Matthew 3:3

3:3 For he is the one about whom Isaiah the prophet had spoken: ¹ 

“The voice ²  of one shouting in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make ³  his paths straight.’” ⁴ 

Matthew 5:25

5:25 Reach agreement ⁵  quickly with your accuser while on the way to court, ⁶  or he ⁷  may hand you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the warden, and you will be thrown into prison.

Matthew 8:28

Healing the Gadarene Demoniacs

8:28 When he came to the other side, to the region of the Gadarenes, ⁸  two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were extremely violent, so that no one was able to pass by that way.

Matthew 11:10

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

‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, ⁹ 

who will prepare your way before you.’ ¹⁰ 

Matthew 13:19

13:19 When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one ¹¹  comes and snatches what was sown in his heart; ¹²  this is the seed sown along the path.

Matthew 21:32

21:32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe. Although ¹³  you saw this, you did not later change your minds ¹⁴  and believe him.

[3:3]  ¹ tn Grk “was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying.” The participle λέγοντος (legonto") is redundant and has not been translated. The passive construction has also been rendered as active in the translation for the sake of English style.

[3:3]  ² tn Or “A voice.”

[3:3]  ³ sn This call to “make paths straight” in this context is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance.

[3:3]  ⁴ sn A quotation from Isa 40:3.

[5:25]  ⁵ tn Grk “Make friends.”

[5:25]  ⁶ tn The words “to court” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[5:25]  ⁷ tn Grk “the accuser.”

[8:28]  ⁹ tc The textual tradition here is quite complicated. A number of mss (B C [Δ] Θ al sy^s,p,h) read “Gadarenes,” which is the better reading here. Many other mss (א² L W Ë^1,13 Ï [sy^hmg] bo) have “Gergesenes.” Others (892^c latt sy^hmg sa mae) have “Gerasenes,” which is the reading followed in Luke 8:26. The difference between Matthew and Luke may be due to uses of variant regional terms.

[11:10]  ¹³ tn Grk “before your face” (an idiom).

[11:10]  ¹⁴ 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.

[13:19]  ¹⁷ sn Interestingly, the synoptic parallels each use a different word for Satan here: Mark 4:15 has “Satan,” while Luke 8:12 has “the devil.” This illustrates the fluidity of the gospel tradition in often using synonyms at the same point of the parallel tradition.

[13:19]  ¹⁸ sn The word of Jesus has the potential to save if it germinates in a person’s heart, something the devil is very much against.

[21:32]  ²¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:32]  ²² sn The word translated change your minds is the same verb used in v. 29 (there translated had a change of heart). Jesus is making an obvious comparison here, in which the religious leaders are viewed as the disobedient son.