Translation commentary on Matthew 16:1

As a comparison between Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation will immediately reveal, Good News Translation has rather radically restructured this verse.

As in many other places, And indicates the narrative is continuing. Some translators will have “Later” or “Some time later.”

Pharisees and Sadducees were traditional enemies, but they are here pictured as joining in a united front against Jesus. In 3.7 Matthew narrates that Pharisees and Sadducees were rebuked by John the Baptist, but they are not otherwise linked in the Gospel of Matthew except in this chapter. In fact, apart from these two passages, they seem not to be joined together elsewhere in any of the Gospels. For Pharisees and Sadducees, see comments at 3.7. Here the text has the, as if all of the Pharisees and Sadducees came, or possibly some particular ones already mentioned in the text. “Some” as in Good News Translation is probably better, or perhaps “a deputation of.”

In Greek both came and to test are participles dependent upon the main verb asked, and they are without specified objects. However, him follows asked, so that it may be assumed that these two groups came “to Jesus” (so Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Bible en français courant, Barclay) in order to test him.

Came will probably more naturally be “went” in many languages.

Since to test is definitely negative, it is permissible to see here the meaning “to trap” (Good News Translation) or “to catch.” At a more sophisticated level it can be translated “to discredit him.”

Note the purpose shown by to. Sometimes translators mark this with sentences such as “They wanted to discredit Jesus, so they asked him” (similar to Good News Translation), “In order to trap him, they asked him,” and “They asked him a question that would lead him into a trap. They said….”

Sign (Good News Translation “miracle”) is the same word used in 12.38 (see comments there).

A sign from heaven is translated “miracle … to show that God approved of him” by Good News Translation. As elsewhere in Matthew, heaven is a way of speaking of God’s abode, and indirectly of God himself. A sign from heaven would then be a miracle that God himself allowed or did in order to reveal some truth about himself. In the present context, its function would be to show that Jesus had the approval of God. Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition translates the sentence “They wanted proof from him that God had really commissioned him.” In fact, translators have found a variety of ways to render sign from heaven. “A mighty act that showed God’s power” and “a mighty act that showed he had power from God” are quite common. Barclay has retained heaven and shown that it indirectly refers to God by saying “visible divine action from heaven.” Most translators will replace heaven with “God,” however, as in the examples above.

There will be languages where the request from the Pharisees and Sadducees will more naturally be in direct speech: “They asked him, ‘Do some great act to show you have God’s power.’ ”

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 16:1



Section 16:1–4

The Jewish leaders tested Jesus

The Pharisees and Sadducees were two groups of Jewish leaders who were often opposed to each other. Here, they joined together to test Jesus. They tested him by asking him to do a certain kind of miracle that would prove that God had sent him. This kind of miracle was called a “sign.”

Jesus rebuked them for asking for a sign. He said that the only sign that they would see would be like what happened to Jonah. Jonah was in a big fish for three days. Then God caused the fish to vomit Jonah onto land alive. Similarly, Jesus would be in the grave for three days. Then God would cause him to be alive again. This would prove that God had sent him.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

The leaders ask for a miracle
-or-
The Demand for a Sign

There is a parallel passage for this section in Mark 8:11–13. There is a parallel passage for 16:2–3 in Luke 12:54–56.

Paragraph 16:1–4

In this paragraph, the Pharisees and Sadducees tested Jesus. They tested him by asking him for a sign to prove that he was from God.

16:1a

Then: This is the beginning of a new story. The Greek introduces this story with a word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Then. Most English versions do not translate this word. In your translation, use a natural way to begin a new story. For example:

There were
-or-
Then

the Pharisees and Sadducees came: This clause means that “some” Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus. It does not mean that all of them came. Only some came representing both groups.

In some languages, it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:

Some Pharisees and Sadducees…came (Good News Translation)

Pharisees: The word Pharisees last occurred in 15:12b. You should translate it here as you did there.

Sadducees: Use the same term here as you used in 3:7a.

came: The Greek text does not indicate where the Pharisees and Sadducees came from. It also does not indicate where Jesus was when they came to him. In your translation, do not try to make these things explicit.

16:1b

and tested Jesus: In this context, the word tested means “tried to trick/trap” so that he would fail. The Pharisees and Sadducees wanted Jesus to fail to show that he was from heaven. If (or when) he failed, they could declare that he was not from God. Their purpose was to discredit Jesus so that people would not listen to him.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

wanting to trick him (New Century Version)
-or-
wanted to trap him (Good News Translation)

by asking Him to show them a sign from heaven: Here the word sign refers to a special miracle that shows a particular truth. The Pharisees and Sadducees asked Jesus to do a miracle to show that he truly came from heaven/God. They did this because they did not believe that he could actually prove that he came from God.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

by asking him to show them a miraculous sign from heaven (New Living Translation (1996))
-or-
they asked him to show them a miracle from God (New Century Version)
-or-
they asked him to do a miracle to show/prove that God ⌊had sent him⌋

from heaven: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as heaven can mean either:

(a) sky – the space above the earth where birds fly, or

(b) heaven – the place where God lives.

If you can, use a word that means both sky and heaven. If you must make a choice, choose (b) heaven. Here, the Pharisees and Sadducees wanted to see something that showed that Jesus came from “heaven/God.”

In some languages, it may be necessary to make the Pharisees’ and Sadducees’ request more explicit. For example:

from God (New Century Version)

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