¹ tn Grk “you will call his name.”

² sn The Greek form of the name Ihsous, which was translated into Latin as Jesus, is the same as the Hebrew Yeshua (Joshua), which means “Yahweh saves” (Yahweh is typically rendered as “Lord” in the OT). It was a fairly common name among Jews in 1st century Palestine, as references to a number of people by this name in the LXX and Josephus indicate.

³ tn Or “in its rising,” referring to the astrological significance of a star in a particular portion of the sky. The term used for the “East” in v. 1 is ἀνατολαί (anatolai, a plural form that is used typically of the rising of the sun), while in vv. 2 and 9 the singular ἀνατολή (anatolh) is used. The singular is typically used of the rising of a star and as such should not normally be translated “in the east” (cf. BDAG 74 s.v. 1: “because of the sg. and the article in contrast to ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν, vs. 1, [it is] prob. not a geograph. expr. like the latter, but rather astronomical…likew. vs. 9”).

⁴ map For location see Map1 D3; Map2 C2; Map3 D5; Map4 C1; Map5 G3.

⁵ tn Grk “and leaving Nazareth, he came and took up residence in Capernaum.”

sn Capernaum was a town located on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region, and it became the hub of operations for Jesus’ Galilean ministry.

map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.

⁶ tn Or “by the lake.”

sn By the sea refers to the Sea of Galilee.

⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

⁸ tn Grk “Therefore everyone.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated.

⁹ tn Grk “will be like.” The same phrase occurs in v. 26.

¹⁰ tn Here and in v. 26 the Greek text reads ἀνήρ (anhr), while the parallel account in Luke 6:47-49 uses ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") in vv. 48 and 49.

¹¹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

¹² tn Grk “having been thrown down.” The verb βεβλημένην (beblhmenhn) is a perfect passive participle of the verb βάλλω (ballw, “to throw”). This indicates the severity of her sickness.

¹³ tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).

¹⁴ sn Jesus’ reply is simply this: Does the man understand the rejection he will be facing? Jesus has no home in the world (the Son of Man has no place to lay his head).

¹⁵ tn Grk “And it happened that while.” The introductory phrase καὶ ἐγένετο (kai egeneto, “it happened that”) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

¹⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

¹⁷ tn Grk “was reclining at table.”

sn As Jesus was having a meal. 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.

¹⁸ tn Grk “in the house.” The Greek article is used here in a context that implies possession, and the referent of the implied possessive pronoun (Matthew) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁹ sn See the note on tax collectors in 5:46.

²⁰ tn Grk “And behold a woman.” 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).

²¹ sn Suffering from a hemorrhage. The woman was most likely suffering from a vaginal hemorrhage which would make her ritually unclean.

²² sn The edge of his cloak refers to the kraspedon, the blue tassel on the garment that symbolized a Jewish man’s obedience to the law (cf. Num 15:37-41). The woman thus touched the very part of Jesus’ clothing that indicated his ritual purity.

²³ tn Grk “garment,” but here ἱμάτιον (Jimation) denotes the outer garment in particular.

²⁴ tn Grk “And he.”

²⁵ sn Unclean spirits refers to evil spirits.

²⁶ tn Grk “and every [kind of] sickness.” Here “every” was not repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

²⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

²⁸ tn Or “will rebel against.”

²⁹ tn The Greek word here is πόλις (polis) which can be translated “city” or “town.” “Cities” was chosen here to emphasize the size of the places Jesus’ mentions in the following verses.

³⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

³¹ tn Or “heads of grain.” While the generic term στάχυς (stacus) can refer to the cluster of seeds at the top of grain such as barley or wheat, in the NT the term is restricted to wheat (L&N 3.40; BDAG 941 s.v. 1).

³² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³³ tn Grk “crowds, behold, his mother.” 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).

³⁴ sn The issue of whether Jesus had brothers (siblings) has had a long history in the church. Epiphanius, in the 4th century, argued that Mary was a perpetual virgin and had no offspring other than Jesus. Others argued that these brothers were really cousins. Nothing in the text suggests any of this. See also John 7:3.

³⁵ tn “His mother and brothers came and” is a translation of “behold, his mother and brothers came.”

³⁶ tn Grk “seeking.”

³⁷ tn Grk “He set before them another parable, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated.

³⁸ tn Grk “put before.”

³⁹ tn Grk “He set before them another parable, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated.

⁴⁰ sn The mustard seed was noted for its tiny size.

⁴¹ tc ‡ Most witnesses (א² C D L W Z Θ 0106 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat) read αὐτόν (auton, “him”) here as a way of clarifying the direct object; various important witnesses lack the word, however (א* B 700 pc ff¹ h q). The original wording most likely lacked it, but it has been included here due to English style. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating reservations about its authenticity.

⁴² tn Grk “is a gift,” that is, something dedicated to God.

⁴³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”

⁴⁴ tn Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

⁴⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”

⁴⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

⁴⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁴⁸ map For location see Map1 C1; Map2 F4.

⁴⁹ tn Grk “he asked his disciples, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has been left untranslated.

⁵⁰ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

⁵¹ tn The Greek negative here (οὐ μή, ou mh) is the strongest possible.

⁵² tn Grk “will not taste.” Here the Greek verb does not mean “sample a small amount” (as a typical English reader might infer from the word “taste”), but “experience something cognitively or emotionally; come to know something” (cf. BDAG 195 s.v. γεύομαι 2).

⁵³ sn Several suggestions have been made as to the referent for the phrase the Son of Man coming in his kingdom: (1) the transfiguration itself, which immediately follows in the narrative; (2) Jesus’ resurrection and ascension; (3) the coming of the Spirit; (4) Christ’s role in the Church; (5) the destruction of Jerusalem; (6) Jesus’ second coming and the establishment of the kingdom. The reference to six days later in 17:1 seems to indicate that Matthew had the transfiguration in mind insofar as it was a substantial prefiguring of the consummation of the kingdom (although this interpretation is not without its problems). As such, the transfiguration would be a tremendous confirmation to the disciples that even though Jesus had just finished speaking of his death (in vv. 21-23), he was nonetheless the promised Messiah and things were proceeding according to God’s plan.

⁵⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated. All the “if” clauses in this paragraph are third class conditions in Greek.

⁵⁵ tn The Greek term “brother” can mean “fellow believer” or “fellow Christian” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.a) whether male or female. It can also refer to siblings, though here it is used in a broader sense to connote familial relationships within the family of God. Therefore, because of the familial connotations, “brother” has been retained in the translation here in preference to the more generic “fellow believer” (“fellow Christian” would be anachronistic in this context).

⁵⁶ tc ‡ The earliest and best witnesses lack “against you” after “if your brother sins.” It is quite possible that the shorter reading in these witnesses (א B, as well as 0281 ˹ 579 pc sa) occurred when scribes either intentionally changed the text (to make it more universal in application) or unintentionally changed the text (owing to the similar sound of the end of the verb ἁμαρτήσῃ [Jamarthsh] and the prepositional phrase εἰς σέ [eis se]). However, if the mss were normally copied by sight rather than by sound, especially in the early centuries of Christianity, such an unintentional change is not as likely for these mss. And since scribes normally added material rather than deleted it for intentional changes, on balance, the shorter reading appears to be original. NA²⁷ includes the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.

⁵⁷ tn Grk “go reprove him.”

⁵⁸ tn Grk “Therefore when.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated.

⁵⁹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the first slave mentioned in v. 24) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶⁰ tn Grk “handed him over to the torturers,” referring specifically to guards whose job was to torture prisoners who were being questioned. According to L&N 37.126, it is difficult to know for certain in this instance whether the term actually envisions torture as a part of the punishment or is simply a hyperbole. However, in light of the following verse and Jesus’ other warning statements in Matthew about “fiery hell,” “the outer darkness,” etc., it is best not to dismiss this as mere imagery.

⁶¹ tn Grk “so that he would lay his hands on them and pray.”

⁶² tn Grk “the disciples scolded them.” In the translation the referent has been specified as “those who brought them,” since otherwise the statement could be understood to mean that the disciples scolded the children rather than their parents who brought them.

⁶³ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

⁶⁴ sn The term landowner here refers to the owner and manager of a household.

⁶⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁶⁶ sn That is, six o’clock in the evening, the hour to pay day laborers. See Lev 19:13b.

⁶⁷ tc ‡ Most witnesses (including B D W Θ Ë^1,13 33^vid Ï latt sy) have αὐτοῖς (autois, “to them”) after ἀπόδος (apodos, “give the pay”), but this seems to be a motivated reading, clarifying the indirect object. The omission is supported by א C L Z 085 Or. Nevertheless, NA²⁷ includes the pronoun on the basis of the greater external attestation.

⁶⁸ sn The Greek word for ransom (λύτρον, lutron) is found here and in Mark 10:45 and refers to the payment of a price in order to purchase the freedom of a slave. The idea of Jesus as the “ransom” is that he paid the price with his own life by standing in our place as a substitute, enduring the judgment that we deserved for sin.

⁶⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁷⁰ tn Grk “he sent his soldiers, destroyed those murderers.” The verb ἀπώλεσεν (apwlesen) is causative, indicating that the king was the one behind the execution of the murderers. In English the causative idea is not expressed naturally here; either a purpose clause (“he sent his soldiers to put those murderers to death”) or a relative clause (“he sent his soldier who put those murderers to death”) is preferred.

⁷¹ tn The Greek text reads here πόλις (polis), which could be translated “town” or “city.” The prophetic reference is to the city of Jerusalem, so “city” is more appropriate here.

⁷² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

⁷³ sn The Jerusalem temple was widely admired around the world. See Josephus, Ant. 15.11 [15.380-425]; J. W. 5.5 [5.184-227] and Tacitus, History 5.8, who called it “immensely opulent.” Josephus compared it to a beautiful snowcapped mountain.

⁷⁴ tn Grk “traded with them.”

⁷⁵ tn Grk “But answering, his master said to him.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

⁷⁶ sn A jar made of alabaster stone was normally used for very precious substances like perfumes. It normally had a long neck which was sealed and had to be broken off so the contents could be used.

⁷⁷ tn Μύρον (muron) was usually made of myrrh (from which the English word is derived) but here it is used in the sense of ointment or perfumed oil (L&N 6.205).

sn Nard or spikenard is a fragrant oil from the root and spike of the nard plant of northern India. This perfumed oil, if made of something like nard, would have been extremely expensive, costing up to a year’s pay for an average laborer.

⁷⁸ tn Grk “as he was reclining at table.”

sn 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.

⁷⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁸⁰ tn Grk “the high priest tore his clothes, saying.”

⁸¹ 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).

⁸² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

⁸³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.