Matthew 6:30

6:30 And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, ¹  which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, ²  won’t he clothe you even more, ³  you people of little faith?

Matthew 12:18

12:18 “Here is ⁴  my servant whom I have chosen,

the one I love, in whom I take great delight. ⁵ 

I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.

Matthew 12:41-42

12:41 The people ⁶  of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented when Jonah preached to them ⁷  – and now, ⁸  something greater than Jonah is here! 12:42 The queen of the South ⁹  will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon – and now, ¹⁰  something greater than Solomon is here!

Matthew 17:4

17:4 So ¹¹  Peter said ¹²  to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, I will make ¹³  three shelters ¹⁴  – one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

Matthew 20:6

20:6 And about five o’clock that afternoon ¹⁵  he went out and found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why are you standing here all day without work?’

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¹ tn Grk “grass of the field.”

² tn Grk “into the oven.” The expanded translation “into the fire to heat the oven” has been used to avoid misunderstanding; most items put into modern ovens are put there to be baked, not burned.

sn The oven was most likely a rounded clay oven used for baking bread, which was heated by burning wood and dried grass.

³ sn The phrase even more is a typical form of rabbinic argumentation, from the lesser to the greater. If God cares for the little things, surely he will care for the more important things.

⁴ tn Grk “Behold my servant.”

⁵ tn Grk “in whom my soul is well pleased.”

⁶ tn Grk “men”; the word here (ἀνήρ, anhr) usually indicates males or husbands, but occasionally is used in a generic sense of people in general, as here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 1.a, 2).

⁷ tn Grk “at the preaching of Jonah.”

⁸ tn Grk “behold.”

⁹ sn On the queen of the South see 1 Kgs 10:1-3 and 2 Chr 9:1-12, as well as Josephus, Ant. 8.6.5-6 (8.165-175). The South most likely refers to modern southwest Arabia, possibly the eastern part of modern Yemen, although there is an ancient tradition reflected in Josephus which identifies this geo-political entity as Ethiopia.

¹⁰ tn Grk “behold.”

¹¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the appearance of Moses and Elijah prompted Peter’s comment.

¹² tn Grk “Peter answering said.” This construction is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

¹³ tc Instead of the singular future indicative ποιήσω (poihsw, “I will make”), most witnesses (C³ D L W Θ [Φ] 0281 Ë^[1],13 33 Ï lat sy co) have the plural aorist subjunctive ποιήσωμεν (poihswmen, “let us make”). But since ποιήσωμεν is the reading found in the parallel accounts in Mark and Luke, it is almost surely a motivated reading. Further, the earliest and best witnesses, as well as a few others (א B C* 700 pc) have ποιήσω. It is thus more likely that the singular verb is authentic.

¹⁴ tn Or “booths,” “dwellings” (referring to the temporary booths constructed in the celebration of the feast of Tabernacles).

sn Peter apparently wanted to celebrate the feast of Tabernacles or Booths that looked forward to the end and wanted to treat Moses, Elijah, and Jesus as equals by making three shelters (one for each). It was actually a way of expressing honor to Jesus, but the next verse makes it clear that it was not enough honor.

¹⁵ tn Grk “about the eleventh hour.”