Matius 11:15

11:15 The one who has ears had better listen! ¹ 

Matius 2:11

2:11 As they came into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, they bowed down ²  and worshiped him. They opened their treasure boxes and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, ³  and myrrh. ⁴ 

Matius 2:17

2:17 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:

Matius 2:1

The Visit of the Wise Men

2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem ⁵  in Judea, in the time ⁶  of King Herod, ⁷  wise men ⁸  from the East came to Jerusalem ⁹ 

Matius 3:6

3:6 and he was baptizing them ¹⁰  in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.

Matius 3:13

The Baptism of Jesus

3:13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John to be baptized by him in the Jordan River. ¹¹ 

Matius 3:1

The Ministry of John the Baptist

3:1 In those days John the Baptist came into the wilderness ¹²  of Judea proclaiming,

[11:15]  ¹ tn The translation “had better listen!” captures the force of the third person imperative more effectively than the traditional “let him hear,” which sounds more like a permissive than an imperative to the modern English reader. This was Jesus’ common expression to listen and heed carefully (cf. Matt 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 8:8, 14:35).

[2:11]  ² tn Grk “they fell down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”

[2:11]  ³ sn Frankincense refers to the aromatic resin of certain trees, used as a sweet-smelling incense (L&N 6.212).

[2:11]  ⁴ sn Myrrh consisted of the aromatic resin of certain shrubs (L&N 6.208). It was used in preparing a corpse for burial.

[2:1]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[2:1]  ⁶ tn Grk “in the days.”

[2:1]  ⁷ sn King Herod was Herod the Great, who ruled Palestine from 37 b.c. until he died in 4 b.c. He was known for his extensive building projects (including the temple in Jerusalem) and for his cruelty.

[2:1]  ⁸ sn The Greek term magi here describes a class of wise men and priests who were astrologers (L&N 32.40).

[2:1]  ⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:6]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “they were being baptized by him.” The passive construction has been rendered as active in the translation for the sake of English style.

[3:13]  ¹¹ tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

[3:1]  ¹² tn Or “desert.”