18:6 “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, 1 it would be better for him to have a huge millstone 2 hung around his neck and to be drowned in the open sea. 3 18:7 Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! It 4 is necessary that stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom they come.
1 tn The Greek term σκανδαλίζω (skandalizw), translated here “causes to sin” can also be translated “offends” or “causes to stumble.”
2 tn Grk “the millstone of a donkey.” This refers to a large flat stone turned by a donkey in the process of grinding grain (BDAG 661 s.v. μύλος 2; L&N 7.68-69). The same term is used in the parallel account in Mark 9:42.
3 tn The term translated “open” here (πελάγει, pelagei) refers to the open sea as opposed to a stretch of water near a coastline (BDAG 794 s.v. πέλαγος). A similar English expression would be “the high seas.”
4 tn Grk “For it.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.
5 tn Grk “answering, Judas.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to reflect the sequence of events in the narrative.
6 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.