Saved translates a verb which covers a broad area of meaning; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “He helped others, but he cannot help himself!”

“Isn’t he the king of Israel?” (Good News Translation) translates a statement: He is the King of Israel. It may be more effectively translated if linked with what follows: “If he is really the king of Israel, he should come down from the cross! Then we would believe him” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Phillips is similar: “If this is the king of Israel, why doesn’t he come down from the cross now, and we will believe him!” During the course of Jesus’ ministry, “some of the scribes and Pharisees” had demanded of Jesus a miracle (12.38-42), as had “the Pharisees and Sadducees” (16.1-4). It was probably expected of the Messiah that he would have the power to perform miracles, and now the supreme miracle is demanded of him.

Believe in him is best taken in the sense of “believe that he is the Messiah.”

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 .