Translation commentary on Matthew 16:23

Turned translates a participle which is dependent upon the main verb said in the Greek sentence structure. But most English translations represent them both as finite verbs, as do Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch and Bible en français courant. Other languages may require quite different ways of dealing with the two forms. Barclay renders turned dramatically with “swung round.” Similar expressions would include “turned toward Peter” or “turned and faced Peter.”

Get behind me (so also New Jerusalem Bible, Moffatt), a literal rendering of the Greek, is translated “Get away from me” by Good News Translation; New English Bible (“Away with you”) and Phillips (“Out of my way”) are similar to Good News Bible. As some commentators note, the meaning may well be “Get out of my sight” (An American Translation, Barclay, New American Bible) or “Out of my sight” (New International Version).

Satan (see comments on 4.10) is here used of Peter, and some translations attempt to make the identification clear for the reader: “you Satan” (An American Translation) and “you satan” (New American Bible). But other languages may necessitate a totally different restructuring: “You are acting like Satan,” “You are playing the role of Satan,” or “You are speaking the words of Satan.”

These latter examples show clearly what Jesus means when he calls Peter Satan, but they may lose some of the sharp sting that “Satan” by itself has. Since in the following sentence Jesus shows what he means when he calls Peter this, translators often try to keep the rebuke Satan in this sentence and then start the next one with “I call you that because you are an obstacle….”

The noun rendered hindrance (so also Moffatt) or “obstacle” (Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible) is generally given the literal meaning “stumbling block” (New English Bible, New International Version, RSV footnote). Several translations shift to a verb phrase: “you stand right in my path” (Phillips), “You hinder me” (An American Translation), “You’re doing your best to trip me up!” (Barclay), and “You are trying to make me trip and fall” (New American Bible).

Often translators have to show in what way Peter is being a hindrance, as in “You are hindering me from doing God’s will” or “… from doing what I must do.”

For you are not on the side of God contrasts with but of men; literally the two clauses read “for you are not thinking the things of God, but the things of men.” New English Bible retains the verb “think” but inverts the order: “You think as men think, not as God thinks” (so also Phillips “you think the thoughts of man and not those of God”). On the other hand, New International Version follows the order of the Greek as much as English allows: “you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” For many translators an easier way to express this is “You are thinking like a man, not the way God does” or “The way you are thinking is like a man, not like God.”

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 16:23



16:23a

But: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But often shows contrast. Here it introduces the words that Jesus said. These words show that he did not agree with what Peter has just said. Some English versions do not translate this conjunction.

Jesus turned and said to Peter: Peter may have started to rebuke Jesus while they walked side by side and away from the other disciples. Here, when Jesus wanted to rebuke/scold Peter, he turned and faced him.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

Jesus turned to face Peter and said to him
-or-
Jesus faced Peter and said

Get behind Me, Satan!: This is a rebuke. Jesus rebuked Peter for saying things that came from Satan. Peter had tempted Jesus not to follow God’s will, and Jesus strongly rejected that idea.

These words do not mean that Jesus ordered Peter to go away. He told Peter not to stop him from following God’s will.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

Get out of my way, Satan! (God’s Word)
-or-
Out of my sight, Satan! (Revised English Bible)

In some languages, it may be confusing for Jesus to call Peter Satan. If that is true in your language, you may need to make the meaning more explicit. For example:

⌊You are like⌋ Satan. Get away from me.
-or-

⌊That idea from⌋ Satan should go/be far from me!
-or-

⌊What you are saying is from⌋ Satan. Get out of my way!

For help to translate the word Satan, see the Note at 4:10a.

16:23b

You are a stumbling block to Me: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as stumbling block more literally means “a trap” (as in the New Living Translation (2004)). This refers to a stone or other thing that blocks a path or causes a person to stumble. Peter was a stumbling block because he was trying to stop Jesus from following God’s plan. It is sometimes translated in English as “hindrance” (as in the English Standard Version). It is often used figuratively to refer to something that tempts a person into sin.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

You are an obstacle in my way (Good News Translation)
-or-
You are blocking my path
-or-
You are trying to stop me from following God’s plan/path
-or-
You are tempting me to sin (God’s Word)

16:23c

For: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For introduces the basis for the things that Jesus said in 16:23b. Peter was hindering Jesus (16:23b) for/because he was not thinking the way that God thinks (16:23c).

Here are some other ways to translate this conjunction:

because (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
The reason ⌊I say this is⌋

Some English versions allow the context to indicate this connection. They do not explicitly translate this conjunction. Translate this connection in a natural way in your language.

you do not have in mind the things of God: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as have in mind means “think.” The words that Peter said in 16:22 came from his thoughts as a human being. They were not God’s thoughts or God’s will.

Peter thought that it was important for the Messiah to have a victory in the same way that people have victories. But God had a different plan.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

You aren’t thinking the way God thinks (God’s Word)
-or-
these thoughts of yours don’t come from God (Good News Translation)
-or-
the way you are thinking, it is not what God wants

you: The pronoun you here refers to Peter. It does not refer to Satan. Be sure that this is clear in your translation. For example, you might say:

you, Peter

the things of God: In this context, the phrase the things of God refers to God’s thoughts, plans and will. It does not refer to physical things.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

the way God thinks (God’s Word)

but: There is a contrast here. The contrast is between “not thinking the things of God,” and “thinking the things of man.” Languages have different ways to indicate this negative-positive type of contrast. Here are some of the ways:

• With the conjunction but.

• With a conjunction other than but. This is a common way in English to show this type of contrast. For example:

rather
-or-
on the contrary
-or-
Instead

• With no conjunction. For example:

You are not thinking the things of God. You are thinking the things of man.

the things of men: Some words from the previous clause are implied but not repeated here. In some languages, it may be more natural to repeat some of those words from the previous clause. For example:

⌊you are thinking⌋ the way that humans think
-or-

⌊these thoughts come⌋ from a human way of thinking

things of men: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as men refers to “humans.” Here it does not refer only to males.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

the way humans think (God’s Word)
-or-
from a human point of view (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
as people think

General Comment on 16:23c

In some languages, it may be more natural to change the order of the clauses and put the positive clause first. For example:

you think like everyone else and not like God (Contemporary English Version)

Paragraph 16:24–28

In this paragraph Jesus spoke to all the disciples, including Peter. He is also speaking to all of us. He wanted to teach about how to understand things from God’s perspective. He also hinted how the lives of those who follow him will change.

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