Matius 3:7

3:7 But when he saw many Pharisees ¹  and Sadducees ²  coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

Matius 3:9

3:9 and don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones!

Matius 5:18

5:18 I ³  tell you the truth, ⁴  until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter ⁵  will pass from the law until everything takes place.

Matius 5:20

5:20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law ⁶  and the Pharisees, ⁷  you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matius 5:32

5:32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Matius 6:2

6:2 Thus whenever you do charitable giving, ⁸  do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in synagogues ⁹  and on streets so that people will praise them. I tell you the truth, ¹⁰  they have their reward.

Matius 6:5

Private Prayer

6:5 “Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray while standing in synagogues ¹¹  and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward.

Matius 6:16

Proper Fasting

6:16 “When ¹²  you fast, do not look sullen like the hypocrites, for they make their faces unattractive ¹³  so that people will see them fasting. I tell you the truth, ¹⁴  they have their reward.

Matius 10:23

10:23 Whenever ¹⁵  they persecute you in one place, ¹⁶  flee to another. I tell you the truth, ¹⁷  you will not finish going through all the towns ¹⁸  of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

Matius 10:42

10:42 And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple, I tell you the truth, ¹⁹  he will never lose his reward.”

Matius 11:11

11:11 “I tell you the truth, ²⁰  among those born of women, no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least ²¹  in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is.

Matius 11:21

11:21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! ²²  Woe to you, Bethsaida! If ²³  the miracles ²⁴  done in you had been done in Tyre ²⁵  and Sidon, ²⁶  they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

Matius 13:17

13:17 For I tell you the truth, ²⁷  many prophets and righteous people longed to see ²⁸  what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

Matius 16:28

16:28 I tell you the truth, ²⁹  there are some standing here who will not ³⁰  experience ³¹  death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” ³² 

Matius 17:12

17:12 And I tell you that Elijah has already come. Yet they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted. In ³³  the same way, the Son of Man will suffer at their hands.”

Matius 18:10

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

18:10 “See that you do not disdain one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.

Matius 18:12

18:12 What do you think? If someone ³⁴  owns a hundred ³⁵  sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go look for the one that went astray? ³⁶ 

Matius 18:18-19

18:18 “I tell you the truth, ³⁷  whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven. 18:19 Again, I tell you the truth, ³⁸  if two of you on earth agree about whatever you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. ³⁹ 

Matius 21:24

21:24 Jesus ⁴⁰  answered them, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.

Matius 23:13

23:13 “But woe to you, experts in the law ⁴¹  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! ⁴²  You keep locking people out of the kingdom of heaven! ⁴³  For you neither enter nor permit those trying to enter to go in.

Matius 23:15-16

23:15 “Woe to you, experts in the law ⁴⁴  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You cross land and sea to make one convert, ⁴⁵  and when you get one, ⁴⁶  you make him twice as much a child of hell ⁴⁷  as yourselves!

23:16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple is bound by nothing. ⁴⁸  But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.’

Matius 24:2

24:2 And he said to them, ⁴⁹  “Do you see all these things? I tell you the truth, ⁵⁰  not one stone will be left on another. ⁵¹  All will be torn down!” ⁵² 

Matius 25:34

25:34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

Matius 26:29

26:29 I ⁵³  tell you, from now on I will not drink of this fruit ⁵⁴  of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

Matius 26:64

26:64 Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand ⁵⁵  of the Power ⁵⁶  and coming on the clouds of heaven.” ⁵⁷ 

Matius 28:7

28:7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead. He ⁵⁸  is going ahead of you into Galilee. You will see him there.’ Listen, I have told you!”

[3:7]  ¹ sn Pharisees were members of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.

[3:7]  ² sn The Sadducees controlled the official political structures of Judaism at this time, being the majority members of the Sanhedrin. They were known as extremely strict on law and order issues (Josephus, J. W. 2.8.2 [2.119], 2.8.14 [2.164-166]; Ant. 13.5.9 [13.171-173], 13.10.6 [13.293-298], 18.1.2 [18.11], 18.1.4 [18.16-17], 20.9.1 [20.199]; Life 2 [10-11]). See also Matt 16:1-12; 22:23-34; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38; Acts 5:17; 23:6-8.

[5:18]  ³ tn Grk “For I tell.” Here an explanatory γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

[5:18]  ⁴ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[5:18]  ⁵ tn Grk “Not one iota or one serif.”

[5:18]  sn The smallest letter refers to the smallest Hebrew letter (yod) and the stroke of a letter to a serif (a hook or projection on a Hebrew letter).

[5:20]  ⁶ tn Or “that of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[5:20]  ⁷ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[6:2]  ⁸ tn Grk “give alms,” but this term is not in common use today. The giving of alms was highly regarded in the ancient world (Deut 15:7-11).

[6:2]  ⁹ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.

[6:2]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[6:5]  ¹¹ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.

[6:16]  ¹² tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[6:16]  ¹³ tn Here the term “disfigure” used in a number of translations was not used because it could convey to the modern reader the notion of mutilation. L&N 79.17 states, “‘to make unsightly, to disfigure, to make ugly.’ ἀφανίζουσιν γὰρ τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν ‘for they make their faces unsightly’ Mt 6:16.”

[6:16]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[10:23]  ¹⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:23]  ¹⁶ tn The Greek word here is πόλις (polis), which can mean either “town” or “city.”

[10:23]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “For truly (ἀμήν, amhn) I say to you.” Here γάρ (gar, “for”) has not been translated.

[10:23]  ¹⁸ tn The Greek word here is πόλις (polis), which can mean either “town” or “city.” “Town” was chosen here to emphasize the extensive nature of the disciples’ ministry. The same word is translated earlier in the verse as “place.”

[10:42]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[11:11]  ²⁰ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[11:11]  ²¹ sn After John comes a shift of eras. The new era is so great that the lowest member of it (the one who is least in the kingdom of God) is greater than the greatest one of the previous era.

[11:21]  ²² sn Chorazin was a town of Galilee that was probably fairly small in contrast to Bethsaida and is otherwise unattested. Bethsaida was declared a polis by the tetrarch Herod Philip, sometime after a.d. 30.

[11:21]  ²³ tn This introduces a second class (contrary to fact) condition in the Greek text.

[11:21]  ²⁴ tn Or “powerful deeds.”

[11:21]  ²⁵ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[11:21]  ²⁶ sn Tyre and Sidon are two other notorious OT cities (Isa 23; Jer 25:22; 47:4). The remark is a severe rebuke, in effect: “Even the sinners of the old era would have responded to the proclamation of the kingdom, unlike you!”

[11:21]  map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[13:17]  ²⁷ tn Grk “truly (ἀμήν, amhn) I say to you.”

[13:17]  ²⁸ sn This is what past prophets and righteous people had wanted very much to see, yet the fulfillment had come to the disciples. This remark is like 1 Pet 1:10-12 or Heb 1:1-2.

[16:28]  ²⁹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[16:28]  ³⁰ tn The Greek negative here (οὐ μή, ou mh) is the strongest possible.

[16:28]  ³¹ tn Grk “will not taste.” Here the Greek verb does not mean “sample a small amount” (as a typical English reader might infer from the word “taste”), but “experience something cognitively or emotionally; come to know something” (cf. BDAG 195 s.v. γεύομαι 2).

[16:28]  ³² sn Several suggestions have been made as to the referent for the phrase the Son of Man coming in his kingdom: (1) the transfiguration itself, which immediately follows in the narrative; (2) Jesus’ resurrection and ascension; (3) the coming of the Spirit; (4) Christ’s role in the Church; (5) the destruction of Jerusalem; (6) Jesus’ second coming and the establishment of the kingdom. The reference to six days later in 17:1 seems to indicate that Matthew had the transfiguration in mind insofar as it was a substantial prefiguring of the consummation of the kingdom (although this interpretation is not without its problems). As such, the transfiguration would be a tremendous confirmation to the disciples that even though Jesus had just finished speaking of his death (in vv. 21-23), he was nonetheless the promised Messiah and things were proceeding according to God’s plan.

[17:12]  ³³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[18:12]  ³⁴ tn Grk “a certain man.” The Greek word ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in a somewhat generic sense.

[18:12]  ³⁵ sn This individual with a hundred sheep is a shepherd of modest means, as flocks often had up to two hundred head of sheep.

[18:12]  ³⁶ sn Look for the one that went astray. The parable pictures God’s pursuit of the sinner. On the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, see John 10:1-18.

[18:18]  ³⁷ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[18:19]  ³⁸ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[18:19]  ³⁹ tn Grk “if two of you…agree about whatever they ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one in keeping with contemporary English style, and the pronouns, which change from second person plural to third person plural in the Greek text, have been consistently translated as second person plural.

[21:24]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “answering, Jesus said to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[23:13]  ⁴¹ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:13]  ⁴² tn Grk “Woe to you…because you…” The causal particle ὅτι (Joti) has not been translated here for rhetorical effect (and so throughout this chapter).

[23:13]  ⁴³ tn Grk “because you are closing the kingdom of heaven before people.”

[23:15]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:15]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “one proselyte.”

[23:15]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “when he becomes [one].”

[23:15]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “a son of Gehenna.” Expressions constructed with υἱός (Juios) followed by a genitive of class or kind denote a person belonging to the class or kind specified by the following genitive (L&N 9.4). Thus the phrase here means “a person who belongs to hell.”

[23:15]  sn See the note on the word hell in 5:22.

[23:16]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing.”

[24:2]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “answering, he said to them.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (ajpokriqei") is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[24:2]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[24:2]  ⁵¹ sn With the statement not one stone will be left on another Jesus predicted the total destruction of the temple, something that did occur in a.d. 70.

[24:2]  ⁵² tn Grk “not one stone will be left here on another which will not be thrown down.”

[26:29]  ⁵³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[26:29]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “produce” (“the produce of the vine” is a figurative expression for wine).

[26:64]  ⁵⁵ sn An allusion to Ps 110:1. This is a claim that Jesus shares authority with God in heaven. Those present may have thought they were his judges, but, in fact, the reverse was true.

[26:64]  ⁵⁶ sn The expression the right hand of the Power is a circumlocution for referring to God. Such indirect references to God were common in 1st century Judaism out of reverence for the divine name.

[26:64]  ⁵⁷ sn An allusion to Dan 7:13 (see also Matt 24:30).

[28:7]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “And behold he.” 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).