And may not be natural at the beginning of a new section. Some translations, for example Good News Translation and Barclay, do not have any transition word. Others have an expression such as “At that time.”

Also, since it is a new section, it will often be better to say “Jesus” instead of he.

Went about occurs in the New Testament only here and 9.35; 23.15; Mark 6.6; Acts 13.11; 1 Corinthians 9.5. It is emphatic in the Greek text. The sphere of this activity is defined as all Galilee. Matthew thereby affirms that Jesus is the fulfillment of Isaiah 9.1-2 and so is the eschatological messenger of good news.

Good News Translation has made this point clear by saying that Jesus went “all over Galilee.” It can be translated “he traveled (or, went) throughout the territory of Galilee” or “… everywhere in Galilee.”

Teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people is repeated word for word in 9.35. Therefore several scholars conclude that these two verses summarize the contents of chapters 5–9. If this conclusion is valid, then chapters 5–7 may be said to tell of the Messiah’s teaching ministry and chapters 8–9 of his healing ministry. One commentator characterizes the entire section 4.23–9.34 as “the work of Jesus Christ in word and deed.”

The two verbs teaching and preaching appear together in Matthew’s Gospel elsewhere only in 9.35 and 11.1. It has already been noted that 9.35 is parallel to the present passage; 11.1 is also similar in that it too is a summary of Jesus’ activity. The verb “teach” is used elsewhere in 5.2, 19 (twice); 7.29; 9.35; 11.1; 13.54; 15.9; 21.23; 22.16; 26.55; 28.15, 20; “preach” is found in 3.1; 4.17; 9.35; 10.7, 27; 11.1; 24.14; 26.13.

Some scholars attempt to differentiate between “teaching” and “preaching” on the grounds that teaching relates primarily to the polemical dialogues that took place between Jesus and the religious leaders in the synagogues, while preaching is essentially the proclamation of the Good News. But such a distinction is difficult to maintain, since the Sermon on the Mount is introduced by the form “and he began to teach them” (5.2, Good News Bible). A valid distinction may, however, be found at the level of form rather than content. Whether teaching or preaching, Jesus is the promised herald of good news, which he proclaims both in synagogues and along the roadside. Yet the form of this message may be different in the synagogue than at other places.

As we said above concerning the section heading, it may not be possible to say teaching without specifying whom he taught, as in “teaching the people.”

It is important to avoid a word for “teaching” that would convey a narrow sense of teaching in a classroom. Many translations have to give some indication of what he was teaching about by using sentences such as “teaching people about God” or “teaching people about the rule of God.”

Synagogues were places of public worship and of teaching; any Jewish man capable of teaching was permitted to do so in the synagogue. Notice how Matthew separates between his Jewish readers and the Jews of the synagogues: their synagogues.

Synagogues was mentioned briefly in the discussion of “temple” at 4.5. They are usually called “houses of prayer” or “meeting houses.” Occasionally translators add “of the Jews.” In many parts of the world today, there are buildings that serve a very similar function to that of the synagogues. For example, in parts of West Africa, village palaver huts are used for meetings and religious and traditional teaching. In such cases translations often have “palaver hut of the Jews” for “synagogue.”

Since it says here their synagogues, translations sometimes have “the synagogues of those people” or “… that were there.”

Preaching has been discussed in 3.1 and 4.17. Here one can say “proclaiming (or, announcing) the Good News.”

The gospel of the kingdom is translated less ambiguously by Good News Translation: (“the Good News about the Kingdom”) and Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition (“the Good News that God would now accomplish his work”). By means of this phrase Matthew means that Jesus had announced the arrival of God’s reign, and so Malay common language version translates “the Good News that God would soon establish his reign.”

Gospel: see comments on the title of this book.

For comments on kingdom, see 3.2. The gospel of the kingdom is then “the Good News about God’s rule” or “the Good News that God would soon establish his reign (or, rule).” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch and Malay common language version cited above are other possibilities.

Every disease and every infirmity appears again in 9.35 and 10.1, but nowhere else in the New Testament. The first of these terms means “sickness” or “illness”; the second word has the root meaning of “softness” or “weakness.” However, in the present passage there seems to be no real distinction intended. In Deuteronomy 7.15 of the Septuagint, these two words appear together, but in inverse order from the way they appear here.

In some languages one cannot say healing every disease but instead must say “healing people of every kind of disease” or “healing people of all the diseases they had.”

Some translations have a phrase like “physical weaknes” for infirmity, which is acceptable if this refers to physical handicaps or disorders. But in other languages there is no real distinction made between “disease” and “infirmity.” Since the use of the two words together in the text has the effect of covering all kinds of physical ailments, translators should use an expression that would in fact do the same thing in their languages.

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 .