Matthew 1:20

1:20 When he had contemplated this, an ¹  angel of the Lord ²  appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 2:13

The Escape to Egypt

2:13 After they had gone, an ³  angel of the Lord ⁴  appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod ⁵  is going to look for the child to kill him.”

Matthew 6:25

Do Not Worry

6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry ⁶  about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing?

Matthew 12:45

12:45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so ⁷  the last state of that person is worse than the first. It will be that way for this evil generation as well!”

Matthew 18:8

18:8 If ⁸  your hand or your foot causes you to sin, ⁹  cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to have ¹⁰  two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.

Matthew 22:16

22:16 They sent to him their disciples along with the Herodians, ¹¹  saying, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful, and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. ¹²  You do not court anyone’s favor because you show no partiality. ¹³ 

¹ tn Grk “behold, an angel.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

² tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” Linguistically, “angel of the Lord” is the same in both testaments (and thus, he is either “an angel of the Lord” or “the angel of the Lord” in both testaments). For arguments and implications, see ExSyn 252; M. J. Davidson, “Angels,” DJG, 9; W. G. MacDonald argues for “an angel” in both testaments: “Christology and ‘The Angel of the Lord’,” Current Issues in Biblical and Patristic Interpretation, 324-35.

³ tn Grk “behold, an angel.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

⁴ tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 1:20.

⁵ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. Herod the Great was particularly ruthless regarding the succession to his throne.

⁵ tn Or “do not be anxious,” and so throughout the rest of this paragraph.

⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the concluding point of the story.

⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

¹⁰ sn In Greek there is a wordplay that is difficult to reproduce in English here. The verb translated “causes…to sin” (σκανδαλίζω, skandalizw) comes from the same root as the word translated “stumbling blocks” (σκάνδαλον, skandalon) in the previous verse.

¹¹ tn Grk “than having.”

¹¹ sn The Herodians are mentioned in the NT only once in Matt (22:16 = Mark 12:13) and twice in Mark (3:6; 12:13; some mss also read “Herodians” instead of “Herod” in Mark 8:15). It is generally assumed that as a group the Herodians were Jewish supporters of the Herodian dynasty (or of Herod Antipas in particular). In every instance they are linked with the Pharisees. This probably reflects agreement regarding political objectives (nationalism as opposed to submission to the yoke of Roman oppression) rather than philosophy or religious beliefs.

¹² sn Teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Very few comments are as deceitful as this one; they did not really believe this at all. The question of the Pharisees and Herodians was specifically designed to trap Jesus.

¹³ tn Grk “And it is not a concern to you about anyone because you do not see the face of men.”