Translation of Matthew Here are the results of my translation of a portion of Matthew s Gospel from the Greek text. I used NA28 as the source, which is a critical text that combines the best readings of all available Greek New Testament manuscripts. When I translate, I use a two-step process: First I attempt to capture the sense of the Greek phrasing in an essentially literal fashion. This is usually not very good English, so the second step is to transform the stilted English into a more readable, dynamic rendering. The following text represents the second, essentially dynamic phase of my work. There are a couple things that might be worth pointing out. The written Greek language has features that allow it to emphasize (or highlight) certain words within a sentence (English cannot do this without special fonts), so I have placed highlighted words in bold font. Furthermore, in cases where the text appears to be noticeably poetic, I use an italic font. Sometimes the text has an obvious structure, but is not necessarily poetic, and in such cases I have appropriately formatted the text (with a normal font). ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ 5 1 After taking a look at the crowds, He went up on the mountain. Once He sat down, His disciples approached Him. 2 He was completely open with them as He taught them, saying: 3 Greatly favored are those who are completely dependent, because heaven rules over their lives. a 4 Greatly favored are those who are grieving, because they shall know true encouragement. 5 Greatly favored are those who have given up violence, because they shall come into the promised land. Greatly favored are those who crave righteousness, because they shall be fully satisfied. 7 Greatly favored are those who show mercy, because they shall be shown mercy. 8 Greatly favored are those whose hearts are honest, because God watches over them. b 9 Greatly favored are those who pursue peace, because they shall be called God s royal family, 10 Greatly favored are those who have been unjustly harassed, because heaven rules over their lives. 11 You are greatly favored whenever you are insulted or harassed or falsely accused for my sake. 12 Rejoice and be very happy, because you have a big reward in heaven. You see, this was also the way the prophets before you were mistreated. 13 You are the salt that preserves the land. c But if salt becomes ineffective, it cannot be made salty again; it is good for nothing and is thrown out ultimately treated with disdain d by people. a Literally, theirs is the kingdom of heaven, but the kingdom in this context refers to the sovereign rule of the God of heaven. The statement means that such a person as this belongs under (or submits to) God s reign. The same idea appears in verses 10, 19, 20. It is used here as an inclusio marker to bracket (with verse 10) this poetic section. b This Greek verb has the primary sense of appearing or being seen. It is not used in the NT with the clear notion of seeing, although that is how most English versions translate the word here. c Literally the salt of the earth. It is interesting that in today s English, this phrase is an idiom that describes a characteristic of worthiness or goodness in people. Jesus comment suggested that the worth is only retained as long as the salt is effective. d Literally, trampled.
14 You are a beacon that shines in the world. You are like a city situated on a hill that cannot be hidden. 15 A lamp is not placed under a basket after it is lit, but instead it is placed on a lampstand, so that it can give light to everyone in the house. 1 Likewise, let your light shine in the presence of people, so that they may see your good works and praise your heavenly Father. 17 Do not assume that I came to do away with either the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to do away with them, but to give them full meaning. 18 Yes, I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away until every promise is fulfilled neither one small letter nor one little part of a letter will ever pass away from the Law. 19 Therefore, whoever disobeys one of the least significant commandments (and also teaches others to do so) will be considered the least significant by heaven s authority, a but whoever obeys and teaches the commandments will be considered great by heaven s authority. 20 In fact, you need to know that unless your righteousness overwhelms the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no chance that you will even be welcomed by heaven s authority. 21 You accepted that it was said back in the day, b You shall not commit murder; and whoever might commit murder will be held accountable. c 22 But now I am telling you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be held accountable locally; and whoever says to his brother, You idiot! will be held accountable by the court of the Sanhedrin; and whoever says, You godless fool! will be in danger of the fiery trash pit. d 23 Therefore, if you are offering your gift upon the altar, and you suddenly recall that you offended your brother, e 24 then leave your gift there in front of the altar and depart. First be reconciled with your brother; then return to the altar and offer your gift. 25 Quickly make amends with your adversary while you are still on the way to court; otherwise, your adversary might consign you to the judge, and the judge might hand you over to the bailiff, and then you will be thrown into prison. 2 Yes, I tell you that you will not have any chance of getting out of there until you have repaid the last penny. 27 You accepted that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. 28 But now I am telling you that everyone who looks at a woman with a lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 Furthermore, if your right eye causes you to sin, then yank it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part and not have your whole body thrown into the trash pit. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, then cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part and not have your whole body go the way of the trash pit. 31 Moreover, it was said, Whoever divorces f his wife has to give her a written certificate of divorce. 32 But now I am telling you that everyone who divorces his wife, except in a matter of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever then marries the divorced woman commits adultery. 33 Again, you accepted that it was said back in the day, You shall not commit perjury; and you shall make good on your promises to the Lord. g 34 But now I am telling you to not make an oath at all neither by heaven, because it is God s throne, 35 nor by the earth, because it is His footstool, nor with regard to Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. 3 Nor should you swear by your own head, because you are not able to make a single hair white or black. 37 But let your message be a solid yes or a solid no, h because anything else is wicked. 38 You accepted that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. 39 But now I am telling you to not defend yourself against evil. i But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, give him the other cheek as well. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your undergarments, give j him your outer garments as well. 41 And if you are a Literally, kingdom of heaven (also in verse 20). As in verses 3 and 10, the kingdom refers to the reign of God. b Literally, to those of old (also in verse 33). c Literally, be liable for judgment. d Literally, gehenna (often translated hell ), the smoldering garbage dump just outside Jerusalem. Also in verses 29-30. e Literally, and there you recall that your brother has something against you. Clearly there had to be an offense of some sort against that brother in order for such a state to exist. f Although this Greek verb appears to refer here to divorce, it more precisely means to dismiss, leave, or go/send away. g Literally, you shall pay back to the Lord your vows. h Literally, let your message be yes, yes; no, no in other words, a yes or no that is both simple (without an oath) and definitive (signified in Greek by the doubling of words). i Literally, to not resist evil. j The use of this Greek verb in this context is interesting, because it can also carry the connotation of forgiveness. Furthermore, it can be used to refer to divorce, which is a topic that Jesus has already discussed.
pressed into service a to go one mile, go two miles instead. 42 Give to anyone who urgently demands something from you, and do not refuse to help anyone who wants to borrow money from you. 43 You accepted that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. 44 But now I am telling you, Love your enemies and pray on behalf of those who are persecuting you, b 45 so that you may become children of your Father who is in heaven. For it is His sun that He causes to rise on evil people as well as good people, and He sends rain on both the just and the unjust. 4 So, if you love those who love you, what reward do you deserve? Don t even the tax collectors do that much? 47 And if you are hospitable only to your brothers, what are you doing that is so special? Don t even the Gentiles do that much? 48 In other words, you should be perfect, c just as your heavenly Father is perfect. 1 Be careful that you do not perform your righteous acts in front of people with the intention of being observed by them; if you do, then you have d no reward from your heavenly Father. 2 Therefore, whenever you are doing a charitable deed, don t toot your own horn e like the pretenders do in the synagogues and in the streets, just so that they might be praised by other people. Let me tell you, they are already receiving their reward. 3 But you when you are doing a charitable deed, don t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your charitable deed may be confidential. And your Father who sees what is hidden will reward you. f 5 And when you are praying, you shouldn t imitate the pretenders, because they love to stand up in the synagogues and on the street g corners when they pray, just so that they may be seen by other people. Let me tell you, they are already receiving their reward. But you when you are praying, go into your inner room, and after you ve shut the door, pray to your Father who keeps it confidential. And your Father who sees what is hidden will reward you. 7 Furthermore, as you are praying, do not babble on and on like the Gentiles, for they think that they are more likely to be heard because of their many words. 8 So don t be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. 9 Therefore pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored as holy. 10 May your reign be established; may your will be accomplished, as it is in heaven, may it also be on earth. 11 Give us today the food we need for today, 12 and forgive us our moral debts, even as we have forgiven those who are morally indebted to us. 13 And do not bring us into testing, h but rescue us from evil. a because you are forever sovereign and mighty and glorious. Yes truly! b a This Greek verb usually refers to the action of Roman soldiers to force civilians to carry a load for some distance. Compare the demand placed upon Simon of Cyrene to carry Jesus cross (Mark 15:21). b Some versions add, bless those who are wishing evil for you, do good things for those who are hating you. c Jesus use of tenses in describing the conduct of His audience is interesting. When He quotes the OT command in 5:43, He uses the future tense (not an imperative), and this is consistent with His previous quotations as well as with the commandments in Hebrew. However, when Jesus responds with His own directives in 5:44, He uses imperative verbs, placing these commands properly within the expected Greek usage. Now in 5:48, Jesus sums up His expectation ( you shall be perfect ) with another future tense, not an imperative. Perhaps this is because He sees this statement as fulfilling, encapsulating, or superceding the OT commands. Alternatively, He might be saying that being perfect is not so much a volitional commandment for obedience as it is a description of what an obedient disciple will ultimately look like. d This is a present tense verb; the question of reward is an issue in the present, not out in the future. e Literally, do not sound a trumpet in front of you. f The idea that the Father who sees what is hidden will reward you is a connecting motif throughout :1-18. g This Greek word for street refers to a wide street or avenue in a city. h This Greek word can refer to either trials or temptation, the idea being that either is a form of testing.
14 What this means is that if you forgive people their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 On the other hand, if you refuse to forgive others, then your Father will also not forgive your offenses. 1 Another thing: when you are fasting, do not act gloomy like the pretenders, for they contort their faces so that their fasting is apparent to others. Let me tell you, they are already receiving their reward. 17 But you when you fast, brush your hair c and wash your face, d 18 so that it doesn t look to others like you are fasting. Instead, present your fasting to your Father who keeps it confidential. And your Father who sees what is hidden will reward you. 19 Do not hoard riches for yourselves on earth, where it is consumed by moths and corrosion, and where thieves break in and steal it all. 20 Instead, you should accumulate riches for yourselves in heaven, where moths and corrosion don t destroy it, and where thieves cannot break in and steal it all. 21 You see, wherever your real treasure is, that s where you ll find your heart also. 22 The light source e for the body is the eye. So, if your eye is working properly, then your whole body will be full of light. 23 However, if your eye is bad, f then your whole body will be full of darkness. Therefore, if all the light that you have in you is actually darkness, how deep is that darkness! 24 No one can possibly serve two masters; either he will hate one and love the other, or he will cling to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and prosperity. 25 This is why I keep telling you to stop worrying about your life: what you re going to eat or drink, and how you re going to clothe your body. Isn t life more than food? Isn t the body more than clothing? 2 Look at the wild birds! g Notice that they don t plant or harvest or gather into barns; and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren t you much more valuable than they are? 27 Moreover, which of you can worry yourself into being any taller or older? h 28 And why do you worry about clothing? Study the wildflowers i learn how they grow: they don t wear themselves out making cloth. 29 And let me tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of those flowers. 30 Furthermore, if that s how God clothes the wild grass, j which springs up today and is burned up tomorrow, then why wouldn t God do more to clothe you you of little faith? 31 Therefore, do not worry, saying things like, What are we going to eat? or What are we going to drink? or What are we going to wear? 32 The Gentiles are obsessed with these things, but your heavenly Father knows for sure that you need them. 33 So above all else, you must seek to be included in God s reign and His righteousness, and all these other things will be granted to you. 34 Consequently, do not worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow can worry about itself. There is enough trouble in each day already. a Since the Greek phrase here is neuter, I translated it as evil rather than the evil one. Compare Matt 13:19, 38, in which the phrase is masculine and refers to Satan. b This last line is probably not original, because it does not appear in the oldest manuscripts. However, it is very ancient and appropriately captures the tradition of a concluding benediction. In fact, it is a phrase from a prayer of David in 1 Chron 29:10-13. c Literally, anoint your head. What is in view is appropriate hygiene. d This phrase would be literally translated, you must anoint your head and your face you must wash. Notice that the grammar has a chiastic structure (verb/object/object/verb), and this feature might suggest that it was a common or memorable saying. e Compare Jesus statements about the lamp in 5:15. There He was discussing light that shines out of us; here He is describing light that shines into us. f The Greek word translated here as bad can mean either evil (as in :13) or diseased. The contrasted eye that is working properly could be translated as either healthy or pure. Jesus has chosen words that can describe one s physical health while simultaneously referring to a deeper spiritual condition. g Literally, birds of the sky. It is an idiom referring to wild birds in contrast with domesticated birds such as chickens. h This phrase can be translated a couple different ways: (1) which of you, by worrying, is able to increase his stature by a single cubit? ; or (2) which of you, by worrying, is able to increase his life span by a single measure of time? Many English translation prefer (2), but the word cubit seems more appropriate to measure height than time. i Literally, the lilies of the field, although it might be another type of flower. It is probably an idiom for wildflowers. j Literally, the grass of the field, this is probably an idiom (compare :2 and :28) for wild grass. Perhaps the comparison in these verses with wild things has some purpose in itself: those who are hearing Jesus message were devoting themselves to human care rather than the care of the Lord of creation.
7 1 Stop judging people, so that you are not liable for judgment youselves. 2 For you will be judged in the same way that you judge, and you will receive the same amount that you measure out to others. 3 Why do you notice the little speck in your brother s eye, but you are oblivious to the log in your own eye? a 4 How can you say to your brother, Let me take that little speck out of your eye, and yet it is obvious that there is a log in your own eye? 5 You pretender! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you can see well enough to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Do not give what is holy to the dogs, and do not lay out your pearls in front of the pigs. Otherwise, they will trample them underfoot, and then they will turn around and tear you apart. 7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Now then, who among you, if your son asks for bread, would give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, would give him a snake? 11 Therefore, if you who are evil know that you should give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him! 12 Thus, whatever it is that you want people to do for you, you must likewise do for them, because this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets. 13 Enter through the narrow gate, because it is a wide gate and a spacious way that leads to destruction, b and there are many who are going that way. 14 But it is a narrow gate and a troublesome way that leads to life! And there are few who are discovering it. 15 Be on the alert for false prophets. They are coming to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are vicious wolves. 1 You will recognize them by their fruits. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes or figs from a briar patch? 17 Likewise, every healthy c tree produces good fruit, and the diseased d tree produces bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a diseased tree cannot produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that is not producing good fruit is being cut down e and thrown into the fire. 20 Consequently, you will recognize them by their fruits. 21 Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will sign up for heaven s authority. Instead it is only the one who is doing the will of my Father in heaven who signs up for heaven s authority. 22 There are many who will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, didn t we prophesy in your name, and didn t we cast out demons in your name, and didn t we do great things in your name? 23 And then I will publicly declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you rebels! 24 So then, everyone who hears what I say and acts on it will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house; but it did not fall down, because its foundation was on the rock. 2 However, everyone who hears what I say and and does not act on it will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and struck against that house; and it fell down with an awful collapse. 28 After Jesus finished saying these things, the crowds were absolutely astounded at His teaching, 29 for He taught them like one who had authority, and not like their scribes. a This verse has a chiastic grammatical structure (verb/object/modifier/modifier/object/verb), perhaps suggesting that it was a common proverb. Literally it would read, Why do you notice [verb] the speck [object] in your brother s eye [modifier], but in your own eye [modifier], the log [object], are you not concerned about [verb]? b The Greek text contains alliteration (i.e., the words have similar sounds), and the clauses are formed without explicit verbs. Together, these characteristics suggest that this might have been a popular saying. Although verse 14 appears to have a similar form in English, there is not alliteration in the Greek text. c This Greek word is usually translated good, but in certain contexts it has the nuance of something that is functioning satisfactorily in this case, the tree functions well when it is healthy. d This Greek word refers to poor quality or worthlessness. In regard to plants, it signifies a diseased or immature plant that cannot bear acceptable fruit; in this case the bad fruit is not rotten, but undeveloped. e Notice the use of present tense verbs here. Jesus is not (only) talking about future judgment; He is saying that those who are not producing good results are already being taken out.