Matthew 2:2

2:2 saying, “Where is the one who is born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose ¹  and have come to worship him.”

Matthew 5:39

5:39 But I say to you, do not resist the evildoer. ²  But whoever strikes you on the ³  right cheek, turn the other to him as well.

Matthew 12:13

12:13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and it was restored, ⁴  as healthy as the other.

Matthew 13:12

13:12 For whoever has will be given more, and will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. ⁵ 

Matthew 18:7

18:7 Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! It ⁶  is necessary that stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom they come.

Matthew 19:3

19:3 Then some Pharisees ⁷  came to him in order to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful ⁸  to divorce a wife for any cause?” ⁹ 

Matthew 21:38

21:38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’

Matthew 22:25

22:25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children he left his wife to his brother.

Matthew 23:4

23:4 They ¹⁰  tie up heavy loads, hard to carry, and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing even to lift a finger to move them.

Matthew 26:69

Peter’s Denials

26:69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A ¹¹  slave girl ¹²  came to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.”

Matthew 27:17

27:17 So after they had assembled, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus ¹³  Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Christ?” ¹⁴ 

¹ tn Or “in its rising,” referring to the astrological significance of a star in a particular portion of the sky. The term used for the “East” in v. 1 is ἀνατολαί (anatolai, a plural form that is used typically of the rising of the sun), while in vv. 2 and 9 the singular ἀνατολή (anatolh) is used. The singular is typically used of the rising of a star and as such should not normally be translated “in the east” (cf. BDAG 74 s.v. 1: “because of the sg. and the article in contrast to ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν, vs. 1, [it is] prob. not a geograph. expr. like the latter, but rather astronomical…likew. vs. 9”).

² tn The articular πονηρός (ponhro", “the evildoer”) cannot be translated simply as “evil” for then the command would be “do not resist evil.” Every instance of this construction in Matthew is most likely personified, referring either to an evildoer (13:49) or, more often, “the evil one” (as in 5:37; 6:13; 13:19, 38).

³ tc ‡ Many mss (B D K L Δ Θ Ë¹³ 565 579 700 1424 pm) have σου (sou) here (“your right cheek”), but many others lack the pronoun (א W ˹ 33 892 1241 pm). The pronoun was probably added by way of clarification. NA²⁷ has σου in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.

³ sn The passive was restored points to healing by God. Now the question became: Would God exercise his power through Jesus, if what Jesus was doing were wrong? Note also Jesus’ “labor.” He simply spoke and it was so.

⁴ sn What he has will be taken from him. The meaning is that the one who accepts Jesus’ teaching concerning his person and the kingdom will receive a share in the kingdom now and even more in the future, but for the one who rejects Jesus’ words, the opportunity that that person presently possesses with respect to the kingdom will someday be taken away forever.

⁵ tn Grk “For it.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

⁶ tn Grk “And Pharisees.”

⁷ tc ‡ Most mss have either ἀνθρώπῳ (anqrwpw, “for a man” [so א² C D W Θ 087 Ë^1,13 33 Ï latt]) or ἀνδρί (andri, “for a husband” [1424^c pc]) before the infinitive ἀπολῦσαι (apolusai, “to divorce”). The latter reading is an assimilation to the parallel in Mark; the former reading may have been motivated by the clarification needed (especially to give the following αὐτοῦ [autou, “his”] an antecedent). But a few significant mss (א* B L Γ 579 [700] 1424* pc) have neither noun. As the harder reading, it seems to best explain the rise of the others. NA²⁷, however, reads ἀνθρώπῳ here.

⁸ sn The question of the Pharisees was anything but sincere; they were asking it to test him. Jesus was now in the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas (i.e., Judea and beyond the Jordan) and it is likely that the Pharisees were hoping he might answer the question of divorce in a way similar to John the Baptist and so suffer the same fate as John, i.e., death at the hands of Herod (cf. 14:1-12). Jesus answered the question not on the basis of rabbinic custom and the debate over Deut 24:1, but rather from the account of creation and God’s original design.

⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

⁹ tn The Greek term here is παιδίσκη (paidiskh), referring to a slave girl or slave woman.

⁹ tc Again, as in v. 16, the name “Jesus” is supplied before “Barabbas” in Θ Ë¹ 700* pc sy^s Or^mss (Θ 700* lack the article τόν [ton] before Βαραββᾶν [Barabban]). The same argument for accepting the inclusion of “Jesus” as original in the previous verse applies here as well.

¹⁰ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”