Truly, I say to you: see discussion at 5.18; 6.2, where similar constructions are used.

There are some standing here: the use of the verb standing is not to imply that some people were standing and others sitting. Rather, in the present context it means “those of you who are here with me now.” It can be rendered “some of you standing here with me now.” The reference is to the disciples (see verses 13, 21, 24).

Taste death is a Jewish way of saying “die” (Good News Translation) without actually mentioning the word itself; the same expression is also used in John 8.52; Hebrews 2.9. In place of the negative form, will not taste death, Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition has “will yet be alive.”

Before they see the Son of man coming may be translated “until the Son of Man comes,” which is similar to Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch. The omission of the verb see does not represent a shift in focus; the intention of the verse is to affirm the coming of the Son of Man within the lifetime of some of Jesus’ disciples.

Coming in his kingdom (so also New English Bible, New International Version) is a literal rendering of the Greek text as is “coming with his kingdom” of New Jerusalem Bible, since the Greek preposition may mean either in or “with.” However, neither of these translations really conveys the impact that the construction had for Jewish readers, for whom in his kingdom would have meant “to rule as king.” Both Good News Translation: (“come as King”) and Phillips (“coming as king”) retain a noun phrase to express the concept, while others more effectively shift to an infinitive phrase, showing activity via a verb form: “coming himself to reign” (Moffatt) and “come to reign” (An American Translation). Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition has “when the Son of Man comes with power and glory.”

Coming presents some of the same problems here as in the previous verse; that is, “coming here to men (or, to earth)” may be more natural than the simple verb with no location.

Similarly, it may be helpful to indicate over whom or what the Son of Man will reign, as in “rule the world” or “establish his reign over all men.”

Although 16.13-28 is divided into two sections by Good News Translation (13-20, 21-28) by the insertion of a section heading before verse 21, it should be noted that the entire section reflects a unity within itself. Both at the beginning (verse 13) and at the end (verse 28), the Son of Man comes into focus, and this is the clue to the framework of the entire section.

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 .