Translation commentary on Matthew 14:30

When he saw is translated “when he noticed” by Good News Translation, since in English people do not normally “see” wind. “Became aware of” is another possible rendering, or even “When he realized how the wind was blowing.”

He refers to Peter, not to Jesus, and some translations have to specify this.

As RSV’s footnote indicates, some Greek manuscripts read “strong wind” in place of wind. In fact, other manuscripts even have “very strong wind,” which is generally regarded as a scribe’s attempt to heighten the dramatic effect. But a firm decision concerning the inclusion or exclusion of the adjective “strong” is more complicated. In light of the impossibility of a dogmatic decision, the UBS Greek text retains the adjective in the text, though placing it in square brackets to indicate that its presence there is disputed. “Strong” is retained in most English translations, with the exception of Revised Standard Version, Barclay, and New International Version, though renderings vary considerably: “the strength of the wind” (Moffatt), “how strong the wind was” (New American Bible), “the fury of the wind” (Phillips), “the strength of the gale” (New English Bible), and “the force of the wind” (Jerusalem Bible). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch renders “the high waves,” on the logic that what he saw was not the wind but the waves which were the result of the strong wind.

The text states that he was afraid. More natural, however, is “he became afraid (or, frightened).”

Sink translates a verb used in the New Testament only by Matthew; it occurs again in 18.6. It may be necessary to locate the sinking, as in “into the water.”

There are several ways to link the events of this verse. Good News Translation is one useful model. Another is “But when he noticed the strong wind, he became afraid. He started to sink into the water, and cried out.”

Peter calls Jesus Lord. Here the Christian sense is clearly called for rather than “Sir.”

Save translates the same verb used in 8.25. Here the phrase may be rendered “Rescue me” or “Don’t let me drown.”

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 14:30

14:30a

But: There is a contrast here. The contrast is between Peter walking on top of the water (in 14:29b) and Peter sinking into the water (in 14:30b). The Berean Standard Bible indicates this contrast with the conjunction But.

when he saw the strength of the wind: There is a textual issue here:

(1) Some Greek manuscripts have the adjective “strong” here. For example:

when he saw the strong wind (NET Bible)

(Berean Standard Bible, Good News Translation, NET Bible, King James Version, New Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004), Revised English Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

(2) Some Greek manuscripts do not have an adjective here. For example:

when he saw the wind (Revised Standard Version)

(New International Version, Revised Standard Version, English Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, New Century Version, New Jerusalem Bible)

It is recommended that you follow option (1). It has the most version support.

he saw the strength of the wind: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as he saw the strength of the wind indicates that Peter noticed the effects of a strong wind. He saw the waves and felt the strong wind blowing.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

he felt the strength of the wind
-or-
he noticed the strong wind (Good News Translation)
-or-
because of the strong wind
-or-
he saw the waves/water that the big wind was blowing

14:30b

beginning to sink: The verb sink refers to going down into the water. Peter walked on top of the water for a while, but his fear interfered with his faith and he began to sink into the water.

It is not known how far he sunk before calling out. But at least his head was still above the water. Perhaps part of his upper body was also above water.

cried out: This phrase refers to yelling or shouting. The phrase cried out does not refer to weeping.

Here is another way to translate this verb:

shouted (New Living Translation (2004))

save me: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as save in this context means “rescue (from danger)” or “save (from death).” It is the same word used for eternal salvation, but you may need to use a different term to make the meaning of “rescue” clear.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

rescue me
-or-
save me ⌊from death⌋

-or-

help me

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