Those are “the disciples” (Good News Translation); see verse 22, which makes this identification positive.

The phrase in the boat seems to contrast with Peter and Jesus, who had been outside the boat. It should not imply the presence of other disciples who were not in the boat. One may translate “Then the disciples (who were) in the boat worshiped him.”

Worshiped is the same verb first used in 2.2, but see comments also at 2.11. New Jerusalem Bible has “bowed down before,” and New English Bible “fell at his feet.” Certainly in this verse, with the following affirmation by the disciples about Jesus, worshiped means more than just honored.

Truly can be rendered “Indeed” or “In fact,” or in an expression such as “You really are the Son of God.”

Truly you are the Son of God is stated in the Greek text in the most emphatic way possible. Even though the definite article the is not present in Greek, the meaning is definitely the Son of God and not “a son of God.” This is the first confession in the Gospel of Jesus’ divine sonship, and as such it anticipates the confession of 16.16.

The Son of God has sometimes been a problem. As we point out, to say “a Son” is not correct, since that phrase can be used with any believer. Consequently “the One who is God’s Son” is necessary in some languages. There are many languages which use one general term for male or female children, and only add “male” when it is necessary to distinguish between sons and daughters. The general term can certainly be used here.

Another problem comes in cultures which reject the notion of God having a child. To say “the one for whom God was like a father to him” simply does not have the strong statement of divine origin. “The one who comes from God as a Son” or “the one God sends as a Son” may be better. However, even in cultures with this problem, translators have often felt that the claim of the Scriptures is such that it must be translated as “the Son of God” and an explanation be given in accompanying notes.

Saying (Good News Translation “exclaimed”) translates a participle. A number of translations retain this form, though they shift to a more descriptive verb: “exclaiming” (New English Bible), “declaring” (New American Bible), and “crying” (Phillips). The participle does indicate that the way the disciples worshiped Jesus was by declaring their belief that he was God’s Son. “Worshiped him as they said” or “worshiped him by saying” are possible renderings.

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 .