lack faith.” It may be necessary to express faith as a verb, which will simultaneously require an object. Examples are “You certainly believe that I will do what you request (or, are begging me to do)” and “You believe in me a great deal.” Some translators have tried to convey that this is really an exclamation by Jesus. One way is to say “Woman, I can see you really have a lot of faith (in me).”
Be it done for you as you desire translates a third person imperative in Greek, which is represented in Jerusalem Bible as “Let your wish be granted.” However, the problem for English speakers is that English does not have a third person imperative, and so many will understand Jerusalem Bible to have the meaning “You yourself permit that it be granted.” One may translate “Your wish will be granted” or “God will grant your wish.”
Instantly (Good News Translation “at that very moment”) is literally “from that hour” (the same form used in 9.22).
In a Greek sentence it is natural for the subject to precede the verb, but here was healed is placed before her daughter for the sake of emphasizing the healing. If it is necessary to shift to an active form of the verb, one may translate “At that very moment God healed her daughter.”
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 .
Translation commentary on Matthew 16:22
And indicates that the narrative is continuing. “Then” will be good in some languages, or it may be more natural to drop the transition (so Good News Translation).
Took (so also Moffatt) may have the more specific meaning “took … aside” (Good News Translation, New American Bible, New International Version) or “led him away from the others.” New English Bible translates “took him by the arm,” and Barclay “caught hold of him.”
Rebuke (so also New English Bible, New International Version) is difficult to render in English at a common language level. Both An American Translation and Moffatt translate “reprove,” while Phillips, Jerusalem Bible, and New American Bible have “remonstrate with.” Barclay attempts to go in the direction of a more dynamic equivalent: “sternly forbade him to talk like that.” Other possibilities are “scold him for talking like that” and “tell him he shouldn’t talk like that.” Elsewhere in the Gospel the verb is used six times: 8.26; 12.16; 16.20; 17.18; 19.13; 20.31.
God forbid (so also Moffatt, Barclay) is supplied with an object in Good News Translation: “God forbid it.” More literally the expression is “Mercy to you,” but in such a context the “mercy” would be interpreted as originating from God. New English Bible translates “Heaven forbid!” and New Jerusalem Bible “Heaven preserve you.” Both An American Translation and Phillips have “God bless you,” while New International Version renders by the one word “Never.” Similar expressions are “May God never permit that this happen” and “May God stop this from happening.” New American Bible joins this with the next sentence, This shall never happen to you, and translates “May you be spared, Master! God forbid that any such thing ever happen to you!”
This shall never happen to you is best interpreted as a negative expression equivalent to God forbid of the previous sentence. It is possible to unite the two sentences into one, especially in languages where repetition tends to diminish the effect: “May God never let this happen to you.”
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 .