Matthew 1:18

The Birth of Jesus Christ

1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ happened this way. While his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they came together, ¹  she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 2:8-9

2:8 He ²  sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and look carefully for the child. When you find him, inform me so that I can go and worship him as well.” 2:9 After listening to the king they left, and once again ³  the star they saw when it rose ⁴  led them until it stopped above the place where the child was.

Matthew 4:21

4:21 Going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in a boat ⁵  with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. Then ⁶  he called them.

Matthew 4:24

4:24 So a report about him spread throughout Syria. People ⁷  brought to him all who suffered with various illnesses and afflictions, those who had seizures, ⁸  paralytics, and those possessed by demons, ⁹  and he healed them.

Matthew 7:6

7:6 Do not give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs; otherwise they will trample them under their feet and turn around and tear you to pieces. ¹⁰ 

Matthew 7:24

Hearing and Doing

7:24 “Everyone ¹¹  who hears these words of mine and does them is like ¹²  a wise man ¹³  who built his house on rock.

Matthew 7:26

7:26 Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.

Matthew 17:5

17:5 While he was still speaking, a ¹⁴  bright cloud ¹⁵  overshadowed ¹⁶  them, and a voice from the cloud said, ¹⁷  “This is my one dear Son, ¹⁸  in whom I take great delight. Listen to him!” ¹⁹ 

[1:18]  ¹ tn The connotation of the Greek is “before they came together in marital and domestic union” (so BDAG 970 s.v. συνέρχομαι 3).

[2:8]  ² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[2:9]  ³ tn Grk “and behold the star.”

[2:9]  ⁴ tn See the note on the word “rose” in 2:2.

[4:21]  ⁴ tn Or “their boat.” The phrase ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ (en tw ploiw) can either refer to a generic boat, some boat (as it seems to do here); or it can refer to “their” boat, implying possession. Mark assumes a certain preunderstanding on the part of his readers about the first four disciples and hence the translation “their boat” is justified (cf. also v. 20 in which the “hired men” indicates that Zebedee’s family owned the boats), while Matthew does not.

[4:21]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[4:24]  ⁵ tn Grk “And they”; “they” is probably an indefinite plural, referring to people in general rather than to the Syrians (cf. v. 25).

[4:24]  ⁶ tn Grk “those who were moonstruck,” possibly meaning “lunatic” (so NAB), although now the term is generally regarded as referring to some sort of seizure disorder such as epilepsy (L&N 23.169; BDAG 919 s.v. σεληνιάζομαι).

[4:24]  ⁷ tn The translation has adopted a different phrase order here than that in the Greek text. The Greek text reads, “People brought to him all who suffered with various illnesses and afflictions, those possessed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics.” Even though it is obvious that four separate groups of people are in view here, following the Greek word order could lead to the misconception that certain people were possessed by epileptics and paralytics. The word order adopted in the translation avoids this problem.

[7:6]  ⁶ tn Or “otherwise the latter will trample them under their feet and the former will turn around and tear you to pieces.” This verse is sometimes understood as a chiasm of the pattern a-b-b-a, in which the first and last clauses belong together (“dogs…turn around and tear you to pieces”) and the second and third clauses belong together (“pigs…trample them under their feet”).

[7:24]  ⁷ tn Grk “Therefore everyone.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated.

[7:24]  ⁸ tn Grk “will be like.” The same phrase occurs in v. 26.

[7:24]  ⁹ tn Here and in v. 26 the Greek text reads ἀνήρ (anhr), while the parallel account in Luke 6:47-49 uses ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") in vv. 48 and 49.

[17:5]  ⁸ tn Grk “behold, a.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated here or in the following clause because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[17:5]  ⁹ sn This cloud is the cloud of God’s presence and the voice is his as well.

[17:5]  ¹⁰ tn Or “surrounded.”

[17:5]  ¹¹ tn Grk “behold, a voice from the cloud, saying.” This is an incomplete sentence in Greek which portrays intensity and emotion. The participle λέγουσα (legousa) was translated as a finite verb in keeping with English style.

[17:5]  ¹² tn Grk “my beloved Son,” or “my Son, the beloved [one].” The force of ἀγαπητός (agaphtos) is often “pertaining to one who is the only one of his or her class, but at the same time is particularly loved and cherished” (L&N 58.53; cf. also BDAG 7 s.v. 1).

[17:5]  ¹³ sn The expression listen to him comes from Deut 18:15 and makes two points: 1) Jesus is a prophet like Moses, a leader-prophet, and 2) they have much yet to learn from him.