Translation commentary on Matthew 10:42

One of these little ones is described by the phrase because he is a disciple (literally “in the name of a disciple”). Good News Translation combines these two phrases and renders “one of the least of these my followers.” Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition is similar to Good News Translation; New American Bible has “one of these lowly ones because he is a disciple”; New English Bible “one of these little ones, because he is a disciple of mine.” It is important in translation that little ones be understood of status rather than of age. Therefore it may be translated as “least important ones.” The phrase can then be “one of these least important of my followers because he is my follower.”

A cup of cold water reflects the show of hospitality in first-century Palestine. It may be necessary to add “to drink” or to say “a drink of cold water,” as in Good News Translation.

For comments on truly, I say to you, see 5.18.

The translation of this verse may be complicated, because Jesus is addressing his disciples (see verse 40), yet he is referring to them in the third person as one of these little ones … because he is a disciple. This results from the double orientation of Matthew’s Gospel, by which Matthew relates Jesus’ words to the actual church situation of his own day. So then Matthew will freely shift from the second person to the third person, if this better suits the needs of his congregation.

Good News Translation has rendered the negative shall not lose his reward as a positive sentence, “will certainly receive….” It may be necessary to make this passive an active, as in “God will certainly reward him” or “God will not fail to reward him.”

See verse 41 for comments on reward.

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 .

privately

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 )

In Cherokee it is translated as aniktani or “knowledgeable ones.” Aniktani (ᎠᏂᎫᏔᏂ) “appear in Cherokee oral history as a former priestly society.” (Source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 47)

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 1:11

Jechoniah and “Jehoiachin” (Good News Translation) are the same person, but Good News Bible has adopted the principle of following the more familiar name of a person rather than maintaining both names for the same individual (see, for example, the following verses, where Jehoiachin is referred to as Jechoniah in the Old Testament: 1 Chr 3.16, 17; Est 2.6; Jer 24.1; 27.20; 28.4; 29.2). See the comments on names in 1.1.

The phrase and his brothers is perhaps based on the text of 1 Chronicles 3.15, where the names of Jechoniah’s brothers are listed. The brothers of Jechoniah are not as important in the tradition of the people of Israel as the brothers of Judah in verse 2. In languages that have one word for both brothers and sisters, translators should say “Jehoiachin and his male siblings” or “Josiah was the father of Jehoiachin and other sons.”

At the time of the deportation to Babylon is rendered “when the people of Israel were taken into exile in Babylon” by Good News Translation and introduced earlier (verse 6b). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (“This was at the time when the inhabitants of Jerusalem were carried off to Babylon”) and Bible en français courant (“at the time when the Israelites were deported to Babylon”) provide a dynamic restructuring of the last part of this verse. The mention of the Babylonian exile closes the second division of the genealogical list.

Deportation is a concept many cultures understand far too readily and for which they have a way of speaking. In many cases the word for it is understood to mean “carried into slavery.” If possible the real emphasis should be on exile rather than on slavery. There are languages where the idea is expressed with two or more verbs, as in “At the time when the Israelites were conquered and forced to go live in Babylon” or “At that time, the Babylonians forced the Israelites to go live in their country.” Of course, translators must make sure that it does not sound as if the Israelites were literally picked up and carried to Babylon.

Most CLTs make it clear who was deported, that is, the people of Israel, and some languages also have to indicate who did it, by saying “the Babylonians forced….”

Babylon refers to both the city and the country around it. In modern writings the city is commonly referred to as “Babylon,” while the country of which it is the capital is called “Babylonia.” Translators should use terms that are consistent for their own languages. Since not all the Israelites were made to live in the city, it may be best to say “the country of Babylonia” or, as above, “in their country.”

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 2:21

He refers to Joseph, and so Good News Translation makes the identification for its readers: “Joseph got up.”

Rose and took translates a participle (the same form mentioned in verse 20) followed by a finite verb. Most translations use two finite verbs, as Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation have done. See also comments at verse 14 for suggestions on translating rose … took … went …, and verse 20 for land of Israel.

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 4:13

Nazareth is spelled “Nazara” in the Greek text of this verse, as opposed to the usual spelling “Nazareth” (2.23; 21.11). It is obvious that the two variant spellings point to the same place, and most all translations follow the common spelling Nazareth. After leaving Nazareth, Capernaum evidently becomes Jesus’ permanent home (see Mark 2.1).

Dwelt (Good News Translation “live in”) is rendered “settled in (or, at)” by several translations (New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Translator’s New Testament), while Barclay has “made his home in.” The verb is used extensively in the New Testament, with the basic meaning “make one’s home in.” Elsewhere Matthew uses it in 2.23; 12.45; 23.21.

Capernaum by the sea: in the quotation from Isaiah, which follows in verses 15-16, the original meaning was probably the Mediterranean Sea. But in the context of Matthew’s Gospel the meaning is clearly Lake Galilee, and Good News Translation has made this information explicit for its readers. Also, since this is the first time Capernaum is mentioned in the Gospel, Good News Translation defines it fully as “a town.”

The town of Capernaum is on the northern edge of Lake Galilee just to the west of where the Jordan River empties into it. The territory of Naphtali is immediately west of Lake Galilee, extending up north as far as the city of Dan. South and west of the territory of Naphtali is the territory of Zebulun. These were the territories where the two Israelite tribes by these names settled during the days of Joshua. In New Testament times both of these territories were in the geographical region of Galilee.

Nazareth and Capernaum are both towns. The context may make this clear, but some will find that it will help their readers if they say “the town of Nazareth” and “the town of Capernaum.”

Most translations will find it useful to follow the lead of Good News Translation in translating by the sea: “This town was on the shore of Lake Galilee” or “the town of Capernaum which is beside Lake Galilee.” If readers of the translation live far from any lake or sea, then the translation may have “the big water” or something similar for sea.

The construction and leaving … dwelt poses a problem in languages where it is impossible to say he left a place if the information is not given that he had gone there. In such languages, translations have sometimes had “He went to Nazareth, then left there and went to live in Capernaum.” However, it is more likely that the verse reflects the fact that up till this time, Jesus’ home had been Nazareth, where his family lived, and he moved now to establish his home in Capernaum. A sentence such as in Good News Translation would indicate this. Another way to do it is “He moved his home from Nazareth to Capernaum and lived there.”

Zebulun and Naphtali can be treated as the names of regions, as in the phrase “in the territories of Zebulun and Naphtali” or, as some translations have it, “in the region of the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali.”

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 5:21

You have heard that it was said to the men of old is restructured by Good News Translation as “You have heard that people were told in the past.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “You know that it has been said to our ancestors” (Jerusalem Bible “You have learnt how it was said to our ancestors”; New American Bible “You have heard the commandment imposed on your forefathers”). The impersonal passive form of it was said can possibly mean “people of the past said”; however, in the New Testament such a passive always introduces a divine utterance or a scriptural quotation. One may therefore translate “You know that God said….” Many translations will therefore use a sentence such as “You know God said to your ancestors” or “People have told you what God said to your fathers of long ago.”

The men of old refers primarily to the “Sinai generation.” However, all subsequent generations are also included. The same construction occurs in verse 33. The phrase is usually translated as “your ancestors” or “your fathers of long ago.” Note that it refers to all those people, not just to the males.

You shall not kill comes from Exodus 20.13, while whoever kills shall be liable to judgment echoes Deuteronomy 17.8. Good News Translation correctly translates “murder” as the meaning of kill. Both the Hebrew and the Greek verbs mean murder or assassination, not just any form of taking life.

The distinction between “murder” and “kill” has often proved a problem for translators. “Murder” specifically means killing that is not legal or sanctioned by the community, nor is it accidental. Thus killing in battle or sanctioned executions are not included in the commandment You shall not kill. Usually a language will have a way of referring to murder, either with a specific word or with a phrase such as “killing from anger” or “killing of one’s own volition.” Such expressions should also exclude killing accidentally.

The shall, of course, is not a simple future reference but an imperative: “you must not” or “I forbid you.” You is in the singular in the text.

Whoever means “anyone who,” “any person who,” or “that person who.”

Liable to judgment (Good News Translation “brought to trial”) is translated “answer for it before the court” by New Jerusalem Bible and “stand his trial” by Phillips. The verb may, however, mean “guilty,” as it does in 26.66. One commentator, accepting the meaning “guilty” (that is, “condemned by the properly constituted authority”), is convinced that it is here equivalent to “be put to death.” In this case the properly constituted authority would be the twenty-three members of the local Sanhedrin. See comments at verse 22 for coordinating the translation of this term with its use there.

Translators who follow the first interpretation, the one in Good News Translation, will use the normal expression in their language for being brought to trial: “accused before the judge,” “will be taken to court to be tried (or, judged),” and so forth.

Other translations will follow the second interpretation, whereby judgment implies “guilt.” They might say “found guilty by the judge” or “the judge will declare him guilty.” A common West African expression is “the judge will cut the case against him.”

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 .