Matthew 27:30

27:30 They ¹  spat on him and took the staff ²  and struck him repeatedly ³  on the head.

Matthew 11:7

11:7 While they were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness ⁴  to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ⁵ 

Matthew 12:20

12:20 He will not break a bruised reed or extinguish a smoldering wick,

until he brings justice to victory.

[27:30]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[27:30]  ² tn Or “the reed.”

[27:30]  ³ tn The verb here has been translated as an iterative imperfect.

[11:7]  ⁴ tn Or “desert.”

[11:7]  ⁵ tn There is a debate as to whether one should read this figuratively (“to see someone who is easily blown over?”) or literally (Grk “to see the wilderness vegetation?… No, to see a prophet”). Either view makes good sense, but the following examples suggest the question should be read literally and understood to point to the fact that a prophet drew them to the desert.