Matius 2:18

2:18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,

weeping and loud wailing, ¹ 

Rachel weeping for her children,

and she did not want to be comforted, because they were ²  gone.” ³ 

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. ⁴  “Follow me,” he said to him. And he got up and followed him.

Matius 25:37

25:37 Then the righteous will answer him, ⁵  ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?

Matius 27:46

27:46 At ⁶  about three o’clock Jesus shouted with a loud voice, ⁷  “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ⁸ 

[2:18]  ¹ tc The LXX of Jer 38:15 (31:15 ET) has “lamentation, weeping, and loud wailing”; most later mss (C D L W 0233 ˹³ 33 Ï) have a quotation in Matthew which conforms to that of the LXX (θρῆνος καὶ κλαυθμός καὶ ὀδυρμός; qrhno" kai klauqmo" kai odurmo"). But such assimilations were routine among the scribes; as such, they typically should be discounted because they are both predictable and motivated. The shorter reading, without “lamentation and,” is thus to be preferred, especially since it cannot easily be accounted for unless it is the original wording here. Further, it is found in the better mss along with a good cross-section of other witnesses (א B Z 0250 ˹ pc lat co).

[2:18]  ² tn Grk “are”; the Greek text uses a present tense verb.

[2:18]  ³ sn A quotation from Jer 31:15.

[9:9]  ⁴ 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.

[25:37]  ⁵ tn Grk “answer him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[27:46]  ⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[27:46]  ⁷ tn Grk “with a loud voice, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[27:46]  ⁸ sn A quotation from Ps 22:1.