Matius 4:19

4:19 He said to them, “Follow me, and I will turn you into fishers of people.” ¹ 

Matius 8:31

8:31 Then the demons begged him, ²  “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

Matius 11:2

Jesus and John the Baptist

11:2 Now when John ³  heard in prison about the deeds Christ ⁴  had done, he sent his disciples to ask a question: ⁵ 

Matius 15:13

15:13 And he replied, ⁶  “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted.

Matius 17:26

17:26 After he said, “From foreigners,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons ⁷  are free.

Matius 20:31

20:31 The ⁸  crowd scolded ⁹  them to get them to be quiet. But they shouted even more loudly, “Lord, have mercy on us, ¹⁰  Son of David!”

Matius 21:3

21:3 If anyone says anything to you, you are to say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ ¹¹  and he will send them at once.”

Matius 24:33

24:33 So also you, when you see all these things, know ¹²  that he is near, right at the door.

Matius 26:62

26:62 So ¹³  the high priest stood up and said to him, “Have you no answer? What is this that they are testifying against you?”

[4:19]  ¹ tn The Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, thus “people.”

[4:19]  sn The kind of fishing envisioned was net – not line – fishing (cf. v. 18; cf. also BDAG 55 s.v. ἀμφιβάλλω, ἀμφίβληστρον) which involved a circular net that had heavy weights around its perimeter. The occupation of fisherman was labor-intensive. The imagery of using a lure and a line (and waiting for the fish to strike) is thus foreign to this text. Rather, the imagery of a fisherman involved much strain, long hours, and often little results. Jesus’ point may have been one or more of the following: the strenuousness of evangelism, the work ethic that it required, persistence and dedication to the task (often in spite of minimal results), the infinite value of the new “catch” (viz., people), and perhaps an eschatological theme of snatching people from judgment (cf. W. L. Lane, Mark [NICNT], 67). If this last motif is in view, then catching people is the opposite of catching fish: The fish would be caught, killed, cooked, and eaten; people would be caught so as to remove them from eternal destruction and to give them new life.

[8:31]  ² tn Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[11:2]  ³ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[11:2]  ⁴ tc The Western codex D and a few other mss (0233 1424 al) read “Jesus” here instead of “Christ.” This is not likely to be original because it is not found in the earliest and most important mss, nor in the rest of the ms tradition.

[11:2]  tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[11:2]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:16.

[11:2]  ⁵ tc Instead of “by his disciples” (see the tn below for the reading of the Greek), the majority of later mss (C³ L ˹ Ï lat bo) have “two of his disciples.” The difference in Greek, however, is only two letters: διὰ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ vs. δύο τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ (dia twn maqhtwn autou vs. duo twn maqhtwn autou). Although an accidental alteration could account for either of these readings, it is more likely that δύο is an assimilation to the parallel in Luke 7:18. Further, διά is read by a good number of early and excellent witnesses (א B C* D P W Z Δ Θ 0233 ˹³ 33 sa), and thus should be considered original.

[11:2]  tn Grk “sending by his disciples he said to him.” The words “a question” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[15:13]  ⁶ tn Grk “And answering, he said.”

[17:26]  ⁷ sn See the note on the phrase their sons in the previous verse.

[20:31]  ⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[20:31]  ⁹ tn Or “rebuked.” The crowd’s view was that surely Jesus would not be bothered with someone as unimportant as a blind beggar.

[20:31]  ¹⁰ tc ‡ The majority of mss (C W ˹ 33 Ï and several versional witnesses) read κύριε (kurie, “Lord”) after ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς (elehson Jhma", “have mercy on us”). But since this is the order of words in v. 30 (though that wording is also disputed), and since the κύριε-first reading enjoys widespread and early support (א B D L Z Θ 085 0281 ˹³ 892 pc lat), the latter was considered original. However, the decision was by no means easy. NA²⁷ has κύριε after ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς here; a majority of that committee felt that since the placement of κύριε in last place was the nonliturgical order it “would have been likely to be altered in transcription to the more familiar sequence” (TCGNT 44).

[21:3]  ¹¹ sn The custom called angaria allowed the impressment of animals for service to a significant figure.

[24:33]  ¹² tn The verb γινώσκετε (ginwskete, “know”) can be parsed as either present indicative or present imperative. In this context the imperative fits better, since the movement is from analogy (trees and seasons) to the future (the signs of the coming of the kingdom) and since the emphasis is on preparation for this event.

[26:62]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the false testimony.