Matthew 13:7

13:7 Other seeds fell among the thorns, ¹  and they grew up and choked them. ² 

Matthew 15:14

15:14 Leave them! They are blind guides. ³  If someone who is blind leads another who is blind, ⁴  both will fall into a pit.”

Matthew 18:26

18:26 Then the slave threw himself to the ground ⁵  before him, saying, ⁶  ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you everything.’

Matthew 18:29

18:29 Then his fellow slave threw himself down and begged him, ⁷  ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you.’

[13:7]  ¹ sn Palestinian weeds like these thorns could grow up to six feet in height and have a major root system.

[13:7]  ² sn That is, crowded out the good plants.

[15:14]  ³ tc ‡ Most mss, some of which are significant, read “They are blind guides of the blind” (א¹ C L W Z Θ Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat). The shorter reading is read by א*^,2 B D 0237 Epiph. There is a distinct possibility of omission due to homoioarcton in א*; this manuscript has a word order variation which puts the word τυφλοί (tufloi, “blind”) right before the word τυφλῶν (tuflwn, “of the blind”). This does not explain the shorter reading, however, in the other witnesses, of which B and D are quite weighty. Internal considerations suggest that the shorter reading is original: “of the blind” was likely added by scribes to balance this phrase with Jesus’ following statement about the blind leading the blind, which clearly has two groups in view. A decision is difficult, but internal considerations here along with the strength of the witnesses argue that the shorter reading is more likely original. NA²⁷ places τυφλῶν in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[15:14]  ⁴ tn Grk “If blind leads blind.”

[18:26]  ⁵ tn Grk “falling therefore the slave bowed down to the ground.” The redundancy of this expression signals the desperation of the slave in begging for mercy.

[18:26]  ⁶ tc The majority of mss (א L W 058 0281 Ë^1,13 33 Ï it sy^p,h co) begin the slave’s plea with “Lord” (κύριε, kurie), though a few important witnesses lack this vocative (B D Θ 700 pc lat sy^s,c Or Chr). Understanding the parable to refer to the Lord, scribes would be naturally prone to add the vocative here, especially as the slave’s plea is a plea for mercy. Thus, the shorter reading is more likely to be authentic.

[18:29]  ⁷ tn Grk “begged him, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.