Matius 2:4

2:4 After assembling all the chief priests and experts in the law, ¹  he asked them where the Christ ²  was to be born.

Matius 2:7

2:7 Then Herod ³  privately summoned the wise men and determined from them when the star had appeared.

Matius 11:20

Woes on Unrepentant Cities

11:20 Then Jesus began to criticize openly the cities ⁴  in which he had done many of his miracles, because they did not repent.

Matius 14:2

14:2 and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead! And because of this, miraculous powers are at work in him.”

Matius 18:7

18:7 Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! It ⁵  is necessary that stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom they come.

Matius 26:17-18

The Passover

26:17 Now on the first day of the feast of ⁶  Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and said, ⁷  “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?” ⁸  26:18 He ⁹  said, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is near. I will observe the Passover with my disciples at your house.”’”

[2:4]  ¹ tn Or “and scribes of the people.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.

[2:4]  ² tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[2:4]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:16.

[2:7]  ³ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.

[11:20]  ⁴ 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.

[18:7]  ⁵ tn Grk “For it.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

[26:17]  ⁶ tn The words “the feast of” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied for clarity.

[26:17]  ⁷ tn Grk “the disciples came to Jesus, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) has been translated as a finite verb to make the sequence of events clear in English.

[26:17]  ⁸ sn This required getting a suitable lamb and finding lodging in Jerusalem where the meal could be eaten. The population of the city swelled during the feast, so lodging could be difficult to find. The Passover was celebrated each year in commemoration of the Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt; thus it was a feast celebrating redemption (see Exod 12). The Passover lamb was roasted and eaten after sunset in a family group of at least ten people (m. Pesahim 7.13). People ate the meal while reclining (see the note on table in 26:20). It included, besides the lamb, unleavened bread and bitter herbs as a reminder of Israel’s bitter affliction at the hands of the Egyptians. Four cups of wine mixed with water were also used for the meal. For a further description of the meal and the significance of the wine cups, see E. Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity, 523-24.

[26:18]  ⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.