Translation commentary on Matthew 11:11

And when Jesus had finished instructing refers back to chapter 10. The verb instructing occurs only here in the Gospel of Matthew; it is found with more frequency in Luke–Acts (nine times), four times in 1 Corinthians, and once each in Galatians and Titus.

In some languages, to make it clear that And when Jesus had finished instructing refers to the previous section, translators say “When Jesus finished teaching these things,” “After Jesus finished…,” or “Jesus finished giving instructions to his disciples. Then he left….”

Instructing, as seen in the above examples, is often rendered “teaching.” Some languages require a direct object for “teaching,” so translators say “teaching all these things.”

His twelve disciples may need to be “the twelve disciples who followed him.”

He went on from there to teach and preach is translated “he left that place and went to teach and preach” by New English Bible. Some languages may require two verbs of motion such as are found in Good News Translation: “left … went off.” Another way is “he left there to go….”

In place of to teach and preach, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch substitutes one verb and an object: “to proclaim the Good News.” This is evidently done on the assumption that the two verbs in the Greek text are essentially equivalent in meaning. Translators who do wish to keep the two verbs should see the discussion at 3.1 for preach, and note that as elsewhere (for example, 5.2), teach may require either an object (“teach about the Good News”) or an indirect object (“teach the people there”).

In their cities (New English Bible “in the neighbouring towns”) is most likely an allusion to Jewish towns, as the New Jerusalem Bible footnote explains. Some scholars further restrict the reference to the Jewish towns of Galilee.

Their cities can appear to refer to towns or cities of the twelve disciples. This is probably not correct. “Towns of that area” is better, or “other towns of the Jews.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Matthew 11:1

Section 11:1–19

Jesus praised John the Baptist

Long before Jesus was born, God spoke of a messenger who would prepare the people for the coming of the Messiah (Malachi 3:1). John the Baptist was that messenger. When John’s ministry was ending, he began to doubt that Jesus was the Messiah. So John sent some of his disciples to verify that Jesus was the Messiah (11:3). Jesus indicated that his miracles and preaching were proof that he was the expected Messiah whom God spoke of (11:4–5).

Jesus then showed that John was very important in God’s eyes (11:7–14).

Jesus and John did God’s work in very different ways, but most people refused to listen to either person (11:16–19).

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

The question of John the Baptist
-or-
Jesus talked about John the Baptizer
-or-
Messengers from John the Baptist (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Jesus and John the Baptizer’s actions prove who they are

There is a parallel passage for this section in Luke 7:18–35.

Paragraph 11:1

11:1

Some English versions (like the New International Version) put this verse with the last section of chapter 10. Other versions put this verse with the first section of chapter 11. The context probably indicates that this verse is a conclusion to the previous section. So, if the major language version in your area puts 11:1 with the previous section, you may want to put 11:1 with the previous section.

11:1a

After Jesus had finished instructing His twelve disciples: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as instructing refers to giving commands, orders, or instructions. It is a different Greek word than the word translated as “teach” in 11:1b, but the meaning is related.

This clause refers to 10:5–42. There Jesus gave his disciples certain commands, and he taught them about things that would happen. If possible, use an expression that refers to both commands and teachings. For example:

After Jesus finished telling these things to his twelve followers (New Century Version)
-or-
When Jesus finished commanding and teaching his twelve disciples

It was probably at this point that Jesus sent out the twelve disciples. He sent them out to begin the ministry that he had given them. In some languages, it may be necessary to make this information explicit. For example:

After Jesus gave/explained these commands to his twelve disciples ⌊he sent them out. Then⌋

11:1b

He went on from there: This clause indicates that Jesus left the place where he had been instructing his disciples. (This place was probably in the hills around Lake Galilee.) He left that place and went to some of the towns in the district of Galilee.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

he left that place (Good News Translation)
-or-
he went away from there

As mentioned above, Jesus probably sent out the disciples before he left that place. So when he left, the disciples were no longer with him. If your readers will think that Jesus left with his disciples, you may want to include some implicit information. See the example above in 11:1a.

teach and preach: The phrase teach and preach is a doublet. This means that these two verbs mean almost the same thing. They refer to announcing news in a public manner. In some languages, both verbs can be translated by one verb or by one verb phrase. For example:

teach his message (God’s Word)
-or-
tell the good news
-or-
announce God’s news

in their cities: The pronoun their refers to the Jews (as it does in the phrase “their synagogues” in 9:35). It does not refer to the disciples.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

in the Jewish towns
-or-
in the towns near there (Good News Translation)

-or-

in towns throughout the region (New Living Translation (2004))

cities: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as cities refers to either towns or cities. They are larger and more important than villages, which is a different Greek word. The Jewish towns of Galilee most likely had less than three thousand people in each town. Do not use a word that refers only to large, modern cities of today.

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