Matthew 3:16

3:16 After ¹  Jesus was baptized, just as he was coming up out of the water, the ²  heavens ³  opened ⁴  and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove ⁵  and coming on him.

Matthew 18:6

18:6 “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, ⁶  it would be better for him to have a huge millstone ⁷  hung around his neck and to be drowned in the open sea. ⁸ 

[3:16]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[3:16]  ² tn Grk “behold the heavens.” 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).

[3:16]  ³ tn Or “sky.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ourano") may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The same word is used in v. 17.

[3:16]  ⁴ tc ‡ αὐτῷ (autw, “to/before him”) is found in the majority of witnesses (א¹ C D^s L W 0233 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat), perhaps added as a point of clarification or emphasis. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[3:16]  ⁵ sn The phrase like a dove is a descriptive comparison. The Spirit is not a dove, but descended like one in some sort of bodily representation.

[18:6]  ⁶ tn The Greek term σκανδαλίζω (skandalizw), translated here “causes to sin” can also be translated “offends” or “causes to stumble.”

[18:6]  ⁷ tn Grk “the millstone of a donkey.” This refers to a large flat stone turned by a donkey in the process of grinding grain (BDAG 661 s.v. μύλος 2; L&N 7.68-69). The same term is used in the parallel account in Mark 9:42.

[18:6]  ⁸ tn The term translated “open” here (πελάγει, pelagei) refers to the open sea as opposed to a stretch of water near a coastline (BDAG 794 s.v. πέλαγος). A similar English expression would be “the high seas.”