¹ tn Grk “if, falling down, you will worship.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”

² tn Grk “when they insult you.” The third person pronoun (here implied in the verb ὀνειδίσωσιν [ojneidiswsin]) has no specific referent, but refers to people in general.

³ tc Although ψευδόμενοι (yeudomenoi, “bearing witness falsely”) could be a motivated reading, clarifying that the disciples are unjustly persecuted, its lack in only D it sy^s Tert does not help its case. Since the Western text is known for numerous free alterations, without corroborative evidence the shorter reading must be judged as secondary.

⁴ tn Grk “how will you say?”

⁵ sn The double use of the vocative is normally used in situations of high emotion or emphasis. Even an emphatic confession without action means little.

⁶ sn A yoke is a wooden bar or frame that joins two animals like oxen or horses so that they can pull a wagon, plow, etc. together. Here it is used figuratively of the restrictions that a teacher or rabbi would place on his followers.

⁷ tn Grk “is a gift,” that is, something dedicated to God.

⁸ tn Grk “And behold a Canaanite.” 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).

⁹ tn Grk The participle ἐξελθοῦσα (exelqousa) is here translated as a finite verb. The emphasis is upon her crying out to Jesus.

¹⁰ tn Grk “cried out, saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

¹¹ tn Grk “to come after me.”

¹² tn This translation better expresses the force of the Greek third person imperative than the traditional “let him deny,” which could be understood as merely permissive.

¹³ sn To bear the cross means to accept the rejection of the world for turning to Jesus and following him. Discipleship involves a death that is like a crucifixion; see Gal 6:14.

¹⁴ tn Grk “And answering, Jesus said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

¹⁵ tn Grk “O.” The marker of direct address, ὦ (w), is functionally equivalent to a vocative and is represented in the translation by “you.”

¹⁶ tn Or “faithless.”

sn The rebuke for lack of faith has OT roots: Num 14:27; Deut 32:5, 30; Isa 59:8.

¹⁷ tn Grk “how long.”

¹⁸ tn Or “put up with.” See Num 11:12; Isa 46:4.

¹⁹ sn The pronouns you…you are plural, indicating that Jesus is speaking to a group rather than an individual.

²⁰ tn Here the term “brother” means “fellow believer” or “fellow Christian” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.a), whether male or female. Concerning the familial connotations, see also the note on the first occurrence of this term in v. 15.

²¹ tn Grk “falling therefore the slave bowed down to the ground.” The redundancy of this expression signals the desperation of the slave in begging for mercy.

²² tc The majority of mss (א L W 058 0281 Ë^1,13 33 Ï it sy^p,h co) begin the slave’s plea with “Lord” (κύριε, kurie), though a few important witnesses lack this vocative (B D Θ 700 pc lat sy^s,c Or Chr). Understanding the parable to refer to the Lord, scribes would be naturally prone to add the vocative here, especially as the slave’s plea is a plea for mercy. Thus, the shorter reading is more likely to be authentic.

²³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the first slave mentioned in v. 24) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁴ sn The kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. Children are a picture of those whose simple trust illustrates what faith is all about. The remark illustrates how everyone is important to God, even those whom others regard as insignificant.

²⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the landowner) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁶ tn Grk “And answering, he said to one of them.” This construction is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation.

²⁷ tn Grk “for a denarius a day.”

²⁸ tc ‡ Before οὐκ (ouk, “[am I] not”) a number of significant witnesses read ἤ (h, “or”; e.g., א C W 085 Ë^1,13 33 and most others). Although in later Greek the οι in σοι (oi in soi) – the last word of v. 14 – would have been pronounced like ἤ, since ἤ is lacking in early mss (B D; among later witnesses, note L Z Θ 700) and since mss were probably copied predominantly by sight rather than by sound, even into the later centuries, the omission of ἤ cannot be accounted for as easily. Thus the shorter reading is most likely original. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

²⁹ tn Grk “Is your eye evil because I am good?”

³⁰ tn Grk “answering, Jesus said to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

³¹ sn A quotation from Ps 118:26.

³² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

³³ tn Grk Or “Lord; or “Master” (and so throughout this paragraph).

³⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

³⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

³⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

³⁷ tn Grk “For she.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

³⁸ tn Grk “What will you give to me, and I will betray him to you?”

³⁹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

⁴⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

⁴¹ sn A legion was a Roman army unit of about 6,000 soldiers, so twelve legions would be 72,000.

⁴² sn When Peter went out and wept bitterly it shows he really did not want to fail here and was deeply grieved that he had.

⁴³ tc Again, as in v. 16, the name “Jesus” is supplied before “Barabbas” in Θ Ë¹ 700* pc sy^s Or^mss (Θ 700* lack the article τόν [ton] before Βαραββᾶν [Barabban]). The same argument for accepting the inclusion of “Jesus” as original in the previous verse applies here as well.

⁴⁴ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

sn See the note on Christ in 1:16.

⁴⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁴⁶ tn Grk “with a loud voice, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

⁴⁷ sn A quotation from Ps 22:1.