privately

The Greek 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 2Sam 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 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 1:1

Book of the genealogy (Good News Translation “list of the ancestors”) translates a phrase which clearly has its origin in Genesis 2.4a: “These are the generations of the heaven and earth.” Similar use of this expression occurs in Genesis 5.1; 6.9; 10.1; 11.10, 27, showing clearly that the phrase reflected in Matthew may include not only a list of ancestors but narrative as well.

The book of the genealogy may be interpreted in three different ways: (1) It may be limited to mean “a list of the ancestors” (Good News Translation, French common language version [Bible en français courant], German common language version [Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch]; Jerusalem Bible [Jerusalem Bible] “A genealogy”; New English Bible [New English Bible] “A table of the descent”; New American Bible [New American Bible] “A family record”; Moffatt [Moffatt] “The birth roll”; American Translation [An American Translation] “The ancestry”; Phillips “This is the record of the ancestry”; Barclay “This is the family tree”).

(2) Following the pattern of Genesis, one may enlarge the phrase to include not only a list of the ancestors of Jesus Christ, but the events surrounding his birth and childhood as well (1.1–2.23). No translations appear to state this explicitly, though it is possible to take the ambiguous phrase The book of the genealogy in this sense (so also Zürcher Bibel; see Traduction œcuménique de la Bible “The book of the origin of Jesus Christ”). However, it may as easily be assumed that these translations have done nothing more than to perpetuate a literal rendering of the Greek phrase.

(3) It is also possible to take this phrase to include the whole Gospel of Matthew, which may be the intention of Luther: “This is the book of the story of Jesus Christ….”

On the whole, the second of these three possibilities seems to be the best choice in light of the way that this phrase is used in Genesis; though, as can be seen from the translations quoted, most translators apparently prefer the first of these possibilities.

Translators who choose the second interpretation of the phrase The book of the genealogy, and understand it to include the events surrounding Jesus’ birth and childhood as well as the list of his ancestors, can use a phrase such as “This is the story of the ancestors of Jesus Christ and his birth.” (For “ancestors,” see comments on the section heading.) In some languages “story” is usually reserved for some tale that is not true. In such cases a better sentence will be “This writing (or, book) is about the ancestors of Jesus Christ and his birth.”

“Birth” will in some cases be translated by a noun, as in the above examples, and in others by a verb, as in “and how he was born.”

Those who follow the third interpretation, which suggests that book of the genealogy refers to all of Matthew, will use sentences such as “This book (or, writing) is the story of Jesus Christ” or “… is about Jesus Christ.”

Most translators, however, will follow the first interpretation and understand book of the genealogy to refer to a list of ancestors. Then, like Good News Translation, they may say “This is the list of the ancestors of Jesus Christ.” In languages where there is no word “list,” or in which it would be awkward to use that word in this context, translators can say “These are the ancestors” or “These are the names of the ancestors.”

This verse may be restructured in a variety of ways. But if the exegesis followed by the majority of translators is accepted, then Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch gives a more natural order: “Jesus Christ is a descendant of David and Abraham. Here is the list of his ancestors:….” This restructuring has a twofold advantage: (1) It introduces at the very first the information about Jesus’ ancestry from David and Abraham, which is so important to the Gospel of Matthew; and (2) the list of ancestors is given immediately following the mention of the list.

Note that even though The book of the genealogy is not a complete sentence, all the solutions we are suggesting are. (“These are…,” “This is…,” etc.) Many readers will find complete sentences easier to follow.

The word Jesus is a Greek equivalent of a well-known Hebrew name. It is constructed from two Hebrew words which mean “Lord” and “save,” and it is probably best taken in its root meaning: “O Lord, save.” In 1.21 the angel indicates to Mary the true and full significance of the name Jesus—he will save his people from their sins. However, even though the meaning of the name is significant, translators should not try to translate Jesus, but write it as a proper noun.

Most translators and commentators are apparently in agreement that the word Christ in this verse is used as a proper name, not with the force of “the Christ,” as in verses 16 and 17. The Greek word “Christ” is a translation of the Hebrew “Messiah,” meaning “the Anointed One.” In New Testament times it was a technical term used to describe the promised Savior-King, and it generally had political and military overtones. However, when used of Jesus by Matthew and the other New Testament writers, it is used exclusively in a spiritual sense. The complete name Jesus Christ is rare in the first three Gospels. It occurs here and in Mark 1.1 for certain; in 1.18 and 16.21 the Greek manuscripts vary between “Jesus” and “Jesus Christ.”

It is difficult in a Handbook to advise translators on writing proper nouns, since the problem is wider than just the specific names in any one book. It is important for translators to agree on the principles to follow fairly early in their work. (They can discuss this with their Translation Consultant.) In areas where a major language such as Spanish, French, English, or Portuguese dominates, translators often take the pronunciation of names in that language and adapt them so that they follow the phonological and orthographic patterns of their own language. Exceptions are sometimes made for well-known names in common usage in the area, such as Peter, John, or James.

A further problem is the case of several variants of one name in the Scriptures themselves, as we see with “Ram” in verse 3. Translators will have to consider what will be best for their readers. Certainly those preparing common language translations (CLTs) will find that following the lead of Good News Bible will help avoid confusion with this problem.

For translators, there are two basic decisions that have to be made about “Christ” and “Messiah.” As we said, the two terms mean the same thing, but whereas “Messiah” is always used as a title (“the Messiah”), “Christ” is sometimes a title (“the Christ”) and sometimes a name or part of a name (“Jesus Christ”). This can be very confusing to readers. Since “Messiah” in English now is understood very much as in the biblical text, Good News Bible has followed the policy in the Gospels of using “Messiah” whenever the title is involved, whether the text has “the Christ” or “the Messiah.” Good News Bible then reserves “Christ” for its usage as a name. Many translators will want to consider doing the same thing.

A second decision to make is whether to transliterate “Messiah” or to translate it. Some translators have said “God’s promised Savior,” “God’s chosen Savior,” or simply “the One God promised (or, chose).” There are those who both transliterate and translate, saying “the Messiah, God’s chosen Savior.”

Christ as a name (as here) will be written in accordance with the principles followed for names.

Jesus Christ is specified as the son of David, the son of Abraham. Most languages have a noun that means “descendant” (Good News Translation), and translators either use a sentence similar to Good News Bible or use a construction such as “He descended from David and from Abraham” or “He descended from David, who descended from Abraham.”

In languages which use “son” to mean “descendant,” the sentence must be constructed so that it is clear that David was not the biological father of Jesus, and that Abraham was neither David’s father nor the father of Jesus. Sentences such as “one of his fathers of long ago was David and another was Abraham” or “One of his fathers of long ago was David, and one of David’s fathers was Abraham” will also be good ways to handle the phrase.

Matthew’s readers knew that David was the famous king of Israel’s history, but many readers today will not know that, particularly in languages that do not have an Old Testament. Translators in these languages may want to supply that information in a footnote or in the glossary, or they can insert it directly into the text by saying “King David.”

Similarly, not all modern readers will know that Abraham was the great founder of the nation of Israel, and translators sometimes say “Our founder Abraham” or “Abraham, who founded our nation.”

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 1:2

Abraham was the father of Isaac: notice that Good News Translation restructures verses 2-16 (2-6a, 6b-11, 12-16) on the basis of the information given in verse 17: “So then, there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, and fourteen from David to the exile in Babylon, and fourteen from then to the birth of the Messiah.” That is, at the beginning of each list (verses 2a, 6b, 12), Good News Bible provides a summary of the ancestors to be mentioned: “From Abraham to King David … From David to the time when the people of Israel were taken into exile in Babylon … From the time after the exile in Babylon to the birth of Jesus….” This has the advantage of presenting the lists in a way that is natural in English. However, if the reader looks for the fourteen generations (see verse 17) in each of these lists, he may still be at a loss as to what persons are to be included, because this information is still not immediately evident. Therefore the following restructuring may be helpful in making all the relevant information immediately evident for the reader:

• This is the list of the ancestors of Jesus Christ, who was a descendant of David, who was a descendant of Abraham.

There were fourteen generations from Abraham to David:
1. Abraham
2. Isaac
3. Jacob, the father of Judah and his brothers
4. Judah, the father of Perez and Zerah (their mother was Tamar)
5. Perez
6. Hezron
7. Ram
8. Amminadab
9. Nahshon
10. Salmon
11. Boaz (Rahab was his mother)
12. Obed (Ruth was his mother)
13. Jesse
14. King David

There were fourteen generations from David to the time when the people were carried away to Babylon:
1. David
2. Solomon (his mother had been Uriah’s wife)
3. Rehoboam
4. Abijah
5. Asa
6. Jehoshaphat
7. Jehoram
8. Uzziah
9. Jotham
10. Ahaz
11. Hezekiah
12. Manasseh
13. Amon
14. Josiah, the father of Jehoiachin and his brothers, at the time when the people of Israel were carried away to Babylon.

There were fourteen generations from the time the people were carried away to Babylon to the birth of the Promised Savior:
1. Jechoniah
2. Shealtiel
3. Zerubbabel
4. Abiud
5. Eliakim
6. Azor
7. Zadok
8. Achim
9. Eliud
10. Eleazar
11. Matthan
12. Jacob
13. Joseph, the husband of Mary, who was the mother of Jesus
14. Jesus, the Promised Savior (the Messiah).

In many societies it is common to give the lists of the ancestors of people. But even in those societies where it is not often done, there will generally be ways to do it that people can follow easily. When translating these lists in verses 2-16, it is important to keep in mind what is normal and what the readers will follow easily. It may be that putting a restatement of the summary in verse 17 at the beginning will be helpful. This can be done as in Good News Translation, or as we suggested above: “There were 14 generations from Abraham to King David.” Other suggestions are “The descendants Abraham had up to the time of King David are these” or “These are the names of the descendants of Abraham until the time of King David.”

This type of summary introductory statement may not be helpful or necessary in all languages. But those translators who do find it helpful will not only use one here in verse 2, but also in verses 6b and 12.

Some languages will normally use the formula “Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac was the father of Jacob…” throughout the genealogy, much as Matthew did it. Translators will then follow the text quite closely. Other languages have formulas that mention the sons, as in “Abraham, his son was Isaac. Isaac, his son was Jacob….” There are also languages that find it more natural to say “Isaac, his father was Abraham. Jacob, his father was Isaac….”

Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob: in 1 Chronicles 1.34 the Hebrew text has “Israel,” whereas the Greek translation has Jacob, which indicates that Matthew is following the Septuagint rather than the Hebrew text. Matthew then takes the name Judah from 1 Chronicles 2.1 and summarizes with the phrase and his brothers, whereas in the Septuagint the names are listed individually.

Judah and his brothers: readers who do not know the Old Testament at all find it strange to add “and his brothers.” These readers suggest that of course Jacob was also the father of Judah’s brothers, or they would not be his brothers! The important historical information is that the twelve of them founded Israel’s twelve tribes, and this information should be given in a footnote.

Some languages normally use a word which means “siblings,” which covers both brothers and sisters. Since the text is speaking here of twelve specific brothers, then in those languages translators need to say “his male siblings” or “Jacob was the father of Judah and of the other sons.”

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 1:3

The first clause is from 1 Chronicles 2.4 (“and Tamar his wife [Hebrew: daughter-in-law] gave birth to Perez and Zerah”).

Many languages have to make by Tamar a separate sentence: “Their mother was Tamar.”

In 1 Chronicles 2.9 Ram is mentioned as one of the sons of Hezron. For Ram the Septuagint has Aram (see the RSV footnote), but Ram is obviously the person who is meant, and many modern translations follow this spelling (Phillips, New English Bible, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible [New Jerusalem Bible], Translator’s New Testament, though others maintain the Septuagint spelling (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Zürcher Bibel, Barclay, Moffatt, An American Translation). The advantage of using Ram is that it avoids confusion with the several Arams mentioned in the Old Testament (see Gen 10.22, 23; 22.21; Num 23.7; 2 Sam 8.6; 15.8; 1 Chr 1.17; 2.23; 7.34; Hos 12.12; Zech 9.1), some of which are people and the others are places, but none of which are the person intended by Matthew. See the comments on names in 1.1.

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 1:4

In 1 Chronicles 2.10 Amminadab is listed as the son of Ram, and in 1 Chronicles 2.11 Nahshon and Salmon are mentioned.

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 1:5 – 1:6

In 1 Chronicles 2.11 Salmon is listed as the father of Boaz, though Rahab is not mentioned. Obed and Jesse are Septuagint forms and come from 1 Chronicles 2.12. The names of the women Rahab and Ruth are not listed in the genealogy of 1 Chronicles.

David the king: there are several ways to translate this naturally: “King David” (Good News Translation) or “David who was (or, became) king.” Some languages have to specify the people over whom he was king. These translations can say “the king of Israel.”

Those translators who used a short summary at the beginning of verse 2 to introduce the list of ancestors will do a similar thing here: “These are the descendants of David until the people of Israel were taken into exile in Babylon” or “After David, and until the people of Israel were taken into exile in Babylon, these are the names of his descendants.”

For Good News Translation‘s “Babylon” and “exile” (or, “deportation”), see comments on verse 11.

Solomon is listed in 1 Chronicles 3.5, 10. As with Rahab and Ruth, the wife of Uriah is not given in the Chronicles list, either by name or by indirect allusion.

By the wife of Uriah: as with “by Tamar” in Matthew 1.3, this phrase may need a separate sentence: “His mother was Uriah’s wife.” In many cases it is important to specify that she was not Uriah’s wife at the time of Solomon’s birth but had been his wife previously. Translators can follow Good News Translation or even say “His mother had been the wife of Uriah before.”

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 .