Matthew 8:9

8:9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. ¹  I say to this one, ‘Go’ and he goes, ²  and to another ‘Come’ and he comes, and to my slave ³  ‘Do this’ and he does it.” ⁴ 

Matthew 12:32

12:32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven. ⁵  But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, ⁶  either in this age or in the age to come.

Matthew 13:54

13:54 Then ⁷  he came to his hometown ⁸  and began to teach the people ⁹  in their synagogue. ¹⁰  They ¹¹  were astonished and said, “Where did this man get such wisdom and miraculous powers?

Matthew 17:20

17:20 He told them, “It was because of your little faith. I tell you the truth, ¹²  if you have faith the size of ¹³  a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; nothing ¹⁴  will be impossible for you.”

¹ tn Grk “having soldiers under me.”

² sn I say to this one ‘Go’ and he goes. The illustrations highlight the view of authority the soldier sees in the word of one who has authority. Since the centurion was a commander of a hundred soldiers, he understood what it was both to command others and to be obeyed.

³ tn Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times… in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v. 1). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος) in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

⁴ tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

⁵ tn Grk “it will be forgiven him.”

⁶ tn Grk “it will not be forgiven him.”

⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”

¹⁰ sn Jesus’ hometown (where he spent his childhood years) was Nazareth, about 20 miles (30 km) southwest of Capernaum.

¹¹ tn Grk “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹² sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23. Jesus undoubtedly took the opportunity on this occasion to speak about his person and mission, and the relation of both to OT fulfillment.

¹³ tn Grk “synagogue, so that they.” Here ὥστε (Jwste) has not been translated. Instead a new sentence was started in the translation.

¹³ tn Grk “For truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

¹⁴ tn Grk “faith as,” “faith like.”

¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.