Matthew 6:28

6:28 Why do you worry about clothing? Think about how the flowers ¹  of the field grow; they do not work ²  or spin.

Matthew 7:3

7:3 Why ³  do you see the speck ⁴  in your brother’s eye, but fail to see ⁵  the beam of wood ⁶  in your own?

Matthew 9:14

The Superiority of the New

9:14 Then John’s ⁷  disciples came to Jesus ⁸  and asked, “Why do we and the Pharisees ⁹  fast often, ¹⁰  but your disciples don’t fast?”

Matthew 15:2

15:2 “Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their ¹¹  hands when they eat.” ¹² 

Matthew 16:8

16:8 When Jesus learned of this, ¹³  he said, “You who have such little faith! ¹⁴  Why are you arguing ¹⁵  among yourselves about having no bread?

Matthew 26:10

26:10 When ¹⁶  Jesus learned of this, he said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She ¹⁷  has done a good service for me.

Matthew 26:65

26:65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and declared, ¹⁸  “He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? Now ¹⁹  you have heard the blasphemy!

Matthew 27:46

27:46 At ²⁰  about three o’clock Jesus shouted with a loud voice, ²¹  “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ²² 

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¹ tn Traditionally, “lilies.” According to L&N 3.32, “Though traditionally κρίνον has been regarded as a type of lily, scholars have suggested several other possible types of flowers, including an anemone, a poppy, a gladiolus, and a rather inconspicuous type of daisy.” In view of the uncertainty, the more generic “flowers” has been used in the translation.

² tn Or, traditionally, “toil.” Although it might be argued that “work hard” would be a more precise translation of κοπιάω (kopiaw) here, the line in English reads better in terms of cadence with a single syllable.

³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁴ sn The term translated speck refers to a small piece of wood, chaff, or straw; see L&N 3.66.

⁵ tn Or “do not notice.”

⁶ sn The term beam of wood refers to a very big piece of wood, the main beam of a building, in contrast to the speck in the other’s eye (L&N 7.78).

⁷ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

⁸ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

⁹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

¹⁰ sn John’s disciples and the Pharisees followed typical practices with regard to fasting and prayer. Many Jews fasted regularly (Lev 16:29-34; 23:26-32; Num 29:7-11). The zealous fasted twice a week on Monday and Thursday.

¹¹ tc ‡ Although most witnesses read the genitive plural pronoun αὐτῶν (autwn, “their”), it may have been motivated by clarification (as it is in the translation above). Several other authorities do not have the pronoun, however (א B Δ 073 ˹ 579 700 892 1424 pc f g¹); the lack of an unintentional oversight as the reason for omission strengthens their combined testimony in this shorter reading. NA²⁷ has the pronoun in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

¹² tn Grk “when they eat bread.”

¹³ tn Or “becoming aware of it.”

¹⁴ tn Grk “Those of little faith.”

¹⁵ tn Or “discussing.”

¹⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

¹⁷ tn Grk “For she.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

¹⁸ tn Grk “the high priest tore his clothes, saying.”

¹⁹ tn Grk “Behold now.” 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).

²⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

²¹ tn Grk “with a loud voice, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

²² sn A quotation from Ps 22:1.