11:16 “To 6 what should I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces who call out to one another, 7
19:13 Then little children were brought to him for him to lay his hands on them and pray. 11 But the disciples scolded those who brought them. 12
2:13 After they had gone, an 13 angel of the Lord 14 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 15 is going to look for the child to kill him.”
1 tc ‡ Although most witnesses (B C L W Ë13 33 Ï f sys,p,h mae) read “women and children” instead of “children and women,” it is likely that the majority’s reading is a harmonization to Matt 14:21. “Children and women” is found in early and geographically widespread witnesses (e.g., א D [Θ Ë1] 579 lat syc sa bo), and has more compelling internal arguments on its side, suggesting that this is the original reading. NA27, however, agrees with the majority of witnesses.
2 tn Grk “And those eating were four thousand men, apart from children and women.”
1 tn The feminine singular genitive noun νυκτός (nuktos, “night”) indicates the time during which the action of the main verb takes place (ExSyn 124).
1 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the angel’s instructions.
1 tn This verb, δέχομαι (decomai), is a term of hospitality (L&N 34.53).
1 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
2 tn Grk “who call out to one another, saying.” The participle λέγουσιν (legousin) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
1 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
2 sn The point of the comparison become like little children has more to do with a child’s trusting spirit, as well as willingness to be dependent and receive from others, than any inherent humility the child might possess.
3 tn The negation in Greek (οὐ μή, ou mh) is very strong here.
1 tn Grk “so that he would lay his hands on them and pray.”
2 tn Grk “the disciples scolded them.” In the translation the referent has been specified as “those who brought them,” since otherwise the statement could be understood to mean that the disciples scolded the children rather than their parents who brought them.
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.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 1:20.
3 sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. Herod the Great was particularly ruthless regarding the succession to his throne.
1 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
1 tn Grk “and behold the star.”
2 tn See the note on the word “rose” in 2:2.
1 tn Grk “they fell down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”
2 sn Frankincense refers to the aromatic resin of certain trees, used as a sweet-smelling incense (L&N 6.212).
3 sn Myrrh consisted of the aromatic resin of certain shrubs (L&N 6.208). It was used in preparing a corpse for burial.
1 sn The kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. Children are a picture of those whose simple trust illustrates what faith is all about. The remark illustrates how everyone is important to God, even those whom others regard as insignificant.