Matius 3:3

3:3 For he is the one about whom Isaiah the prophet had spoken: ¹ 

“The voice ²  of one shouting in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make ³  his paths straight.’” ⁴ 

Matius 6:7

6:7 When ⁵  you pray, do not babble repetitiously like the Gentiles, because they think that by their many words they will be heard.

Matius 12:1

Lord of the Sabbath

12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on a Sabbath. His ⁶  disciples were hungry, and they began to pick heads of wheat ⁷  and eat them.

Matius 12:34

12:34 Offspring of vipers! How are you able to say anything good, since you are evil? For the mouth speaks from what fills the heart.

Matius 16:24

16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, ⁸  he must deny ⁹  himself, take up his cross, ¹⁰  and follow me.

Matius 19:14

19:14 But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” ¹¹ 

Matius 20:19

20:19 and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged severely ¹²  and crucified. ¹³  Yet ¹⁴  on the third day, he will be raised.”

Matius 21:13

21:13 And he said to them, “It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ ¹⁵  but you are turning it into a den ¹⁶  of robbers!” ¹⁷ 

Matius 27:20

27:20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed.

[3:3]  ¹ tn Grk “was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying.” The participle λέγοντος (legonto") is redundant and has not been translated. The passive construction has also been rendered as active in the translation for the sake of English style.

[3:3]  ² tn Or “A voice.”

[3:3]  ³ sn This call to “make paths straight” in this context is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance.

[3:3]  ⁴ sn A quotation from Isa 40:3.

[6:7]  ⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:1]  ⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:1]  ⁷ tn Or “heads of grain.” While the generic term στάχυς (stacus) can refer to the cluster of seeds at the top of grain such as barley or wheat, in the NT the term is restricted to wheat (L&N 3.40; BDAG 941 s.v. 1).

[16:24]  ⁸ tn Grk “to come after me.”

[16:24]  ⁹ 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.

[16:24]  ¹⁰ 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.

[19:14]  ¹¹ 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.

[20:19]  ¹² tn Traditionally, “scourged” (the term means to beat severely with a whip, L&N 19.9). BDAG 620 s.v. μαστιγόω 1.a states, “The ‘verberatio’ is denoted in the passion predictions and explicitly as action by non-Israelites Mt 20:19; Mk 10:34; Lk 18:33”; the verberatio was the beating given to those condemned to death in the Roman judicial system. Here the term μαστιγόω (mastigow) has been translated “flog…severely” to distinguish it from the term φραγελλόω (fragellow) used in Matt 27:26; Mark 15:15.

[20:19]  ¹³ sn Crucifixion was the cruelest form of punishment practiced by the Romans. Roman citizens could not normally undergo it. It was reserved for the worst crimes, like treason and evasion of due process in a capital case. The Roman historian Cicero called it “a cruel and disgusting penalty” (Against Verres 2.5.63-66 §§163-70); Josephus (J. W. 7.6.4 [7.203]) called it the worst of deaths.

[20:19]  ¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[21:13]  ¹⁵ sn A quotation from Isa 56:7.

[21:13]  ¹⁶ tn Or “a hideout” (see L&N 1.57).

[21:13]  ¹⁷ sn A quotation from Jer 7:11. The meaning of Jesus’ statement about making the temple courts a den of robbers probably operates here at two levels. Not only were the religious leaders robbing the people financially, but because of this they had also robbed them spiritually by stealing from them the opportunity to come to know God genuinely. It is possible that these merchants had recently been moved to this location for convenience.