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Legacy Standard Bible Translation Notes
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The Tyndale Center for Bible Translation

NOTES

BIBLE

Matthew 19

1

Now it happened that when Jesus had finished these words, He departed from Galilee and came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan;

Καὶ ἐγένετο ὅτε ἐτέλεσεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τοὺς λόγους τούτους, μετῆρεν ἀπὸ τῆς Γαλιλαίας καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς τὰ ὅρια τῆς Ἰουδαίας πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου.

Now it happened
The phrase “Now it happened” translates the formulaic introductory phrase Καὶ ἐγένετο (kai egeneto). Though often absent from modern English translations, this phrase is frequently used at the outset of a literary unit in order to draw attention to a larger episode comprised of several smaller events (cf. Matt 7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 26:1). When used in the middle of an episode, the phrase functions as a marker, indicating either a pause in the flow of the story, or a point of emphasis to which the author is drawing the reader’s attention. In like fashion to other uses in Matthew, its use at the beginning of this narrative is in keeping with the ebb and flow of Matthew’s alternations between discourse and narrative, transitioning the reader from the fourth major discourse to the next narrative segment.

 
2

and large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.

καὶ ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ ὄχλοι πολλοί, καὶ ἐθεράπευσεν αὐτοὺς ἐκεῖ.

 
3

And some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?”

Καὶ προσῆλθον αὐτῷ Φαρισαῖοι πειράζοντες αὐτὸν καὶ λέγοντες· Εἰ ἔξεστιν ἀνθρώπῳ ἀπολῦσαι τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ κατὰ πᾶσαν αἰτίαν;

reason
The word translated “reason” (αἰτία; aitia) appears again in verse 10, translated there as “relationship.” The use of the same Greek word in both places sets up a wordplay and thus a close lexical relationship between the two statements within this discourse on divorce. The response of the disciples in verse 10 was prompted by the initial question on divorce in verse 3 and the subsequent discussion on that topic. However, this wordplay is difficult to bring out in English because there is not a single English word that accurately portrays the contextual idea in each verse. Thus, this translation retains “reason” in verse 3 and “relationship” in verse 10 to keep from losing the main point of the passage by trying to translate hyperliterally.

 
4

And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE,

ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· Οὐκ ἀνέγνωτε ὅτι ὁ κτίσας ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ ἐποίησεν αὐτοὺς

 
5

and said, ‘FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH’?

καὶ εἶπεν· Ἕνεκα τούτου καταλείψει ἄνθρωπος τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα καὶ κολληθήσεται τῇ γυναικὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔσονται οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν;

 
6

So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”

ὥστε οὐκέτι εἰσὶν δύο ἀλλὰ σὰρξ μία. ὃ οὖν ὁ θεὸς συνέζευξεν ἄνθρωπος μὴ χωριζέτω.

 
7

They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY?”

λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Τί οὖν Μωϋσῆς ἐνετείλατο δοῦναι βιβλίον ἀποστασίου καὶ ἀπολῦσαι αὐτήν;

 
8

He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way.

λέγει αὐτοῖς ὅτι Μωϋσῆς πρὸς τὴν σκληροκαρδίαν ὑμῶν ἐπέτρεψεν ὑμῖν ἀπολῦσαι τὰς γυναῖκας ὑμῶν, ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς δὲ οὐ γέγονεν οὕτως.

 
9

And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

λέγω δὲ ὑμῖν ὅτι ὃς ἂν ἀπολύσῃ τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ μὴ ἐπὶ πορνείᾳ καὶ γαμήσῃ ἄλλην μοιχᾶται καὶ ὁ ἀπολελυμένην γαμήσας μοιχᾶται.

 
10

The disciples said to Him, “If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.”

Λέγουσιν αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταί· Εἰ οὕτως ἐστὶν ἡ αἰτία τοῦ ἀνθρώπου μετὰ τῆς γυναικός, οὐ συμφέρει γαμῆσαι.

relationship
Refer to the discussion on verse 3 above.

 
11

But He said to them, “Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given.

ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Οὐ πάντες χωροῦσι τὸν λόγον τοῦτον ἀλλʼ οἷς δέδοται.

 
12

For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it.”

εἰσὶν γὰρ εὐνοῦχοι οἵτινες ἐκ κοιλίας μητρὸς ἐγεννήθησαν οὕτως, καὶ εἰσὶν εὐνοῦχοι οἵτινες εὐνουχίσθησαν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ εἰσὶν εὐνοῦχοι οἵτινες εὐνούχισαν ἑαυτοὺς διὰ τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν. ὁ δυνάμενος χωρεῖν χωρείτω.

 
13

Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them.

Τότε προσηνέχθησαν αὐτῷ παιδία ἵνα τὰς χεῖρας ἐπιθῇ αὐτοῖς καὶ προσεύξηται· οἱ δὲ μαθηταὶ ἐπετίμησαν αὐτοῖς.

 
14

But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν· Ἄφετε τὰ παιδία καὶ μὴ κωλύετε αὐτὰ ἐλθεῖν πρός με, τῶν γὰρ τοιούτων ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν.

 
15

And after laying His hands on them, He departed from there.

καὶ ἐπιθεὶς τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῖς ἐπορεύθη ἐκεῖθεν.

 
16

And behold, someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”

Καὶ ἰδοὺ εἷς προσελθὼν αὐτῷ εἶπεν· Διδάσκαλε, τί ἀγαθὸν ποιήσω ἵνα σχῶ ζωὴν αἰώνιον;

behold
This Greek interjection ἰδοὺ (idou) functions to arrest the attention of the reader and alert that something of special importance is about to occur. Thus, it is included in the translation.

 
17

And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Τί με ἐρωτᾷς περὶ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ; εἷς ἐστιν ὁ ἀγαθός· εἰ δὲ θέλεις εἰς τὴν ζωὴν εἰσελθεῖν, τήρησον τὰς ἐντολάς.

 
18

Then he said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “YOU SHALL NOT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS;

λέγει αὐτῷ· Ποίας; ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν· Τὸ Οὐ φονεύσεις, Οὐ μοιχεύσεις, Οὐ κλέψεις, Οὐ ψευδομαρτυρήσεις,

 
19

HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER; AND YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”

Τίμα τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα, καὶ Ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν.

 
20

The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?”

λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ νεανίσκος· Πάντα ταῦτα ἐφύλαξα· τί ἔτι ὑστερῶ;

 
21

Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

ἔφη αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Εἰ θέλεις τέλειος εἶναι, ὕπαγε πώλησόν σου τὰ ὑπάρχοντα καὶ δὸς πτωχοῖς, καὶ ἕξεις θησαυρὸν ἐν οὐρανοῖς, καὶ δεῦρο ἀκολούθει μοι.

 
22

But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ νεανίσκος τὸν λόγον ἀπῆλθεν λυπούμενος, ἦν γὰρ ἔχων κτήματα πολλά.

 
23

And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ· Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι πλούσιος δυσκόλως εἰσελεύσεται εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν·

 
24

And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

πάλιν δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν, εὐκοπώτερόν ἐστιν κάμηλον διὰ τρυπήματος ῥαφίδος εἰσελθεῖν ἢ πλούσιον εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ.

 
25

And when the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?”

ἀκούσαντες δὲ οἱ μαθηταὶ ἐξεπλήσσοντο σφόδρα λέγοντες· Τίς ἄρα δύναται σωθῆναι;

 
26

And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

ἐμβλέψας δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Παρὰ ἀνθρώποις τοῦτο ἀδύνατόν ἐστιν, παρὰ δὲ θεῷ πάντα δυνατά.

 
27

Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?”

Τότε ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ Πέτρος εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ἰδοὺ ἡμεῖς ἀφήκαμεν πάντα καὶ ἠκολουθήσαμέν σοι· τί ἄρα ἔσται ἡμῖν;

 
28

And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ὑμεῖς οἱ ἀκολουθήσαντές μοι ἐν τῇ παλιγγενεσίᾳ, ὅταν καθίσῃ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐπὶ θρόνου δόξης αὐτοῦ, καθήσεσθε καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐπὶ δώδεκα θρόνους κρίνοντες τὰς δώδεκα φυλὰς τοῦ Ἰσραήλ.

 
29

And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive one hundred times as much, and will inherit eternal life.

καὶ πᾶς ὅστις ἀφῆκεν οἰκίας ἢ ἀδελφοὺς ἢ ἀδελφὰς ἢ πατέρα ἢ μητέρα ἢ γυναῖκα ἢ τέκνα ἢ ἀγροὺς ἕνεκεν τοῦ ὀνόματός μου, ἑκατονταπλασίονα λήμψεται καὶ ζωὴν αἰώνιον κληρονομήσει.

 
30

But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.

πολλοὶ δὲ ἔσονται πρῶτοι ἔσχατοι καὶ ἔσχατοι πρῶτοι.

 
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The Hebrew Old Testament is taken from the Unicode/XML Westminster Leningrad Codex
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Transcribed to Unicode/XML by Christopher V. Kimball, Publisher (Tanach.us Inc.)
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The Greek New Testament is taken from the Society of Biblical Literature Greek New Testament
Edited by Michael W. Holmes
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