Matthew 3:14

3:14 But John ¹  tried to prevent ²  him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?”

Matthew 5:28

5:28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Matthew 5:39

5:39 But I say to you, do not resist the evildoer. ³  But whoever strikes you on the ⁴  right cheek, turn the other to him as well.

Matthew 10:16

Persecution of Disciples

10:16 “I ⁵  am sending you out like sheep surrounded by wolves, ⁶  so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

Matthew 12:27

12:27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons ⁷  cast them ⁸  out? For this reason they will be your judges.

Matthew 20:15

20:15 Am I not ⁹  permitted to do what I want with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ ¹⁰ 

Matthew 21:27

21:27 So ¹¹  they answered Jesus, ¹²  “We don’t know.” ¹³  Then he said to them, “Neither will I tell you ¹⁴  by what authority ¹⁵  I am doing these things.

Matthew 22:32

22:32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? ¹⁶  He is not the God of the dead but of the living!” ¹⁷ 

Matthew 25:27

25:27 Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, ¹⁸  and on my return I would have received my money back with interest! ¹⁹ 

Matthew 26:25

26:25 Then ²⁰  Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” Jesus ²¹  replied, “You have said it yourself.”

Matthew 28:20

28:20 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, ²²  I am with you ²³  always, to the end of the age.” ²⁴ 

[3:14]  ¹ tc ‡ The earliest mss (א* B sa) lack the name of John here (“but he tried to prevent him,” instead of “but John tried to prevent him”). It is, however, clearly implied (and is thus supplied in translation). Although the longer reading has excellent support (Ì⁹⁶ א¹ C D^s L W 0233 0250 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat[t] sy mae bo), it looks to be a motivated and predictable reading: Scribes apparently could not resist adding this clarification.

[3:14]  ² tn The imperfect verb has been translated conatively.

[5:39]  ³ tn The articular πονηρός (ponhro", “the evildoer”) cannot be translated simply as “evil” for then the command would be “do not resist evil.” Every instance of this construction in Matthew is most likely personified, referring either to an evildoer (13:49) or, more often, “the evil one” (as in 5:37; 6:13; 13:19, 38).

[5:39]  ⁴ tc ‡ Many mss (B D K L Δ Θ Ë¹³ 565 579 700 1424 pm) have σου (sou) here (“your right cheek”), but many others lack the pronoun (א W ˹ 33 892 1241 pm). The pronoun was probably added by way of clarification. NA²⁷ has σου in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.

[10:16]  ⁵ tn Grk “Behold I.” 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).

[10:16]  ⁶ sn This imagery of wolves is found in intertestamental Judaism; see Pss. Sol. 8:23, 30.

[12:27]  ⁷ sn Most read your sons as a reference to Jewish exorcists (cf. “your followers,” L&N 9.4), but more likely this is a reference to the disciples of Jesus themselves, who are also Jewish and have been healing as well (R. J. Shirock, “Whose Exorcists are they? The Referents of οἱ υἱοὶ ὑμῶν at Matthew 12:27/Luke 11:19,” JSNT 46 [1992]: 41-51). If this is a reference to the disciples, then Jesus’ point is that it is not only him, but those associated with him whose power the hearers must assess. The following reference to judging also favors this reading.

[12:27]  ⁸ tn The pronoun “them” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[20:15]  ⁹ tc ‡ Before οὐκ (ouk, “[am I] not”) a number of significant witnesses read ἤ (h, “or”; e.g., א C W 085 Ë^1,13 33 and most others). Although in later Greek the οι in σοι (oi in soi) – the last word of v. 14 – would have been pronounced like ἤ, since ἤ is lacking in early mss (B D; among later witnesses, note L Z Θ 700) and since mss were probably copied predominantly by sight rather than by sound, even into the later centuries, the omission of ἤ cannot be accounted for as easily. Thus the shorter reading is most likely original. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[20:15]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Is your eye evil because I am good?”

[21:27]  ¹¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “So” to indicate that the clause is a result of the deliberations of the leaders.

[21:27]  ¹² tn Grk “answering Jesus, they said.” This construction is somewhat awkward in English and has been simplified in the translation.

[21:27]  ¹³ sn Very few questions could have so completely revealed the wicked intentions of the religious leaders. Jesus’ question revealed the motivation of the religious leaders and exposed them for what they really were – hypocrites. They indicted themselves when they cited only two options and chose neither of them (“We do not know”). The point of Matt 21:23-27 is that no matter what Jesus said in response to their question, they were not going to believe it and would in the end use it against him.

[21:27]  ¹⁴ sn Neither will I tell you. Though Jesus gave no answer, the analogy he used to their own question makes his view clear. His authority came from heaven.

[21:27]  ¹⁵ tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ. This is exactly the same phrase as in v. 23.

[22:32]  ¹³ sn A quotation from Exod 3:6.

[22:32]  ¹⁴ sn He is not God of the dead but of the living. Jesus’ point was that if God could identify himself as God of the three old patriarchs, then they must still be alive when God spoke to Moses; and so they must be raised.

[25:27]  ¹⁵ tn For the translation “deposited my money with the bankers,” see L&N 57.216.

[25:27]  ¹⁶ sn That is, “If you really feared me you should have done a minimum to get what I asked for.”

[26:25]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “answering, Judas.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to reflect the sequence of events in the narrative.

[26:25]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:20]  ¹⁹ tn The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has been translated here as “remember” (BDAG 468 s.v. 1.c).

[28:20]  ²⁰ sn I am with you. Matthew’s Gospel begins with the prophecy that the Savior’s name would be “Emmanuel, that is, ‘God with us,’” (1:23, in which the author has linked Isa 7:14 and 8:8, 10 together) and it ends with Jesus’ promise to be with his disciples forever. The Gospel of Matthew thus forms an inclusio about Jesus in his relationship to his people that suggests his deity.

[28:20]  ²¹ tc Most mss (A^c Θ Ë¹³ Ï it sy) have ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”) at the end of v. 20. Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Further, no good reason exists for the omission of the particle in significant and early witnesses such as א A* B D W ˹ 33 al lat sa.