The text says that he took a cup, but many translators find it helpful to say “a cup of wine.” See 9.17 for a discussion of “wine.”

Took … had given thanks … gave is similar to the series of verbs used in verse 26, with had given thanks replacing “blessed,” and “broke” being omitted because of the shift from bread to a cup. Good News Translation specifies that the thanks were given “to God,” while Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “spoke a prayer of thanks,” thereby accomplishing the same goal.

Drink of it is preferable to “Drink it” of Good News Translation, since in many languages persons do not drink a cup but rather drink from one (New American Bible, New International Version “from it”). The text may appropriately be rendered “Then he took a cup that was full of wine … and said, ‘Each of you, drink some of the wine from this cup.’ ”

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 .