Matthew 11:2

Now when John ¹  heard in prison about the deeds Christ ²  had done, he sent his disciples to ask a question: ³ 

When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples

Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples

John the Baptist, who was now in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus,

John, meanwhile, had been locked up in prison. When he got wind of what Jesus was doing, he sent his own disciples

Now when John had news in prison of the works of the Christ, he sent his disciples

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples

And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples

Now when John ¹  heard in prison about the deeds Christ ²  had done, he sent his disciples to ask a question: ³ 

¹ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

² tc The Western codex D and a few other mss (0233 1424 al) read “Jesus” here instead of “Christ.” This is not likely to be original because it is not found in the earliest and most important mss, nor in the rest of the ms tradition.

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.

³ tc Instead of “by his disciples” (see the tn below for the reading of the Greek), the majority of later mss (C³ L ˹ Ï lat bo) have “two of his disciples.” The difference in Greek, however, is only two letters: διὰ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ vs. δύο τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ (dia twn maqhtwn autou vs. duo twn maqhtwn autou). Although an accidental alteration could account for either of these readings, it is more likely that δύο is an assimilation to the parallel in Luke 7:18. Further, διά is read by a good number of early and excellent witnesses (א B C* D P W Z Δ Θ 0233 ˹³ 33 sa), and thus should be considered original.

tn Grk “sending by his disciples he said to him.” The words “a question” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.