And behold translates a frequently used attention-getter; see comments on 1.20, where it is first used in the Gospel. As there, a phrase such as “And it happened that” can be used, or the phrase can be dropped if it is not natural in the receptor language.

Canaanite is found numerous times in the Old Testament, though it is used only here in the New Testament. The problem is that there was no longer a political country called “Canaan” in New Testament times. Some scholars are of the opinion that this was the Semitic manner of referring to the people of Phoenicia at the time that Matthew’s Gospel was written.

Canaanite woman is frequently rendered as “a woman from Canaan,” but here this results in the awkward phrase “a woman from that area who was from Canaan.” And it is not proper to say that she came from a country that no longer existed. “A woman who lived in that area who was of the people from Canaan” or “a woman from the area who was of the group called Canaanites” may be better.

From that region is best taken to mean that the woman lived in that region: “living in that locality” (New American Bible) and “from those parts” (New English Bible; Barclay “these parts”).

Came out translates the same verb rendered “went away” in verse 21, and it raises a question regarding the exact location of Jesus at the moment that the Canaanite woman came to him with her request. The problem is that the Greek of verse 21 may imply that Jesus only headed in the direction of Tyre and Sidon, but did not in fact get beyond the borders of northern Galilee. If this is accepted as the meaning, then came out states that the woman left her territory and went down to northern Galilee where Jesus was at the time. Without hesitation Jerusalem Bible‘s footnote says “Since the woman has left pagan territory it is in Israel that Jesus grants his favour.” Both Zürcher Bibel and Luther 1984 support this interpretation, as does Moffatt (“came out of these parts”). But came out may describe no more than the woman’s departure from her home or village; or it may be used loosely in the sense of “came” (New English Bible), which seems to be the intent of “presented herself” (New American Bible) and “came to” (Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, New International Version, Barclay, Phillips). Revised Standard Version is ambiguous, with woman from that region came out (similarly An American Translation).

Cried is not used here to mean “weep.” Rather the woman “cried out” (Good News Translation) or “shouted.”

The noun of address by which the woman appeals to Jesus may mean either Lord (so also New American Bible, Phillips) or “sir” (Good News Translation, Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible, Barclay). If the meaning is “sir,” then it is equivalent to an honorific and so may be omitted from explicit mention in English translation. On the other hand, if the meaning is Lord, then this will have to be stated explicitly in the text. See comment at 8.25.

Son of David is a Jewish Messianic title (see comments at 12.23). It is especially noteworthy that a Canaanite woman would speak to Jesus in this way.

In many languages, O Lord, Son of David will have to be the first thing the woman says. O is no longer common in English as a means of addressing people, which is why Good News Translation has dropped it. There are also translators who will find that the two terms of address together is not natural, and they may find it better to separate them somewhat, as Good News Translation has.

In some languages the title Son of David does not lend itself naturally as a term of address. This is true, for example, in languages where the formula for a title would result in “the One people call Son of David.” A woman calling out in a desperate attempt to get someone’s attention would certainly not take time to say all that. Son of David with a footnote to explain that it is a Messianic title will be much more appropriate.

For Have mercy on me, see comments at 9.27.

Severely possessed by a demon (Good News Translation “has a demon and is in a terrible condition”) translates two words in Greek, a verb modified by an adverb, which mean literally “terribly possessed.” Both New Jerusalem Bible and New English Bible render “is tormented by a devil”; Barclay translates “is possessed by a demon and is very ill.” Phillips is fairly dramatic: “is in a terrible state—a devil has got into her!” Another possible rendering is “is suffering very much because she is possessed by an evil spirit.”

For possessed by a demon, see comments at 4.24.

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 .

The Christ (so also New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version) is no more than a transliteration of the Greek, concerning which one commentator observes: “The transliteration of the Gr. Christos by Christ in various English versions is inexcusable … In its original context the question posed by Jesus and answered by Peter as spokesman demanded commitment to Jesus as Messiah.” Together with Good News Translation, both New English Bible and New American Bible have “Messiah.” On the meaning of the title “the Messiah” see comments at 1.17 and 1.1. In the present passage the title occurs both here and again in verse 20, where it appears in the words of Jesus. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates the first occurrence as “you are Christ,” with a reference to the word list, where “Christ” is defined as “the Promised Savior.” Then the command of Jesus to his disciples in verse 20 is rendered “Tell no one that I am the Promised Savior.” It seems better to render the term as “the Promised Savior” in each of these occurrences (or to use whatever translation has been used elsewhere; see comments at 1.1). Then the ordinary reader will understand that when Jesus uses “the Promised Savior” (verse 20), his point of reference is Peter’s confession of him as “the Promised Savior” (verse 16). Good News Translation maintains this continuity by rendering “the Messiah” in both places, but the term is probably not understood by a majority of English readers.

The Son of the living God is a title that occurs only here in the New Testament. In 3.17 “a voice from heaven” refers to Jesus as “my beloved Son,” and in 14.33 the disciples confess “Truly you are the Son of God.” But the full formula as it occurs here is found nowhere else in the New Testament. In the Old Testament and in Judaism, “Son of God” is rather frequently used of persons whom God has chosen to act in his behalf and for the benefit of his people. However, as the confession occurs in the New Testament, it speaks of Jesus’ divine origin and of his deity. See also 14.33 where “Son of God” is discussed.

Living affirms that God possesses life himself and is the source of all life. The confession that Jesus is the Son of the living God means that in a unique way Jesus shares in that life, and that he himself has power to impart life to others. Translators have generally followed one of two ways to render living God. Some make the term contrast with other gods who are not living: “that God (or, our God) who is alive (or, who lives forever).” Others have made living more an attribute of God: “God, who is alive” or “God, who lives forever.”

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 .

For stylistic reasons Good News Translation translates He said to them as “answered Jesus” and places the clause after the first part of the quotation. Many languages will find the order “speaker-speaker’s words” simpler than “speaker’s words-speaker,” while other languages find it necessary to mark the speaker before and after the quotation.

The noun phrase your little faith is transformed into a clause with subject and verb in Good News Translation: “you do not have enough faith.” In place of the noun little faith, some Greek manuscripts have the noun “without faith,” which scholars believe was introduced by a later scribe because it is a better known word. In fact, the support for little faith is so much superior to that of the alternative, that none of the modern translations even note the other reading. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “your faith was not great enough.” In instances where faith must be rendered as a verb, one may translate “you did not really believe that God would do it” or “… would heal the boy.”

The purpose of the entire narrative is to focus upon the saying of Jesus regarding faith in the last part of this verse. For truly, I say to you translates the same formula used in 5.18.

If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed is problematic from at least two perspectives: (1) the average reader will not realize that in the biblical culture the mustard seed was considered one of the smallest seeds; and (2) it is not clear than the comparison is between the size of the seed and the size of the disciples’ faith. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch is somewhat more explicit (“If your faith is only as large as a mustard seed”), as is New English Bible (“if you have faith no bigger even than a mustard-seed”).

Another problem arises in languages where faith is normally expressed as a verb. Translators may say “If the way you believe in God is small, just like a mustard seed,” but it may be better to drop the comparison and say simply “If you believe in God even a little bit.” Note from these examples that if it is necessary to have an object of faith it should be “God.”

A grain of mustard seed really means “a mustard seed.” See comment at 13.32. “The small seed of the mustard plant” is a good way to render it when readers are not familiar with mustard. It is not essential to the story to try to use some plant that readers know.

The word translated mountain may also mean “hill” (Good News Translation). However, for cultures familiar with mountains and hills, the better choice will doubtless be mountain, since the intention is to contrast the small size of the mustard seed with the enormous size of the largest physical object known. Although the words are reminiscent of certain verses from Isaiah (40.4; 49.11), they probably had assumed the form of a proverbial saying for the overcoming of seemingly insurmountable difficulties. In the context, this mountain can refer to the one Jesus had descended a short time previously. The translation should not make it seem Jesus was referring to a mountain he was standing on.

You will say (so also New English Bible) is a simple future in Greek, but the force of the verb is obviously conditional (either “you can say” or “you could say”) as a number of translations indicate (for example, Jerusalem Bible, Moffatt, New International Version, An American Translation, Phillips, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

Both Revised Standard Version (Move from here to there) and Good News Translation: (“Go from here to there”) represent formal translations of the Greek.

If it is more natural to use indirect discourse, translators can have “You could order this mountain to move from this place to that place (or, from one place to another).”

Will move is also a future verb form, but “and it would move” will probably fit the sentence better.

And nothing will be impossible to you represents an unusual and awkward word order for native speakers of English, which Good News Translation simplifies to “You could do anything!” To accomplish this restructuring, two steps were taken: (1) the two negative forms (nothing … impossible) were reduced to one simplified positive form, and (2) the unnatural word order (nothing will be … to you) was changed into a word order that is common among speakers of the language. One way some translations have retained the negatives and still been fairly natural is “There is nothing you couldn’t do.”

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 .

So may also be rendered “Then” or “At this.” Good News Translation finds it more natural in English to drop this transitional.

Fell on his knees (so also Good News Translation) translates a participle which is literally “falling” or “having fallen,” and the action is best understood as falling face down rather than upon the knees. Moreover, the meaning of the verb imploring (Good News Translation “begged”) is “approach in dog-like fashion,” descriptive of the manner in which a dog approaches its master on all fours in hopes of escaping punishment. Though root meanings may be deceptive, the root meaning seems best to suit the needs of the context. New American Bible, though at a high-language level, is accurate: “prostrated himself in homage and said.” New Jerusalem Bible translates “the servant threw himself down at his master’s feet,” and An American Translation has “threw himself down before him and implored him.” The man is about to lose everything, and so he approaches his king in the most humble way possible. Translators should use whatever expression makes this clear; for example, “knelt down” or “lay down on the ground in front of.”

Have patience translates a verb made from the same stem as the adjective used in the Septuagint, with the meaning “patient” or “long-suffering.” Sometimes an expression such as “be patient” does not fit well, and translators say instead “give me some time.”

I will pay you everything may be expressed as “I will pay you back everything I have taken,” “I will give you everything I owe you,” or “I will pay back the entire debt.” I will pay you everything is, of course, an exaggeration. It is inconceivable that the man could have repaid the enormous amount. For example, the annual income of King Herod was only nine hundred talents, and for this man to have repaid ten thousand talents would have been an impossible feat.

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 .

Jesus now turns to his disciples to comment on the young man. And may be expressed as “Then.”

Truly, I say to you translates the same expression used in 6.5. It was last used in 18.3, 13, 18.

It will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven is a fairly formal representation of the Greek text. A few translations, however, have attempted a dynamic equivalent: Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “A rich man finds it difficult to get into God’s new world,” Malay common language version “It is very difficult for a rich man to surrender himself to God’s rule,” and INCL “It is very difficult for a rich man to become one of God’s people.” Another good solution is “It is very difficult for a rich man to become a subject of God (or, a subject in God’s Kingdom).”

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 .