Matthew 11:15

11:15 The one who has ears had better listen! ¹ 

Matthew 12:29

12:29 How ²  else can someone enter a strong man’s ³  house and steal his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can thoroughly plunder the house. ⁴ 

Matthew 13:9

13:9 The one who has ears had better listen!” ⁵ 

Matthew 13:22

13:22 The ⁶  seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but worldly cares and the seductiveness of wealth ⁷  choke the word, ⁸  so it produces nothing.

Matthew 15:7

15:7 Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said,

[11:15]  ¹ tn The translation “had better listen!” captures the force of the third person imperative more effectively than the traditional “let him hear,” which sounds more like a permissive than an imperative to the modern English reader. This was Jesus’ common expression to listen and heed carefully (cf. Matt 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 8:8, 14:35).

[12:29]  ² tn Grk “Or how can.”

[12:29]  ³ sn The strong man here pictures Satan.

[12:29]  ⁴ sn Some see the imagery here as similar to Eph 4:7-10, although no opponents are explicitly named in that passage. Jesus has the victory over Satan. Jesus’ acts of healing mean that the war is being won and the kingdom is coming.

[13:9]  ³ tn The translation “had better listen!” captures the force of the third person imperative more effectively than the traditional “let him hear,” which sounds more like a permissive than an imperative to the modern English reader. This was Jesus’ common expression to listen and heed carefully (cf. Matt 11:15, 13:43; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 8:8, 14:35).

[13:22]  ⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[13:22]  ⁵ tn Grk “the deceitfulness of riches.” Cf. BDAG 99 s.v. ἀπάτη 1, “the seduction which comes from wealth.”

[13:22]  ⁶ sn That is, their concern for spiritual things is crowded out by material things.