Matthew 11:8

11:8 What ¹  did you go out to see? A man dressed in fancy clothes? ²  Look, those who wear fancy clothes are in the homes of kings! ³ 

Matthew 11:10

11:10 This is the one about whom it is written:

‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, ⁴ 

who will prepare your way before you.’ ⁵ 

Matthew 26:65

26:65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and declared, ⁶  “He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? Now ⁷  you have heard the blasphemy!

[11:8]  ¹ tn Grk “But what.” Here ἀλλά (alla, a strong contrastive in Greek) produces a somewhat awkward sense in English, and has not been translated. The same situation occurs at the beginning of v. 9.

[11:8]  ² sn The reference to fancy clothes makes the point that John was not rich or powerful, in that he did not come from the wealthy classes.

[11:8]  ³ tn Or “palaces.”

[11:10]  ⁴ tn Grk “before your face” (an idiom).

[11:10]  ⁵ sn The quotation is primarily from Mal 3:1 with pronouns from Exod 23:20. Here is the forerunner who points the way to the arrival of God’s salvation. His job is to prepare and guide the people, as the cloud did for Israel in the desert.

[26:65]  ⁷ tn Grk “the high priest tore his clothes, saying.”

[26:65]  ⁸ tn Grk “Behold now.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).