13:36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
23:29 “Woe to you, experts in the law 10 and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You 11 build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves 12 of the righteous.
24:1 Now 13 as Jesus was going out of the temple courts and walking away, his disciples came to show him the temple buildings. 14
24:32 “Learn 15 this parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.
1 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.
2 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Grk “was reclining at table.”
4 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.
5 sn See the note on tax collectors in 5:46.
1 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
2 sn Though parables can contain a variety of figures of speech (cf. the remainder of chapter 13), many times they are simply stories that attempt to teach spiritual truth (which is unknown to the hearers) by using a comparison with something known to the hearers. In general, parables usually advance a single idea, though there may be many parts and characters in a single parable and subordinate ideas may expand the main idea further. The beauty of using the parable as a teaching device is that it draws the listener into the story, elicits an evaluation, and demands a response.
3 tn Grk “Behold.”
4 sn A sower went out to sow. The background for this well-known parable, drawn from a typical scene in the Palestinian countryside, is a field through which a well-worn path runs. Sowing would occur in late fall or early winter (October to December) in the rainy season, looking for sprouting in April or May and a June harvest. The use of seed as a figure for God’s giving life has OT roots (Isa 55:10-11). The point of the parable of the sower is to illustrate the various responses to the message of the kingdom of God.
1 tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.
2 tn Grk “Because you.” Here ὅτι (Joti) has not been translated.
3 tn Or perhaps “the monuments” (see L&N 7.75-76).
1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
2 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.
1 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
1 tn Grk “This one.”
1 sn There is rich irony in the statements of those who were passing by, “save yourself!” and “come down from the cross!” In summary, they wanted Jesus to come down from the cross and save his physical life, but it was indeed his staying on the cross and giving his physical life that led to the fact that they could experience a resurrection from death to life.
2 tc ‡ Many important witnesses (א* A D pc it sy[s],p) read καί (kai, here with the force of “then”) before κατάβηθι (katabhqi, “come down”). The shorter reading may well be due to homoioarcton, but judging by the diverse external evidence (א2 B L W Θ 0250 Ë1,13 33 Ï lat) it is equally possible that the shorter reading is original (and is so considered for this translation). NA27 puts the καί in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.