Matius 2:12

2:12 After being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, ¹  they went back by another route to their own country.

Matius 9:9

The Call of Matthew; Eating with Sinners

9:9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth. ²  “Follow me,” he said to him. And he got up and followed him.

Matius 12:15

God’s Special Servant

12:15 Now when Jesus learned of this, he went away from there. Great ³  crowds ⁴  followed him, and he healed them all.

Matius 14:22

Walking on Water

14:22 Immediately Jesus ⁵  made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he dispersed the crowds.

Matius 25:23

25:23 His master answered, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You have been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.’

Matius 26:51

26:51 But ⁶  one of those with Jesus grabbed ⁷  his sword, drew it out, and struck the high priest’s slave, ⁸  cutting off his ear.

Matius 27:21

27:21 The ⁹  governor asked them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas!”

Matius 27:32

The Crucifixion

27:32 As ¹⁰  they were going out, they found a man from Cyrene named Simon, whom they forced ¹¹  to carry his cross. ¹² 

[2:12]  ¹ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.

[9:9]  ² tn While “tax office” is sometimes given as a translation for τελώνιον (telwnion, so L&N 57.183), this could give the modern reader a false impression of an indoor office with all its associated furnishings.

[9:9]  sn The tax booth was a booth located on the edge of a city or town to collect taxes for trade. There was a tax booth in Capernaum, which was on the trade route from Damascus to Galilee and the Mediterranean. The “taxes” were collected on produce and goods brought into the area for sale, and were a sort of “sales tax” paid by the seller but obviously passed on to the purchaser in the form of increased prices (L&N 57.183). It was here that Jesus met Matthew (also named Levi [see Mark 2:14, Luke 5:27]) who was ultimately employed by the Romans, though perhaps more directly responsible to Herod Antipas. It was his job to collect taxes for Rome and he was thus despised by Jews who undoubtedly regarded him as a traitor.

[12:15]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[12:15]  ⁴ tc א B pc lat read only πολλοί (polloi, “many”) here, the first hand of N reads ὄχλοι (ocloi, “crowds”), while virtually all the rest of the witnesses have ὄχλοι πολλοί (ocloi polloi, “great crowds”). In spite of the good quality of both א and B (especially in combination), and the testimony of the Latin witnesses, the longer reading is most likely correct; the shorter readings were probably due to homoioteleuton.

[14:22]  ⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:51]  ⁶ tn Grk “And behold one.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[26:51]  ⁷ tn Grk “extending his hand, drew out his sword, and struck.” Because rapid motion is implied in the circumstances, the translation “grabbed” was used.

[26:51]  ⁸ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.

[27:21]  ⁹ tn Grk “answering, the governor said to them.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[27:32]  ¹⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[27:32]  ¹¹ tn Or “conscripted”; or “pressed into service.”

[27:32]  ¹² sn Jesus was beaten severely with a whip before this (the prelude to crucifixion, known to the Romans as verberatio, mentioned in Matt 27:26; Mark 15:15; John 19:1), so he would have been weak from trauma and loss of blood. Apparently he was unable to bear the cross himself, so Simon was conscripted to help (in all probability this was only the crossbeam, called in Latin the patibulum, since the upright beam usually remained in the ground at the place of execution). Cyrene was located in North Africa where Tripoli is today. Nothing more is known about this Simon. Mark 15:21 names him as father of two people apparently known to Mark’s audience.