Matius 9:28

9:28 When ¹  he went into the house, the blind men came to him. Jesus ²  said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.”

Matius 18:6

18:6 “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, ³  it would be better for him to have a huge millstone ⁴  hung around his neck and to be drowned in the open sea. ⁵ 

Matius 21:25

21:25 Where did John’s baptism come from? From heaven or from people?” ⁶  They discussed this among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’

[9:28]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[9:28]  ² tn Grk “to him, and Jesus.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in Greek, but a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[18:6]  ³ tn The Greek term σκανδαλίζω (skandalizw), translated here “causes to sin” can also be translated “offends” or “causes to stumble.”

[18:6]  ⁴ tn Grk “the millstone of a donkey.” This refers to a large flat stone turned by a donkey in the process of grinding grain (BDAG 661 s.v. μύλος 2; L&N 7.68-69). The same term is used in the parallel account in Mark 9:42.

[18:6]  sn The punishment of drowning with a heavy weight attached is extremely gruesome and reflects Jesus’ views concerning those who cause others who believe in him to sin.

[18:6]  ⁵ tn The term translated “open” here (πελάγει, pelagei) refers to the open sea as opposed to a stretch of water near a coastline (BDAG 794 s.v. πέλαγος). A similar English expression would be “the high seas.”

[21:25]  ⁶ tn The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is used here (and in v. 26) in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NAB, NRSV, “of human origin”; TEV, “from human beings”; NLT, “merely human”).

[21:25]  sn The question is whether John’s ministry was of divine or human origin.