On the Greek text. The Greek throughout follows the standard critical text — uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT), and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced.

The Gospel according to Matthew — Interlinear: Themes, Outlines & Translation Notes

A consolidated companion to the Matthew data set: every chapter of Matthew (1–28) rendered as a six-tier Greek reverse-interlinear (Greek · gloss · parsing/case · syntax · semantic force · lexical note), with per-verse discourse analysis and a chapter argument-outline.

This document gathers the theme, the argument outline (the outline movements authored into each data file), and the translation / textual / exegetical notes (the text_note of each file, reproduced verbatim) — followed by a summary of the major translation and interpretive cruxes that were deliberately annotated rather than silently resolved. It opens the Gospels & Acts section; Matthew presents Jesus as the promised Messiah and new Moses — Son of David and Son of God — structured around five great discourses and climaxing in the Passion, resurrection, and the commission to disciple all nations. The Greek follows the standard critical text (uniform across NA28 / SBLGNT / THGNT in its main wording, and itself an ancient public-domain text); the copyrighted NA28 apparatus is not reproduced.

Scope

Each annotated word carries Greek, a working gloss, color-coded grammatical case, parsing (Tense·Voice·Mood·Person·Number + lemma), a Wallace-style syntactic-function label, an aspectual semantic-force label (verbal forms), and a condensed lexical note.

The argument of the book

The macro-structure of the whole Gospel — its major movements — under which the chapter-by-chapter detail below unfolds. Matthew alternates narrative with five great discourses (each closing 'when Jesus had finished these sayings'), presenting Jesus as the Davidic Messiah who fulfills the Law and the Prophets. (Section divisions are interpretive; the more common analysis is generally followed.)

• I · 1–4 — Origin and inauguration. Genealogy and infancy, John the Baptist, the baptism and temptation, and the opening of the Galilean ministry.
• II · 5–7 — The Sermon on the Mount (first discourse). The Beatitudes, the Law fulfilled, and the greater righteousness of the kingdom.
• III · 8–9 — Miracles of the Messiah. A cycle of mighty works showing authority over disease, nature, demons, and death.
• IV · 10 — The Mission Discourse (second discourse). The sending of the Twelve and the cost of confessing Christ.
• V · 11–12 — Response and conflict. John's question, woes on the unrepentant towns, the Sabbath controversies, and the Beelzebul charge.
• VI · 13 — The Parables of the Kingdom (third discourse). The mysteries of the kingdom in seven parables.
• VII · 14–17 — The Messiah revealed and confessed. The feedings, walking on the water, Peter's confession at Caesarea Philippi, and the Transfiguration.
• VIII · 18 — The Community Discourse (fourth discourse). Greatness, the lost sheep, church discipline, and limitless forgiveness.
• IX · 19–23 — The road to Jerusalem and the temple conflict. Teaching on marriage and wealth, the triumphal entry, the cleansing of the temple, the controversies, and the woes on the scribes and Pharisees.
• X · 24–25 — The Olivet Discourse (fifth discourse). The end of the age, the coming of the Son of Man, and the parables of watchfulness and judgment.
• XI · 26–28 — Passion and resurrection. The Last Supper, Gethsemane, the trials, the crucifixion and burial, and the resurrection with the Great Commission.

Chapter-by-chapter

Matthew 1 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ Α′

Theme. Matthew opens his Gospel by establishing who Jesus is: the son of David and son of Abraham whose descent runs in three symmetrical fourteens from the patriarch through the kings and the exile to the Christ — and whose birth, virginally conceived of the Holy Spirit and disclosed to Joseph by an angel, makes him 'Jesus' ('YHWH saves,' for he will save his people from their sins) and 'Emmanuel,' God with us.

Outline.

• A · 1:1–17 — The genealogy of Jesus Christ: three sets of fourteen. A title-line frames Jesus as son of David and son of Abraham (1); the descent then runs in the repeating ἐγέννησεν chain through three symmetrical spans — Abraham to David (2–6a), David to the Babylonian exile (6b–11), and the exile to the Christ (12–16) — with four women (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and 'the wife of Uriah') woven in by ἐκ-phrases, three kings telescoped out (between Joram and Uzziah), and the climactic break of the pattern at v.16, where Joseph is named only as 'the husband of Mary, of whom (ἐξ ἧς) was born (ἐγεννήθη) Jesus.' The evangelist's own summary seals the 3×14 design (17).
• B · 1:18–25 — The birth of Jesus: virginal conception, Joseph's dream, and the naming. The γένεσις of Jesus is narrated (18): Mary, betrothed to Joseph, is found with child of the Holy Spirit before they come together; righteous Joseph, unwilling to expose her, resolves on a quiet divorce (19), but an angel of the Lord in a dream forbids his fear, calls him 'son of David,' and names the child Jesus — 'for he will save his people from their sins' (20–21). The narrator marks the whole as the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14: the virgin's son is Emmanuel, 'God with us' (22–23). Joseph wakes, obeys, takes Mary as wife, keeps her a virgin until the birth, and names the child Jesus (24–25).

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 1, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. A few points of variation are passed over without a marginal note. In the genealogy the critical text prints the assimilated spellings Ἀσάφ (v.7) for king Asa and Ἀμώς (v.10) for king Amon — readings of the earliest manuscripts, conforming the royal names to those of the psalmist and the prophet, and retained here against the Byzantine Ἀσά / Ἀμών. At v.18 the editions divide over the word order Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ (read here) versus Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ and over the spelling γένεσις versus the variant γέννησις. At v.25 the Byzantine text expands 'a son' to 'her firstborn son' (τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς τὸν πρωτότοκον, harmonizing with Luke 2:7); the shorter υἱόν is printed. Orthographic variants (movable-ν, ι-subscript, Βόες/Βοόζ, Ἰωβήδ/Ὠβήδ) are not noted. The chapter has 25 verses; none is legitimately omitted by the critical text. Note the chapter's two-part architecture bound by a single word-group: the βίβλος γενέσεως of v.1 and the γένεσις of v.18 frame genealogy and birth; the relentless active ἐγέννησεν of vv.2–16a breaks at v.16 into the passive ἐγεννήθη ('of whom was born'), guarding the virginal conception; and the verbal thread of the name — Ἰησοῦς explained by σώσει (v.21), confirmed by the Isaiah-citation's Ἐμμανουήλ, 'God with us' (v.23) — carries the theological weight of the whole.

Matthew 2 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ Β′

Theme. The newborn King of the Jews is worshiped by Gentile Magi but hunted by Herod; through angelic dreams the child is led down to Egypt and back, his journey scripted by Scripture — Bethlehem (Mic 5:2), Egypt (Hos 11:1), Ramah's weeping (Jer 31:15), and Nazareth — so that the infancy's chain of fulfillment-formulas presents Jesus as the true Israel, the new Moses, and the prophesied Davidic shepherd-ruler.

Outline.

• A · 2:1–6 — The Magi arrive; Herod inquires; the Micah oracle. Magi from the east come to Jerusalem seeking the one born King of the Jews, having seen his star at its rising (1–2); Herod and all Jerusalem are troubled (3); convening the chief priests and scribes, Herod asks where the Messiah is to be born (4), and they answer from Micah 5:2 — Bethlehem in the land of Judah, by no means least, whence comes the shepherd-ruler of God's people Israel (5–6).
• B · 2:7–12 — Herod's secret charge; the star, the worship, the gifts, the dream. Herod secretly ascertains the star's time and sends the Magi to search, with a feigned wish to worship (7–8); the star leads on and halts over the place, to their exceeding joy (9–10); entering the house, they fall down and worship, opening their treasures with gold, frankincense, and myrrh (11); warned in a dream, they return home by another way (12).
• C · 2:13–15 — The flight to Egypt — Hosea 11:1 fulfilled. An angel warns Joseph in a dream to take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt from Herod's murderous intent (13); Joseph obeys at once, by night (14), remaining until Herod's death, so that 'Out of Egypt I called my son' is fulfilled (15).
• D · 2:16–18 — The slaughter of the innocents — Jeremiah 31:15 fulfilled. Herod, realizing the Magi have outwitted him, in fury kills all the boys of Bethlehem two years and under, by the time he had ascertained (16); thus was fulfilled Jeremiah's word — Rachel weeping for her children, refusing comfort, for they are no more (17–18).
• E · 2:19–23 — The return and settling in Nazareth — 'he shall be called a Nazarene'. On Herod's death an angel directs Joseph to return to the land of Israel, for those seeking the child's life are dead (19–20); Joseph obeys (21), but, fearing Archelaus over Judea and warned again in a dream, withdraws to Galilee (22) and settles in Nazareth, so that the prophetic word 'He shall be called a Nazarene' might be fulfilled (23).

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 2, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. The spelling of the Hebrew place-names is conventional (Βηθλέεμ, Ναζαρέτ — the latter also spelled Ναζαρὲθ/Ναζαρά in the tradition). A few points of variation are passed over without a marginal note: at v.18 the longer reading θρῆνος καὶ κλαυθμός ('lamentation and weeping') of the Byzantine tradition is not printed, the shorter κλαυθμός being read with the earliest witnesses; the LXX-form citation of Micah 5:1[2] in v.6 (with its deliberate adaptation — οὐδαμῶς ἐλαχίστη, 'by no means least,' against the Hebrew/LXX 'small to be,' and ἡγεμόσιν, 'rulers,' for the Hebrew 'thousands/clans,' fused with the shepherd-clause of 2 Sam 5:2) and the formula-quotations of Hosea 11:1 (v.15, rendered directly from the Hebrew, 'my son,' against the LXX 'his children'), Jeremiah 31[38]:15 (v.18), and the source-less 'he shall be called a Nazarene' (v.23) are reproduced in the evangelist's own wording. Orthographic variants (movable-ν, ι-subscript, the spelling Ἱεροσόλυμα/Ἰεροσόλυμα) are not noted. The chapter is structured by Matthew's infancy fulfillment-formulas — the second through fifth, with 1:22–23 the first: v.15 (ἵνα πληρωθῇ), v.17 (notably τότε ἐπληρώθη, not ἵνα — the indicative reporting the fulfillment rather than making the atrocity a divine purpose), and v.23 (ὅπως πληρωθῇ), together with the implicit citation woven into v.6. Note further the chapter's verbal threads: προσκυνέω frames true and false worship (vv.2, 8, 11); ἀναχωρέω ('withdraw') marks the recurring flight (vv.12, 13, 14, 22); κατ’ ὄναρ tags the four guidance-dreams (vv.12, 13, 19, 22, with 1:20); and 'the child and his mother' is a fivefold refrain (vv.11, 13, 14, 20, 21).

Matthew 3 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ Γ′

Theme. John the Baptist appears as Isaiah's wilderness voice, calling Israel to repentance before the nearing kingdom, baptizing the penitent and rebuking the presumptuous leaders with the threat of the axe and the unquenchable fire — until the mightier Coming One, who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire, himself submits to baptism "to fulfill all righteousness," and is attested by the descending Spirit and the Father's voice as the beloved Son.

Outline.

• A · 3:1–6 — John the Baptist in the wilderness: the Isaiah-40 herald. John comes preaching in the Judean wilderness, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near" (1–2); Matthew's formula-citation identifies him as Isaiah 40:3's voice crying in the wilderness, preparing the Lord's way (3); his camel's-hair garment, leather belt, and diet of locusts and wild honey cast him as the returning Elijah (4, cf. 2 Kgs 1:8); Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole Jordan region stream out and are baptized, confessing their sins (5–6).
• B · 3:7–10 — Rebuke of the Pharisees and Sadducees: the axe at the root. Seeing the leaders come to baptism, John brands them a "brood of vipers" fleeing the coming wrath (7), demands fruit worthy of repentance (8), forecloses the false security of Abrahamic descent — God can raise children from the very stones (9) — and warns that the axe is already laid at the root: every fruitless tree is felled and burned (10).
• C · 3:11–12 — The Coming One: baptism with Spirit and fire. John sets his preparatory water-baptism over against the mightier Coming One — whose sandals he is unworthy to carry — who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (11); the harvest image elaborates: the winnower clears his floor, gathering the wheat into the barn and burning the chaff with unquenchable fire (12).
• D · 3:13–17 — The baptism of Jesus: the Spirit and the voice. Jesus comes from Galilee to be baptized; John demurs ("I have need to be baptized by you") but yields when Jesus answers that it befits them "to fulfill all righteousness" (13–15); rising from the water, Jesus sees the heavens opened and the Spirit of God descending like a dove upon him (16), and a voice from heaven declares, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (17).

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 3, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. A few points of variation are passed over without a marginal note: at v.3 the editions agree on φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ (Isa 40:3 LXX, whose punctuation joins "in the wilderness" to the crying voice rather than to "prepare"); at v.7 the spelling of Σαδδουκαίων and the form ἐπί / πρὸς τὸ βάπτισμα vary (πρὸς τὸ βάπτισμα read here); at v.8 the editions divide over the singular καρπὸν ἄξιον (read here) versus the plural καρποὺς ἀξίους (so Luke 3:8); at v.11 a few witnesses omit καὶ πυρί ("and with fire"); at v.16 the editions divide over whether ἀνεῴχθησαν αὐτῷ ("were opened to him") includes αὐτῷ (read here, some witnesses omitting). Orthographic variants (movable-ν, ι-subscript, Μαθθαῖος / Ματθαῖος) are not noted. Observe the deliberate verbal links: the historic-present παραγίνεται introduces both John (v.1) and Jesus (v.13); ἔρημος frames John's setting and Isaiah's voice (vv.1, 3); the βαπτίζω word-group runs from John's water-baptism through the Spirit-and-fire baptism to Jesus' own (vv.6, 11, 13–16); καρπός and the fruit/tree/fire imagery bind the rebuke (vv.8, 10) to the winnowing (v.12); and οὐρανός spans the "kingdom of heaven" (v.2), the opened heavens (v.16), and the voice "from the heavens" (v.17). Note the indeclinable Hebrew name Ἀβραάμ carrying genuine syntactic case (accusative as object-complement and dative of advantage, v.9), while the Greek-declining Ἰωάννης and Ἰορδάνης take their case-endings throughout.

Matthew 4 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ Δ′

Theme. The newly-baptized Son is tested in the wilderness and prevails by Scripture (πειρασθῆναι, "to be tested," v.1), then inaugurates his Galilean ministry — fulfilling Isaiah's promise of light, calling the first disciples, and proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near" (v.17).

Outline.

• A · 4:1–11 — The temptation in the wilderness. Led up by the Spirit to be tested (1–2), Jesus answers the devil's three temptations — stones to bread, the temple pinnacle, the kingdoms of the world — each time with γέγραπται ("it is written") from Deuteronomy (3–10: Deut 8:3; 6:16; 6:13, with the devil's own misuse of Ps 91:11–12); the devil departs and angels minister to him (11).
• B · 4:12–17 — Withdrawal to Galilee; the dawning light. Hearing of John's arrest, Jesus withdraws to Galilee and settles in Capernaum in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali (12–13), fulfilling Isaiah 8:23–9:1 — light dawning on "Galilee of the nations," the people in darkness seeing a great light (14–16). "From that time" he begins to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near" (17).
• C · 4:18–22 — The call of the first disciples. By the Sea of Galilee Jesus summons two pairs of fishermen — Simon Peter and Andrew (18–20), then James and John with their father Zebedee (21–22); at once they leave nets, boat, and father to follow him.
• D · 4:23–25 — Galilean ministry and the gathering crowds. A programmatic summary of Jesus' threefold work — teaching, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, healing every disease (23) — whose report spreads through Syria (24) and draws great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan (25), setting the stage for the Sermon on the Mount.

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 4, uniform across NA28, SBLGNT, and THGNT; NA28's copyrighted apparatus is not reproduced, and verse punctuation is editorial. A few variants: at v.10 the Majority/Byzantine text (and TR) adds ὀπίσω μου after ὕπαγε, where the critical text reads simply ὕπαγε, Σατανᾶ; at v.23 the text reads περιῆγεν ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ Γαλιλαίᾳ (NA28/SBLGNT), with some witnesses reading ὅλην τὴν Γαλιλαίαν. The OT citations reflect the LXX with the Evangelist's adaptations: Deut 8:3 (v.4), Ps 91:11–12 abbreviated by the tempter (v.6), Deut 6:16 (v.7), Deut 6:13 (v.10), and Isa 8:23–9:1 (vv.15–16). Observations: γέγραπται (perfect, "it stands written") recurs three times as Jesus' weapon and is once parroted by the devil; ἤγγικεν (v.17) is a consummative perfect — a nearness now reached and abiding; Matthew's structural markers Τότε and Ἀπὸ τότε frame the scenes, the latter (v.17) marking a major hinge in the Gospel. The indeclinable place- and tribal-names Ναζαρά, Καφαρναούμ, Ζαβουλών, and Νεφθαλίμ are tagged as nominals carrying a syntactic case rather than as bare indeclinables.

Matthew 5 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ Ε′

Theme. The opening of the Sermon on the Mount: from the mountain a new Moses pronounces the Beatitudes of the kingdom and names his disciples the salt and light of the world, then declares that he has come not to abolish but to fulfill the Law — demanding a righteousness that, in six antitheses reaching from the heart to the love of enemies, exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees and mirrors the perfection of the heavenly Father.

Outline.

• A · 5:1–2 — The setting: the mountain and the seated teacher. Seeing the crowds, Jesus ascends the mountain (an echo of Sinai) and, seated in the rabbi's posture of authority, 'opens his mouth' (a solemn Semitism) and begins to teach the disciples who draw near; the imperfect ἐδίδασκεν sets the durative instruction in motion.
• B · 5:3–12 — The Beatitudes. Eight pronouncements of divine favor (μακάριος), fronted for emphasis and framed by an inclusio of present possession — 'theirs is the kingdom of heaven' (vv.3, 10). The first, 'poor in spirit,' blesses those conscious of spiritual destitution before God; the intervening grounds are eschatological future passives (παρακληθήσονται, χορτασθήσονται, ἐλεηθήσονται — divine passives of God's coming comfort, satisfaction, and mercy). A ninth Beatitude shifts to direct address, blessing the disciples reviled and persecuted 'on my account' (ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ — a striking christological cause), with two present imperatives of joy (χαίρετε, ἀγαλλιᾶσθε) and the solidarity of the persecuted prophets.
• C · 5:13–16 — Salt and light. Emphatic Ὑμεῖς twice identifies the disciples' indispensable role — the salt of the earth (useless if it loses savor) and the light of the world (a hilltop city and a lamp on its stand cannot and must not be hidden) — so that their visible good works lead others to glorify the Father in heaven.
• D · 5:17–20 — Christ and the Law: to fulfill, not abolish. A prohibitive subjunctive forestalls misunderstanding: Jesus came not to abolish (καταλῦσαι) but to fulfill (πληρῶσαι) the Law and the Prophets; an ἀμήν saying with emphatic οὐ μή affirms the Law's permanence to its smallest iota and stroke until all is accomplished; rank in the kingdom follows the doing and teaching of the commandments; and the programmatic thesis demands a righteousness exceeding the scribes' and Pharisees'.
• E · 5:21–48 — The six antitheses: 'You have heard… but I say.' Six times the formula 'You have heard that it was said' (ἐρρέθη, a divine passive) is met by the sovereign ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν: on murder radicalized to anger and contempt (21–26), adultery to the lustful look (27–30), divorce restricted (31–32), oaths abolished in favor of plain speech (33–37), retaliation replaced by non-resistance (38–42), and neighbor-love widened to enemy-love and intercession (43–47). The present imperatives carry durative, habitual force (ἀγαπᾶτε, προσεύχεσθε), and the section closes with the imperatival future ἔσεσθε: 'You shall be perfect (τέλειος), as your heavenly Father is perfect' (48).

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 5, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. A few substantive variants are flagged in the discourse and lexical notes rather than reproduced as an apparatus: at v.22 the qualifier εἰκῇ ('without cause') after ὁ ὀργιζόμενος is read by the majority and many later witnesses but absent from the earliest text (e.g. ℵ* B), and is omitted here as a softening gloss; at v.44 the longer reading expands the command to 'bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you' (a harmonization to Luke 6:27–28), the shorter 'love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you' being printed; at v.47 some witnesses read φίλους ('friends') for ἀδελφούς ('brothers'). The Aramaic insult ῥακά (v.22) and the proper names (Ἱεροσόλυμα, v.35) are transliterated; indeclinable place-names bearing a syntactic case are tagged as nominals. Orthographic variants (movable-ν, ι-subscript, spelling of γέεννα) are not noted. Beyond the apparatus, several renderings rest on choices made in the lexical tier: the eschatological future passives of the Beatitudes are taken as divine passives; the present imperatives of vv.12, 39–44 carry durative/iterative force; πληρόω (v.17) is rendered 'fulfill, bring to its intended fullness' rather than merely 'keep'; and τέλειος (v.48) is 'whole, complete, all-embracing' (undivided wholeness toward God) rather than abstract flawlessness.

Matthew 6 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ Ϛ′

Theme. The middle of the Sermon on the Mount: true righteousness is practiced not before men but before the Father who sees in secret — almsgiving, prayer (with the Lord's Prayer), and fasting done unseen (1–18); then a single, undivided heart that lays up treasure in heaven and serves God rather than mammon (19–24), freed from anxiety to seek first the kingdom (25–34).

Outline.

• A · 6:1–4 — Almsgiving in secret. The governing thesis — do not practice your righteousness before men to be seen (1) — is applied first to almsgiving: not with the 'trumpeting' self-display of the hypocrites, who have their reward in full (2), but so secretly that the left hand is unaware of the right (3), so that the Father who sees in secret repays (4).
• B · 6:5–15 — Prayer in secret, and the Lord's Prayer. Prayer likewise is not the public theater of the hypocrites (5) but the closet behind a shut door before the unseen Father (6), and not the pagans' babbling, since the Father knows the need beforehand (7–8). The model prayer follows: the address and three 'your' petitions — Name hallowed, kingdom come, will done (9–10) — then the 'us' petitions — daily bread, debts forgiven, preservation from testing and rescue from the evil one (11–13) — clinched by the forgiveness-reciprocity logion (14–15).
• C · 6:16–18 — Fasting in secret. The third act of piety on the same pattern: not the disfigured face of the hypocrites who advertise their fasting and so have their reward (16), but the anointed head and washed face (17), fasting unseen by men before the Father who sees in secret and repays (18).
• D · 6:19–24 — Treasure, the eye, and two masters. From piety to possessions: store treasure in heaven, not on perishable, theft-prone earth, for the heart follows the treasure (19–21); the eye is the body's lamp — a sound/generous eye fills the self with light, an evil/stingy eye with darkness (22–23); and no one can serve two masters — God and mammon are rivals, and one must be hated for the other loved (24).
• E · 6:25–34 — Do not be anxious — seek first the kingdom. Therefore do not be anxious for life or body (25): the birds are fed by the Father (26), worry adds not a cubit (27), the lilies outshine Solomon though grass for the oven (28–30); such striving is pagan and needless, for the Father knows the need (31–32). Seek first the kingdom and his righteousness, and these are added (33); do not be anxious for tomorrow, whose own trouble is enough (34).

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 6, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. Several points are flagged rather than silently resolved. At v.1 the critical text reads δικαιοσύνην ('righteousness,' the comprehensive heading) where the Byzantine tradition reads ἐλεημοσύνην ('almsgiving'), assimilating to v.2. In vv.4, 6, and 18 the later (Byzantine) text adds ἐν τῷ φανερῷ ('openly') to ἀποδώσει σοι; the critical text omits it, leaving the intended antithesis between giving/praying/fasting ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ (in secret) and the Father who simply ἀποδώσει σοι (repays you). At v.13 the doxology ὅτι σοῦ ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία καὶ ἡ δύναμις καὶ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας, ἀμήν ('for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, Amen') is absent from the earliest and best witnesses (א B D Z) and is judged a later liturgical accretion; the critical text omits it, and it is not printed here. At v.18 Matthew varies κρυπτῷ to its synonym κρυφαίῳ. Note further the structural εἰς τὸ κρυπτόν / ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ refrain binding the three acts of piety (vv.4, 6, 18), the threefold ἀπέχουσιν τὸν μισθόν 'paid-in-full' verdict on the hypocrites (vv.2, 5, 16), and the inclusio of δικαιοσύνη (vv.1, 33) that frames the chapter; the keyword μεριμνάω ('be anxious') runs sixfold through vv.25–34.

Matthew 7 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ Ζ′

Theme. The close of the Sermon on the Mount: a sequence of demands and warnings — do not judge, but ask of the generous Father; do to others as you would be done by; enter the narrow gate; test the prophets by their fruit; obey, do not merely confess — sealed by the parable of the two builders and the crowds' astonishment that Jesus taught with authority, not as the scribes.

Outline.

• A · 7:1–6 — Do not judge: the speck and the log. A present-imperative prohibition with a lex talionis warrant — the measure you use is measured back to you (1–2) — pressed home by the grotesque image of the log-eyed speck-remover (3–4) and the hypocrite's cure: first cast out your own log, then you will see to help your brother (5); capped by a guarding proverb against giving what is holy to dogs or pearls to swine (6).
• B · 7:7–11 — Ask, seek, knock: the Father's good gifts. A threefold present-imperative promise, each answer a divine passive or future (7), universalized for everyone who asks (8), then grounded in an a fortiori from human fatherhood: if evil men give good gifts to their children (9–10), how much more the heavenly Father good things to those who ask (11).
• C · 7:12 — The Golden Rule: the Law and the Prophets. The inferential summit (οὖν): whatever you wish people to do to you, do likewise to them — "for this is the Law and the Prophets," the positive maxim gathering the Sermon's ethic into the intent of the whole of Scripture.
• D · 7:13–14 — The narrow gate and the two ways. Enter through the narrow gate (13a): wide is the gate and broad the road to destruction, thronged by many (13b); narrow the gate and constricted (τεθλιμμένη) the road to life, found by few (14).
• E · 7:15–20 — False prophets known by their fruits. Beware false prophets in sheep's clothing, inwardly ravening wolves (15): by their fruits you will recognize them (16a). Nature-proverbs — no grapes from thorns, every sound tree good fruit, the rotten tree only bad, neither able to do otherwise (16b–18) — issue in the verdict of the fire (19) and the closing refrain (20).
• F · 7:21–23 — Not everyone who says "Lord, Lord." Entry to the kingdom belongs not to confessors but to the doer of the Father's will (21); on that Day many will plead prophecy, exorcism, and miracles done "in your name" (22), only to hear the judge's verdict: "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness (ἀνομία)" (23).
• G · 7:24–27 — The two builders: rock and sand. The closing parable of hearing-and-doing: the doer is the wise man who built on rock and stood the storm (24–25); the hearer-only is the fool who built on sand, whose house fell — "and great was its fall" (26–27).
• H · 7:28–29 — The crowds' amazement at his authority. The Matthean discourse-formula (καὶ ἐγένετο ὅτε ἐτέλεσεν): when Jesus finished, the crowds were astounded at his teaching (28), for he was teaching them as one having authority (ἐξουσίαν ἔχων), and not as their scribes (29).

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 7, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. A few points of variation are passed over without a marginal note: at v.13 the qualifier ἡ πύλη ("the gate") before the broad way is read here, though omitted by a few witnesses (so that the way alone is described); at v.14 the editions divide over the opening τί ("how!" exclamatory) versus ὅτι ("because"), τί being printed; at v.24 the future ὁμοιωθήσεται ("he will be likened") is read against the present ὁμοιώσω αὐτόν ("I will liken him") of the Byzantine tradition and the synoptic parallel; at v.29 the addition αὐτῶν after οἱ γραμματεῖς ("their scribes") is read with the earliest text. Orthographic variants (movable-ν, ι-subscript, -σσ-/-ττ- in ἐλάσσων/προσέπεσαν) are not noted. The chapter has 29 verses; none is legitimately omitted by the critical text. Beyond the apparatus, note the chapter's verbal architecture: the παῶ-doublets of the lex talionis (κρίνω…κριθήσεσθε, μετρέω…μετρηθήσεται, vv.1–2); the threefold imperative-plus-future of vv.7–8; the τῷ σῷ ὀνόματι anaphora of v.22; and the carefully varied storm-verbs (προσέπεσαν v.25 / προσέκοψαν v.27) distinguishing the houses that stood and fell.

Matthew 8 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ Η′

Theme. Down from the mountain of the Sermon, the authoritative Teacher becomes the authoritative Healer and Lord: a chain of mighty works — cleansing a leper, healing a Gentile centurion's servant by a word, restoring Peter's mother-in-law, casting out spirits, stilling the storm, and freeing the Gadarene demoniacs — displays the Servant who 'took our infirmities' (Isa 53:4), summons disciples to a homeless, all-claiming following, and provokes the question 'What sort of man is this?'

Outline.

• A · 8:1–4 — Cleansing the leper. Descending from the Sermon's mountain amid great crowds (1), Jesus is met by a kneeling leper who concedes his power but questions his willingness (2); the touching hand and the echoing 'I am willing; be clean' cleanse him at once (3); he is sent in silence to the priest, to fulfill the Law of Leviticus 14 as a testimony (4).
• B · 8:5–13 — The centurion's faith and the banquet of the kingdom. A Gentile officer pleads for his paralyzed servant (5–6); offered a house-visit (7), he confesses unworthiness and trusts the bare word of command, reasoning from his own authority over soldiers (8–9); Jesus marvels at faith unmatched in Israel (10), foretells Gentiles reclining with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob while the 'sons of the kingdom' are cast into outer darkness (11–12), and heals the servant at a distance, in that very hour (13).
• C · 8:14–17 — Peter's mother-in-law and the evening healings. In Peter's house Jesus heals the feverish mother-in-law by a touch, and she rises to serve (14–15); at evening he casts out spirits with a word and heals all the sick (16) — that the word spoken through Isaiah might be fulfilled: 'He himself took our infirmities and bore our diseases' (17, Isa 53:4).
• D · 8:18–22 — The cost of following. Ordering a crossing of the lake (18), Jesus answers two would-be followers: an eager scribe is warned that the homeless Son of Man — the title's first occurrence in Matthew — has nowhere to lay his head (19–20); a disciple who would first bury his father is told to follow and 'leave the dead to bury their own dead' (21–22).
• E · 8:23–27 — Stilling the storm. The disciples follow Jesus into the boat (23); a great storm swamps it while he sleeps (24); they wake him crying 'Lord, save us, we are perishing' (25); he rebukes their little faith and then the winds and the sea, and a great calm follows (26) — leaving them to ask what sort of man wind and sea obey (27).
• F · 8:28–34 — The Gadarene demoniacs and the swine. Across the lake two fierce demoniacs from the tombs meet him (28); the demons confess him 'Son of God' and dread torment before the time (29); spotting a herd of swine (30) they beg to be sent into it (31); a single word, 'Go,' drives them out, and the whole herd plunges to its death in the sea (32); the herdsmen report it (33), and the whole city, valuing its swine above the salvation displayed, begs Jesus to leave their region (34).

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 8, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. A few points of variation are passed over without a marginal note: at v.5 and v.8 the spelling alternates between ἑκατόνταρχος and ἑκατοντάρχης; at v.7 Jesus' reply ἐγὼ ἐλθὼν θεραπεύσω αὐτόν may be read as a statement ('I will come and heal him,' printed) or as a question ('Am I to come and heal him?'); at v.18 the editions divide over ὄχλον ('a crowd,' read here) versus ὄχλους / πολὺν ὄχλον; at v.25 some witnesses add ἡμᾶς after σῶσον and prefix οἱ μαθηταί, the shorter text being printed; at v.28 the place-name varies among Γαδαρηνῶν (read here), Γερασηνῶν, and Γεργεσηνῶν — the chapter's principal textual crux; at v.29 some witnesses add Ἰησοῦ after σοί. Orthographic variants (movable-ν, ι-subscript, itacisms) are not noted. None of the 34 verses is legitimately omitted by the critical text. Two Old Testament strands shape the chapter: the formula-citation of Isaiah 53:4 at v.17, rendered closer to the Hebrew than the LXX and locating the healings within the Servant's vicarious mission; and the stilling of the storm (vv.23–27), which echoes YHWH's mastery of wind and wave (Ps 107:23–30; Jonah 1). The Matthean fulfillment-formula (ὅπως πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν διά …), the doubling of figures (two demoniacs, v.28), and the reverential 'kingdom of heaven' (v.11) are all on display.

Matthew 9 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ Θ′

Theme. A gallery of mercy and mounting conflict: the Son of Man forgives and heals the paralytic, calls the tax-collector Matthew, eats with sinners as the physician of the sick, and works a cascade of restorations — a dead girl raised, a hemorrhage stanched, blind eyes opened, a mute demoniac freed — answering Pharisaic suspicion with Hosea's word, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice," and ending in compassion for the shepherdless crowds and a call to pray for harvest laborers.

Outline.

• A · 9:1–8 — The paralytic forgiven and healed. Crossing to his own town (1), Jesus sees the bearers' faith and tells the paralytic his sins are forgiven (2); when scribes silently charge blasphemy (3), he reads their hearts (4) and poses the "which is easier" challenge (5), healing the man to prove the Son of Man's authority on earth to forgive (6); the man goes home and the awestruck crowds glorify God who gave such authority to men (7–8).
• B · 9:9–13 — The call of Matthew; eating with sinners. Jesus calls Matthew from the tax-booth with a single "Follow me" (9); reclining with tax-collectors and sinners (10), he meets the Pharisees' objection (11) with the physician proverb (12) and the Hosea 6:6 oracle — "I desire mercy, not sacrifice" — declaring his mission to call sinners, not the righteous (13).
• C · 9:14–17 — The question about fasting; new wine, new skins. John's disciples ask why Jesus' disciples do not fast (14); he answers that wedding guests cannot mourn while the bridegroom is present, though he will be taken away (15), then twin parables — unshrunk cloth on an old garment (16) and new wine in old skins (17) — showing the new cannot be confined to the old, yet rightly housed "both are preserved."
• D · 9:18–26 — The ruler's daughter raised; the hemorrhaging woman. A ruler begs Jesus to raise his just-dead daughter (18) and Jesus follows (19); en route a woman with a twelve-year hemorrhage touches his fringe, believing (20–21), and is told her faith has healed her (22); reaching the house, he dismisses the mourners' scorn — she only sleeps (23–24) — raises her by the hand (25), and the report spreads through all that region (26).
• E · 9:27–34 — Two blind men; a mute demoniac. Two blind men hail the Son of David for mercy (27); indoors Jesus tests their faith, touches their eyes, and they see (28–30a), but they disregard his charge to silence (30b–31); then a mute demoniac is freed to speak, the crowds marveling (32–33) while the Pharisees credit the prince of demons (34).
• F · 9:35–38 — The harvest is plentiful, the laborers few. A summary of Jesus' teaching, preaching, and healing in every town (35); moved with compassion for the harassed, shepherdless crowds (36), he tells the disciples the harvest is great but the workers few (37) and bids them pray the Lord of the harvest to thrust out laborers (38).

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 9, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. A few points of variation are passed over without a marginal note: at v.4 the editions divide over ἰδών ('having seen,' read here) versus εἰδώς ('knowing'); at v.8 the better-attested ἐφοβήθησαν ('they were afraid,' read) is given as ἐθαύμασαν ('they marveled') in the Byzantine tradition; at v.13 the spelling πορευθέντες and the citation of Hosea 6:6 (ἔλεος θέλω καὶ οὐ θυσίαν) follow the LXX; at v.14 some witnesses add the participle πολλά before νηστεύομεν; at v.17 the editions divide over ἀπόλλυνται/ἀπολοῦνται and ἀμφότεροι ('both,' read); at v.18 the variants ἄρχων εἷς / ἄρχων τις and προσελθών / εἰσελθών are not annotated; at v.34 the whole verse is omitted by a few Western witnesses but is firmly read here; at v.35 the phrase ἐν τῷ λαῷ is read by some witnesses after μαλακίαν. Orthographic variants (movable-ν, ι-subscript, Μαθθαῖος/Ματθαῖος) are not noted. The chapter has 38 verses; none is legitimately omitted by the critical text. Note further the chapter's structuring threads: the σῴζω ('save/heal') word-group binds the inserted healing to its frame (vv.21–22); the title ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (v.6) and υἱὸς Δαυίδ (v.27) set the Son-of-Man authority beside Davidic-messianic appeal; the secrecy command (v.30) recalls the open fame of vv.26, 31; and the summary at v.35 forms an inclusio with 4:23 (teaching, preaching, healing), turning the whole healing cycle toward the harvest-call and the sending of the Twelve in ch. 10.

Matthew 10 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ Ι′

Theme. The second of Matthew's five great discourses: Jesus names and sends the Twelve to the lost sheep of Israel with his own kingdom-authority, then looks beyond the immediate mission to the long road of persecution — sheep among wolves, hated for his name — pressing the disciple to fearless confession, supreme allegiance above family and life itself, and the cross-bearing path of losing one's life to find it, with a closing promise that even a cup of cold water given to a "little one" is divinely rewarded.

Outline.

• A · 10:1–4 — The naming and sending of the Twelve. Jesus summons his twelve disciples and delegates his own authority over unclean spirits and every disease (1); the roster is then recited in pairs — Peter and Andrew, the sons of Zebedee, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector, James of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananaean — and ends under the shadow of Judas Iscariot, "who also betrayed him" (2–4).
• B · 10:5–15 — The mission charge: to the lost sheep of Israel. The Twelve are sent not to Gentiles or Samaritans but to Israel's lost sheep (5–6), to proclaim the kingdom's nearness and heal freely — "freely you received, freely give" (7–8). They take no money, bag, spare clothes, sandals, or staff, for the worker deserves his keep (9–10); they lodge with a worthy host, greet the house with peace that rests or returns (11–13), and shake the dust off where they are refused — a town facing a doom worse than Sodom's at the judgment (14–15).
• C · 10:16–23 — Coming persecutions: sheep among wolves. Sent as sheep among wolves, they must be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves (16); they will face councils, synagogue floggings, governors, and kings, the trials becoming a testimony (17–18), but the Father's Spirit will supply their words (19–20). Families will betray and all will hate them, yet the one who endures to the end is saved (21–22); they will not finish Israel's towns before the Son of Man comes (23).
• D · 10:24–33 — The disciple and the master; fear God, not men. A disciple is not above his teacher; if the householder is slandered as Beelzebul, so will his household be (24–25). Three "fear not" sayings follow: all that is hidden will be revealed, so proclaim openly (26–27); fear not those who kill only the body but the One who can destroy soul and body in Gehenna (28); the Father who marks each sparrow and numbers every hair holds you of far greater worth (29–31) — therefore confess Jesus before men and be confessed before the Father, or deny and be denied (32–33).
• E · 10:34–39 — Not peace but a sword: the cost of discipleship. Jesus came to bring not peace but a sword (34), dividing son from father and household from itself after Micah 7:6 (35–36); loving father, mother, son, or daughter above him makes one unworthy of him, as does refusing to take up one's cross and follow (37–38) — for whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses it for his sake will find it (39).
• F · 10:40–42 — Rewards for receiving the messengers. To receive the disciples is to receive Jesus, and through him the Father who sent him (40); receiving a prophet or righteous man "in his name" shares his reward (41); and even a cup of cold water given to a "little one" because he is a disciple will by no means lose its reward (42).

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 10, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. A few points of variation are passed over without a marginal note: at v.2 the spelling of the apostles' names is conventional (Μαθθαῖος here, the doubled-θ orthography favored by THGNT, against the Ματθαῖος of other traditions); at v.3 the Western/Byzantine tradition adds Λεββαῖος (or "Lebbaeus surnamed Thaddaeus") where the best text reads simply Θαδδαῖος; at v.4 the editions vary between Καναναῖος ("the Cananaean," an Aramaism for "zealot," read here) and Κανανίτης, and the traitor's epithet appears as Ἰσκαριώτης / Ἰσκαριώθ; at v.8 the clause νεκροὺς ἐγείρετε ("raise the dead") is present in the earliest text though omitted by part of the Byzantine tradition, and is printed here; at v.10 the editions divide over ῥάβδον ("a staff," singular accusative, read here) versus ῥάβδους; at v.23 a long additional clause ("and if they persecute you in the other, flee to another") is read by some witnesses but is not part of the critical text; at v.25 the demon-prince's name is spelled Βεελζεβούλ (so the best Greek witnesses, against the Latin Beelzebub). Orthographic variants (movable-ν, ι-subscript, the alternation ἐάν/ἄν) are not noted. Note further the chapter's verbal threads: the keyword παραδίδωμι ("hand over") runs from Judas (v.4) through the persecutors (v.17), the family betrayers (v.21), and the trial-hour (v.19); δέχομαι binds the worthy host (vv.14, 40–41) to the reward-sayings; the "fear not" (μὴ φοβεῖσθε / φοβηθῆτε) refrain structures vv.26–31; and the ἄξιος ("worthy") word-group ties the worthy house (vv.11–13) to the worthy disciple (vv.37–38).

Matthew 11 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ ΙΑ′

Theme. With the mission discourse finished, the chapter turns to the question of who Jesus is and how 'this generation' answers him: John's prison-question is met by the works of Isaiah's age (vv.1–6); Jesus exalts John as the Elijah-forerunner yet subordinates him to the inbreaking kingdom (vv.7–15); the fickle generation rejects both the ascetic and the festive (vv.16–19); the unrepentant towns are warned (vv.20–24); and the Son, sole revealer of the Father, invites the weary to a gentle yoke and rest (vv.25–30).

Outline.

• A · 11:1–6 — John's question from prison and Jesus' answer. After the closing formula 'when Jesus had finished instructing the Twelve' (1), the imprisoned John sends disciples to ask whether Jesus is 'the Coming One' (2–3). Jesus answers not by self-claim but by the works — a tapestry of Isaiah 35:5–6 and 61:1: blind see, lame walk, lepers cleansed, deaf hear, dead raised, poor evangelized (4–5) — and pronounces blessed whoever is not scandalized by him (6).
• B · 11:7–15 — Jesus' testimony to John. To the crowds Jesus vindicates John in a threefold question: no wind-blown reed, no palace courtier, but a prophet — indeed more than a prophet (7–9), the messenger of Malachi 3:1 preparing the Lord's way (10). Greatest among those born of women, yet the least in the kingdom is greater (11); from John's days the kingdom 'suffers violence / forcefully advances' and the violent seize it (12); Law and Prophets prophesied until John, who — if they will receive it — is the Elijah to come (13–14); let the one with ears hear (15).
• C · 11:16–19 — This generation like children in the marketplace. The contemporaries are likened to petulant children who will neither dance to the flute nor mourn to the dirge (16–17): they branded the fasting John demon-possessed and the feasting Son of Man a glutton, drunkard, and friend of tax collectors and sinners (18–19a) — yet Wisdom is justified by her deeds (19b).
• D · 11:20–24 — Woes on the unrepentant cities. Jesus reproaches the Galilean towns whose privilege bore no repentance (20): woe to Chorazin and Bethsaida, for pagan Tyre and Sidon would have repented in sackcloth and ashes, and will fare better at the judgment (21–22); and Capernaum, in the language of Isaiah 14, is not exalted to heaven but cast down to Hades — even Sodom would have remained, and will fare better than she (23–24).
• E · 11:25–30 — The Father and the Son, and the gentle yoke. Jesus exults that the Father has hidden these things from the wise and revealed them to infants, by his sovereign good pleasure (25–26); all has been handed over to the Son, and the exclusive, mutual knowing of Father and Son grounds the Son's free revealing (27); then the great invitation — come to me, all who labor and are burdened, take my yoke and learn from the gentle and lowly one, for my yoke is easy and my burden light (28–30).

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 11, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. A few points of variation are passed over without a marginal note: at v.2 the editions read διὰ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ ('by his disciples,' printed) against the Byzantine δύο τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ ('two of his disciples'); at v.9 the word order ἰδεῖν; προφήτην versus προφήτην ἰδεῖν divides the editions, and the question may be punctuated 'to see a prophet?' or 'Why did you go out? To see a prophet?'; at v.19 the editions divide between ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων αὐτῆς ('by her deeds,' printed, with the Alexandrian witnesses) and ἀπὸ τῶν τέκνων αὐτῆς ('by her children,' the harmonization to Luke 7:35); at v.23 the editions read the interrogative/future μὴ ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθήσῃ ('will you be exalted to heaven?') against the Byzantine ἡ ἕως τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθεῖσα ('you who were exalted to heaven'), and καταβήσῃ ('you will go down,' printed) against καταβιβασθήσῃ ('you will be brought down'). Orthographic variants (movable-ν, ι-subscript, the spellings Χοραζίν/Χοραζείν, Βηθσαϊδά/Βηθσαϊδάν, Καφαρναούμ/Καπερναούμ) are not noted. Observe the chapter's deliberate verbal threads: the ἔρχομαι/ἐρχόμενος motif of the 'Coming One' (vv.3, 14, 18, 19); the repeated δυνάμεις ('mighty works') binding the woes (vv.20, 21, 23) back to the ἔργα that prompted John's question (v.2); the μετανοέω that the towns withheld (vv.20, 21); and the ζυγός / φορτίον pair (vv.29–30) answering the κοπιῶντες καὶ πεφορτισμένοι of v.28, with ἀνάπαυσις / ἀναπαύω framing the invitation.

Matthew 12 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ ΙΒ′

Theme. Mounting conflict crystallizes around the meek but sovereign Servant of the Lord: against Pharisaic charges over the Sabbath and an exorcism, Jesus claims lordship of the Sabbath, embodies Isaiah's gentle, Spirit-anointed Servant who brings justice to the nations, declares the kingdom's arrival in his work, warns of the unforgivable blasphemy against the Spirit, weighs every word at the judgment, gives only the sign of Jonah, and redefines his true family as those who do the Father's will.

Outline.

• A · 12:1–8 — Plucking grain on the Sabbath. The hungry disciples pluck heads of grain on the Sabbath (1) and the Pharisees object that this is forbidden labor (2). Jesus answers with two scriptural precedents — David eating the showbread reserved for priests (3–4) and the priests' own Sabbath temple-work that 'profanes' the day yet is blameless (5) — claims that one greater than the temple is here (6), cites Hosea 6:6 ('I desire mercy, not sacrifice') to indict their condemning of the guiltless (7), and concludes that the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath (8).
• B · 12:9–14 — The man with the withered hand. In the synagogue the man with a withered hand baits the test-question, 'Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?' — asked only to accuse (9–10). Jesus replies with the a fortiori of the sheep in the pit and the surpassing worth of a person (11–12), heals the hand with a word (13), and the Pharisees go out to plot his death (14).
• C · 12:15–21 — The chosen Servant (Isaiah 42). Aware of the plot, Jesus withdraws, heals all, and orders silence (15–16), which Matthew reads as fulfilling Isaiah 42:1–4 (17): the chosen, beloved, Spirit-endowed Servant (18) who will not quarrel or cry out (19), will not break the bruised reed or quench the smoldering wick until justice triumphs (20), and in whose name the nations will hope (21).
• D · 12:22–30 — The Beelzebul controversy and the divided kingdom. The healing of a blind-and-mute demoniac (22) prompts the crowds' tentative 'Is this the Son of David?' (23) and the Pharisees' charge of collusion with Beelzebul (24). Jesus exposes the absurdity of a self-divided kingdom (25–26), turns their own exorcists against the charge (27), infers that his Spirit-wrought exorcisms are the kingdom of God arrived (28), tells the parable of binding the strong man before plundering his house (29), and demands decision: whoever does not gather with him scatters (30).
• E · 12:31–32 — Blasphemy against the Spirit. Every sin and blasphemy is forgivable except blasphemy against the Spirit (31); a word against the veiled Son of Man may be forgiven, but rejecting the manifest Holy Spirit who attests him will not be forgiven, in this age or the coming one (32).
• F · 12:33–37 — The tree and its fruit; by your words. Tree and fruit must match, for a tree is known by its fruit (33); the 'brood of vipers' cannot speak good from an evil heart, since the mouth overflows from the heart (34–35). On the day of judgment people render account for every careless word (36), for by their words they are justified or condemned (37).
• G · 12:38–42 — The sign of Jonah. Scribes and Pharisees demand a sign (38); the evil and adulterous generation is given only the sign of Jonah (39): as Jonah was three days and nights in the fish, so the Son of Man in the heart of the earth (40). The repentant Ninevites (41) and the Queen of the South who sought Solomon's wisdom (42) will rise in judgment against a generation that spurns one greater than both.
• H · 12:43–45 — The return of the unclean spirit. The expelled spirit wanders waterless places seeking rest (43), returns to find the house swept, ordered, but empty (44), and brings seven worse spirits to dwell there, so the last state is worse than the first — so too this evil generation (45).
• I · 12:46–50 — Jesus' true family. While his mother and brothers stand outside seeking him (46–47), Jesus asks who his mother and brothers are (48), points to his disciples (49), and declares that whoever does the will of his Father in heaven is his brother, sister, and mother (50).

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 12, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. A few points are worth flagging. At v.4 the editions divide over the singular ἔφαγεν ('he ate,' read here) and the plural ἔφαγον ('they ate'), and over ὃ οὐκ ἐξὸν ἦν / οὓς οὐκ ἐξὸν ἦν. At v.15 πολλοί ('many') is read, though a few witnesses give ὄχλοι πολλοί ('great crowds'). At v.22 the printed text reads the fuller τυφλὸν καὶ κωφόν ('blind and mute'); some witnesses give only one term. At v.31 the article before βλασφημία varies. At v.35 some witnesses add τῆς καρδίας after θησαυροῦ. At v.44 the editions read ἐλθὸν εὑρίσκει ('coming, it finds'). At v.47 the whole verse (εἶπεν δέ τις αὐτῷ· Ἰδοὺ ἡ μήτηρ σου καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοί σου ἔξω ἑστήκασιν ζητοῦντές σοι λαλῆσαι) is absent from several early and weighty witnesses (ℵ*, B, L, Γ) and is therefore bracketed or marginalized in some editions; it is printed here as part of the running narrative, since the question of v.48 ('the one who told him') presupposes a report, and the omission is plausibly explained by homoeoteleuton (λαλῆσαι … λαλῆσαι). Orthographic variants (movable-ν, ι-subscript, -σσ-/-ττ-, the spelling Μαθθαῖον/Ματθαῖον) are not noted. The chapter is woven with Old Testament citation and allusion: 1 Sam 21:1–6 and Num 28:9–10 behind vv.3–5; Hos 6:6 at v.7; the long Servant Song of Isaiah 42:1–4 quoted at vv.18–21 (Matthew's longest formula citation, following neither the MT nor the LXX exactly); and Jonah (Jonah 2) and the Queen of Sheba (1 Kgs 10) at vv.40–42.

Matthew 13 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ ΙΓ′

Theme. The parable-discourse of the kingdom: in seven kingdom-parables Jesus unveils the hidden, mixed, and growing reign of heaven — sown like seed into varied soils and a contested field, small as a mustard grain yet destined for greatness, worth selling everything to gain, and ending in a harvest-separation of righteous and wicked — while teaching the crowds only in riddles, so that the mysteries given to the disciples are withheld from the hardened, in fulfillment of Isaiah and the Psalter.

Outline.

• A · 13:1–23 — The parable of the sower and its explanation. From a boat Jesus tells the four-soils parable — seed lost on the path, the rock, and the thorns, but fruitful thirty-, sixty-, hundredfold in good soil (1–9). Asked why he speaks in parables, he answers that the kingdom's mysteries are given to the disciples but not to the crowds (10–12), whose looking-without-seeing fulfills Isa 6:9–10 — the dull heart, heavy ears, and shut eyes 'lest they turn and I heal them' (13–15) — over against the disciples' blessed eyes and ears, longed for by prophets (16–17); the four soils are then decoded as four hearings of the word, the fruitful one alone hearing and understanding (18–23).
• B · 13:24–30 — The weeds among the wheat. An enemy oversows darnel among the wheat while men sleep (24–26); the householder forbids the servants' premature weeding, lest the wheat be uprooted with it, and defers separation to the harvest — weeds bound and burned, wheat gathered into the barn (27–30).
• C · 13:31–33 — The mustard seed and the leaven. Twin parables of hidden, disproportionate growth: the smallest seed becomes a tree sheltering the birds (31–32), and leaven hidden in three measures of flour leavens the whole batch (33).
• D · 13:34–35 — Teaching in parables fulfills Scripture. A summary that Jesus said nothing to the crowds without a parable, fulfilling Ps 78:2 — 'I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.'
• E · 13:36–43 — The explanation of the weeds. Indoors, Jesus allegorizes: sower = the Son of Man, field = the world, good seed = the sons of the kingdom, weeds = the sons of the evil one, enemy = the devil, harvest = the end of the age, reapers = angels (37–39); at the consummation the angels gather every snare and lawbreaker into the furnace of fire — weeping and gnashing of teeth — while the righteous shine like the sun (40–43).
• F · 13:44–50 — The hidden treasure, the pearl, and the net. Two parables of all-surrendering joy — the buried treasure a man sells everything to secure (44), and the one priceless pearl the merchant buys at the cost of all he has (45–46) — and the dragnet, whose shore-sorting of good and worthless fish recapitulates the weeds' end-of-age separation, furnace and all (47–50).
• G · 13:51–52 — The scribe trained for the kingdom. The disciples affirm they have understood, and Jesus names the discourse's fruit: every scribe discipled to the kingdom is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.
• H · 13:53–58 — The rejection at Nazareth. The discourse-formula closes the chapter; in his hometown synagogue his wisdom and mighty works astonish, but familiarity ('the carpenter's son') breeds offense — 'a prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and his own household' — and their unbelief restrains his works.

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 13, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. A few points of variation are passed over without a marginal note: at v.4 the editions divide over the singular collective ἃ μέν ('some [seed]') and plural variants, and at vv.4, 7, 8 over ἔπεσεν vs. ἔπεσαν; at v.9 and v.43 some witnesses expand the hearing-formula to ὦτα ἀκούειν ('ears to hear'), the shorter ὦτα being printed; at v.14 the citation formula ἀναπληροῦται αὐτοῖς ἡ προφητεία Ἠσαΐου follows the LXX of Isa 6:9–10; at v.35 the prophet is left unnamed in the best text (some witnesses inserting Ἠσαΐου, an early error, since the citation is from Ps 78:2 [Asaph]), and the editions divide over ἀπὸ καταβολῆς vs. ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου (the longer read here); at v.51 the Byzantine text prefixes λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς and appends Κύριε to Ναί, both absent from the critical text; at v.55 the editions vary among Ἰωσήφ / Ἰωσῆς / Ἰωάννης for the second brother (Ἰωσήφ printed). Orthographic variants (movable-ν, ι-subscript, Μαριάμ/Μαρία) are not noted. The chapter has 58 verses; none is legitimately omitted by the critical text. Note its verbal architecture: συνίημι ('understand') threads the whole (vv.13–15, 19, 23, 51); the σπείρω/σπέρμα sowing-vocabulary binds the sower, the weeds, and their explanations; the kingdom-formula ὁμοία ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν introduces five parables (vv.31, 33, 44, 45, 47, with the passive ὡμοιώθη at v.24); the twin Scripture-fulfillments (Isa 6:9–10 at vv.14–15; Ps 78:2 at v.35) frame the purpose of parabolic speech; and the refrain ἐκεῖ ἔσται ὁ κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων recurs verbatim at vv.42 and 50.

Matthew 14 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ ΙΔ′

Theme. Between the murder of the forerunner and the worship of the disciples, Matthew sets Jesus' twofold self-disclosure: the shepherd-king who feeds the wilderness multitude with a Mosaic abundance, and the Lord who treads the storm-sea with the divine 'ἐγώ εἰμι' — drawing from those in the boat the church's confession, 'Truly you are the Son of God.'

Outline.

• A · 14:1–12 — Herod's fear and the death of John the Baptist. Herod the tetrarch, hearing the report of Jesus, guiltily supposes John raised from the dead (1–2). A flashback explains the conscience: Herod had arrested, bound, and jailed John over Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, whom John kept telling him it was not lawful to have, wanting to kill him but fearing the crowd who held John a prophet (3–5). At Herod's birthday the daughter of Herodias dances, pleases him, and is promised on oath whatever she asks (6–7); prompted by her mother she demands John's head on a platter (8); the grieved king, bound by his oaths and his guests, orders the beheading and the head is brought, given to the girl, and carried to her mother (9–11); John's disciples bury him and tell Jesus (12).
• B · 14:13–21 — The feeding of the five thousand. Hearing the news, Jesus withdraws by boat to a desolate place, but the crowds follow on foot, and his compassion overrides his solitude as he heals the sick (13–14). At evening the disciples urge dismissing the crowd to buy food; Jesus answers, 'you give them something to eat,' and takes the five loaves and two fish (15–18). Reclining the crowd on the grass, he looks to heaven, blesses, breaks, and gives through the disciples (19); all eat and are filled, twelve baskets of fragments remain, and the eaters number five thousand men besides women and children (20–21).
• C · 14:22–33 — Walking on the water and Peter's attempt. Jesus compels the disciples ahead by boat and dismisses the crowd, then goes up the mountain alone to pray (22–23). The wind-battered boat is in the midst of the sea when, in the fourth watch, he comes walking on the water; the disciples cry out, taking him for a ghost (24–26). 'Take heart, it is I (ἐγώ εἰμι); do not be afraid' (27). Peter asks to come, walks at the word 'Come,' but seeing the wind sinks crying 'Lord, save me'; Jesus catches him — 'O you of little faith, why did you doubt?' (28–31). As they board, the wind ceases, and those in the boat worship: 'Truly you are the Son of God' (32–33).
• D · 14:34–36 — Healings at Gennesaret. Crossing over, they land at Gennesaret; the men of the place recognize Jesus and send word through all the region, bringing all the sick (34–35), who beg only to touch the fringe of his garment — and as many as touch are made completely well (36).

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 14, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. A few points of variation are passed over without a marginal note: at v.3 some witnesses read 'his brother Philip's wife' with or without the name Φιλίππου (read here, though omitted by a few witnesses); at v.9 the editions divide over ἐλυπήθη ὁ βασιλεύς, διὰ δέ ('the king was grieved, but because of…') versus the participle λυπηθεὶς ὁ βασιλεύς ('the king, though grieved'); at v.12 some witnesses read τὸ σῶμα ('the body') and others τὸ πτῶμα ('the corpse,' printed here); at v.22 some witnesses omit ὁ Ἰησοῦς after εὐθέως ἠνάγκασεν; at v.24 the editions divide over σταδίους πολλοὺς ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ἀπεῖχεν (a later expansion) versus the better-attested μέσον τῆς θαλάσσης ἦν ('was in the middle of the sea,' read here); at v.27 some witnesses prefix ὁ Ἰησοῦς to ἐλάλησεν; at v.30 the adjective ἰσχυρόν after ἄνεμον is read by the majority though omitted by a few important witnesses. Orthographic variants (movable-ν, ι-subscript, Γεννησαρέτ / Γεννησαρ) are not noted. The chapter has 36 verses; none is legitimately omitted by the critical text. Observe the chapter's deliberate echoes: the wilderness banquet on the green grass replays the manna and gestures toward the Eucharist (took–blessed–broke–gave, v.19; cf. 26:26); the walking-on-water with its ἐγώ εἰμι and the stilled wind recasts the divine treading of the waves (Job 9:8; Ps 77:19) and recalls the earlier storm-stilling (8:23–27); and the κράσπεδον ('fringe,' v.36) ties back to the hemorrhaging woman (9:20). Note too the proper names that decline and so take a syntactic case — Ἡρῴδης (vv.1, 3, 6), Ἰωάννης (vv.2, 3, 4, 8, 10), Ἡρῳδιάς (vv.3, 6), Φίλιππος (v.3) — over against the indeclinable place-name Γεννησαρέτ (v.34).

Matthew 15 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ ΙΕ′

Theme. True purity is of the heart, not the hands: Jesus exposes how the tradition of the elders voids God's commandment and relocates defilement from food to the words and deeds that issue from within — then enacts the breadth of God's mercy, commending a Canaanite woman's great faith and feeding four thousand in the wilderness, so that even Gentiles eat the children's overflowing bread.

Outline.

• A · 15:1–9 — Tradition versus the commandment of God. Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem charge the disciples with transgressing the tradition of the elders by eating with unwashed hands (1–2); Jesus counters that their tradition itself nullifies God's command, citing the korban evasion of the fifth commandment — "whatever help you might have had from me is a gift to God" — by which a son is released from honoring his parents (3–6), and seals the indictment with Isaiah 29:13 on lip-service and human precepts taught as doctrine (7–9).
• B · 15:10–20 — What truly defiles: out of the heart. Summoning the crowd, Jesus states the principle that defilement comes not from what enters the mouth but from what proceeds out (10–11); unconcerned at the Pharisees' offense, he calls them blind guides bound with their followers for the pit (12–14), and on Peter's request explains: food merely passes through the body, but evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, immoralities, thefts, false witness, and slanders issue from the heart — that is what defiles, not unwashed hands (15–20).
• C · 15:21–28 — The Canaanite woman's faith. Withdrawing to Tyre and Sidon, Jesus meets a Canaanite woman pleading "Son of David" for her demonized daughter (21–22); his silence, the disciples' impatience, and his words about being sent to the lost sheep of Israel and not throwing the children's bread to the dogs (23–26) draw out her humble, witty, persevering reply — even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the masters' table — which he praises as "great faith," healing the daughter that very hour (27–28).
• D · 15:29–31 — Healings on the mountain by the sea. Returning to the Sea of Galilee and ascending the mountain, Jesus heals the lame, blind, crippled, and mute brought by great crowds (29–30), so that the crowd marvels at the Isaianic reversals and glorifies the God of Israel (31).
• E · 15:32–39 — The feeding of the four thousand. Moved with compassion for the crowd of three days, Jesus will not send them away hungry (32); despite the disciples' perplexity in the wilderness (33), he takes seven loaves and a few fish, gives thanks, breaks, and distributes them through the disciples (34–36); all four thousand men, besides women and children, eat and are satisfied, with seven baskets of fragments left over, before he dismisses them and crosses to Magadan (37–39).

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 15, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. A few points of variation are passed over without a marginal note: at v.4 "God said" (ὁ θεὸς εἶπεν, printed) versus the Byzantine "God commanded, saying" (ὁ θεὸς ἐνετείλατο λέγων); at v.6 the annulled object divides among τὸν λόγον ("the word," printed), τὸν νόμον ("the law"), and τὴν ἐντολήν ("the commandment"), with many witnesses adding "or his mother" after "his father" — the shorter text is printed; at v.8 a longer Byzantine reading prefixes "draws near to me with their mouth and" under assimilation to Isaiah 29:13 LXX, the shorter critical text being followed; at v.14 the editions divide over "blind guides of the blind" (printed) versus the shorter "they are blind guides"; at vv.30–31 the order and membership of the affliction-lists vary slightly; and at v.39 the place name is Μαγαδάν (printed, the best-attested and hardest reading) where many witnesses read Μαγδαλά and the Markan parallel (Mark 8:10) has Δαλμανουθά. Orthographic variants (movable-ν, ι-subscript) are not noted. The chapter has 39 verses; none is legitimately omitted by the critical text. Note its verbal threads: the κοινόω ("defile") word-group binds the first scene (vv.11, 18, 20); καρδία ("heart," vv.8, 18, 19) names the true seat of purity; ἄρτος ("bread") links the controversy's "eating bread" (v.2), the Canaanite "children's bread" (v.26), and the loaves of the feeding (vv.33–37); and the πίστις ("faith") commended in the Gentile woman (v.28) stands against the disciples' repeated dullness (vv.16–17, 33).

Matthew 16 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ ΙϚ′

Theme. The hinge of Matthew's Gospel: against sign-seekers and the leaven of false teaching, Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, and receives the keys of the kingdom — yet the messiahship just confessed is at once redefined by the cross, so that following the Son of Man, who will come in glory to judge, means self-denial, cross-bearing, and the loss of life that finds it.

Outline.

• A · 16:1–4 — The demand for a sign and the sign of Jonah. Pharisees and Sadducees unite to test Jesus, demanding a sign from heaven (1); he replies that they read the evening and morning sky but not the signs of the times (2–3, the bracketed weather-signs), and that this evil and adulterous generation will be given no sign but the sign of Jonah — then he abandons them (4).
• B · 16:5–12 — The leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Crossing the lake without bread (5), the disciples misread Jesus' warning against 'the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees' as a rebuke about provisions (6–7); he chides their little faith, recalling the five thousand and the four thousand and their leftover baskets (8–10), until they grasp that the leaven is the teaching of the parties (11–12).
• C · 16:13–20 — Peter's confession and the keys at Caesarea Philippi. At the pagan city Jesus asks who people and the disciples say the Son of Man is (13–15); Peter confesses him the Christ, the Son of the living God (16). Jesus pronounces him blessed — the Father, not flesh and blood, revealed it (17) — names him Peter and promises to build his church on 'this rock,' unconquered by the gates of Hades (18), giving him the keys and the authority to bind and loose (19), then charges silence about his messiahship (20).
• D · 16:21–23 — The first passion prediction and 'get behind me, Satan.' From that time Jesus begins to show that the Son of Man must go to Jerusalem, suffer, be killed, and be raised (21); Peter takes him aside and rebukes him (22), and Jesus wheels around to rebuke Peter as 'Satan,' a stumbling-block minding the things of men, not of God (23).
• E · 16:24–28 — Taking up the cross and the Son of Man's coming. Discipleship is self-denial and cross-bearing after Jesus (24); whoever would save his life loses it, and whoever loses it for Christ's sake finds it (25); no profit, not even the whole world, offsets the loss of one's soul, and nothing can buy it back (26). For the Son of Man will come in his Father's glory with his angels to repay each by his deeds (27), and some standing there will not taste death before they see him coming in his kingdom (28).

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 16, broadly uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. The most consequential variant is the weather-signs saying of vv.2b–3 (ὀψίας γενομένης … τὰ δὲ σημεῖα τῶν καιρῶν οὐ δύνασθε;): absent from several of the earliest and best witnesses (א B, the Sahidic, Origen) and enclosed in double brackets / flagged in NA28, yet read by the majority and most editions, it is printed here within the running text, the doubt noted. At v.4 some witnesses add τοῦ προφήτου after Ἰωνᾶ (assimilation to 12:39); the shorter text is printed. At v.8 the editions divide over ἔχετε ('you have,' read) vs. ἐλάβετε. At v.12 they divide over τῆς ζύμης τῶν ἄρτων ('the leaven of the loaves,' read) vs. τοῦ ἄρτου / τῶν Φαρισαίων καὶ Σαδδουκαίων. At v.13 the best text reads τίνα λέγουσιν … τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, some adding με. At v.20 the editions divide over διεστείλατο ('he charged,' read) vs. ἐπετίμησεν, and over Ἰησοῦς after ὁ χριστός. Orthographic variants (movable-ν, ι-subscript, Σαδδουκαῖοι, Βαριωνᾶ / Βὰρ Ἰωνᾶ) are not noted. Beyond the apparatus, observe the chapter's verbal architecture: the σημεῖον demanded and refused (vv.1, 4) frames scene A; the doubled feedings preserve their distinct baskets (κόφινος v.9 vs. σπυρίς v.10); the ἐπιτιμάω of Peter's rebuke (v.22) is hurled straight back at him (v.23); and the πέτρα/Πέτρος pun (v.18) and the ψυχή double-sense (vv.25–26) are the load-bearing wordplays. The chapter has 28 verses; none is legitimately omitted, the vv.2b–3 question excepted.

Matthew 17 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ ΙΖ′

Theme. From the mount of glory to the valley of need: the Father unveils Jesus as the beloved Son to be heard above Moses and Elijah, then the descent leads through the disciples' failure of faith, a second passion prediction, and the temple-tax episode in which the free Son willingly condescions — glory, suffering, and humble submission held together.

Outline.

• A · 17:1–8 — The Transfiguration. Six days later Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a high mountain and is transfigured, his face shining like the sun and his garments white as light (1–2); Moses and Elijah appear conversing with him (3); Peter offers to build three tents (4), but the bright cloud overshadows them and the Father's voice declares, "This is my beloved Son... listen to him" (5); terrified, the three fall on their faces, are raised by Jesus' touch, and see "Jesus alone" (6–8).
• B · 17:9–13 — The coming of Elijah and John the Baptist. Descending, Jesus commands silence about the vision until the Son of Man is raised (9); to the scribal objection that Elijah must come first (10), he grants that Elijah comes and restores all (11) yet has already come unrecognized and suffered (12) — and the disciples understand he means John the Baptist (13).
• C · 17:14–20 — The healing of the epileptic boy and faith like a mustard seed. A father kneels begging mercy for his moonstruck son whom the disciples could not heal (14–16); Jesus laments the faithless and perverse generation, rebukes the demon, and heals the boy instantly (17–18); privately the disciples ask why they failed (19), and Jesus answers: because of your little faith — faith like a mustard seed moves mountains, and nothing will be impossible (20).
• D · 17:22–23 — The second passion prediction. Gathering in Galilee, Jesus foretells that the Son of Man is to be delivered into human hands, killed, and raised on the third day — and the disciples are deeply grieved.
• E · 17:24–27 — The temple tax and the coin in the fish's mouth. At Capernaum the collectors of the two-drachma tax question Peter (24); Jesus pre-empts him with the parable of kings taxing strangers, not their sons, so the sons are free (25–26); yet not to give offense, Peter is to cast a hook and find a stater in the first fish's mouth to pay for them both (27).

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 17, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. The critical text omits Matthew 17:21 (τοῦτο δὲ τὸ γένος οὐκ ἐκπορεύεται εἰ μὴ ἐν προσευχῇ καὶ νηστείᾳ, "But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting"), present in the Byzantine/TR tradition but absent from the earliest and best witnesses (ℵ* B Θ 0281 33 etc.) and judged a later scribal harmonization to the Markan parallel (Mark 9:29); the chapter therefore has 26 verses present, numbered 1–20 and 22–27 with a gap at 21. Orthographic variants (movable-ν, ι-subscript, the spelling Μωϋσῆς/Μωσῆς) are not noted. Note the chapter's threads: the title "Son of Man" frames the prophetic teaching (vv.9, 12, 22) and binds the glory to the coming passion; the verb παραδίδωμι ("hand over") carries the second passion prediction with its wordplay (Son of Man into the hands of men, v.22); and the Father's "listen to him" (v.5) makes the whole chapter — the silenced vision, the misunderstood Elijah, the rebuke of little faith, the temple-tax instruction — an exercise in hearing the Son.

Matthew 18 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ ΙΗ′

Theme. The fourth Matthean discourse, on life in the community of disciples: true greatness is childlike humility, the "little ones" are to be guarded from stumbling and sought when they stray, sin between brothers is to be restored through patient, escalating discipline backed by Christ's presence — and, above all, forgiveness must be limitless and from the heart, on pain of forfeiting the mercy one has received.

Outline.

• A · 18:1–5 — Who is greatest: become like a child. The disciples' status-question is answered by an enacted parable — a child set in their midst (1–2): unless they turn and become like children they will never enter the kingdom (3), and the one who humbles himself like the child is greatest (4); to welcome one such child in Jesus' name is to welcome him (5).
• B · 18:6–9 — Stumbling-blocks: woe and radical renunciation. Causing a "little one" to stumble merits a fate worse than drowning under a millstone (6); woe to the world and to the agent of stumbling-blocks, though such must inevitably come (7); better to enter life maimed than, whole, to be cast into the eternal fire — hand, foot, and eye must go (8–9).
• C · 18:10, 12–14 — The little ones and the lost sheep. Do not despise the little ones, whose angels behold the Father's face (10); the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine to seek the one that strays (12) and rejoices over its recovery more than over the rest (13) — for it is not the Father's will that one little one perish (14). (Verse 11 is omitted by the critical text.)
• D · 18:15–20 — Reproving a brother; the church; binding, loosing, presence. A sinning brother is to be won by private reproof (15), then by two or three witnesses per Deut 19:15 (16), then by the assembled church — persistent refusal making him an outsider (17); the church's binding and loosing is ratified in heaven (18), agreed prayer is answered by the Father (19), for where two or three are gathered in Christ's name he is present among them (20).
• E · 18:21–35 — Forgive seventy-times-seven: the unforgiving servant. Peter asks how often to forgive (21); Jesus answers seventy-times-seven (22), then the parable: a king cancels an unpayable ten-thousand-talent debt out of compassion (23–27), but the forgiven servant throttles a fellow over a hundred denarii and jails him (28–30); the king, informed, revokes the pardon and delivers him to the tormentors (31–34) — so the heavenly Father will treat those who do not forgive from the heart (35).

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 18, uniform across NA28 / SBLGNT / THGNT in its main wording (an ancient, public-domain text); NA28's copyrighted apparatus is not reproduced, and punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial. The chapter's signal feature is the omission of verse 11 ("For the Son of Man came to save the lost"): absent from the earliest and best witnesses (א B L), it is a later harmonizing intrusion from Luke 19:10 and is not printed — so the chapter runs 1–10 and 12–35, 34 verses present*, with a numbering gap at 11. At v.15 the words εἰς σέ ("against you") are read by D and the majority text but omitted by א and B; their presence narrows the offense to a personal wrong, their absence broadens it to any sin (printed here, variant noted). At v.22 ἑβδομηκοντάκις ἑπτά is genuinely ambiguous — "seventy-seven times" or "seventy times seven" (490) — deliberately echoing and reversing Lamech's seventy-sevenfold vengeance in Gen 4:24 LXX; either way it names a number meant to defy counting. Orthographic variants (movable-ν, ι-subscript, ἐνενήκοντα/ἐννενήκοντα) are not noted. Verbal threads bind the chapter: the σκάνδαλον/σκανδαλίζω group (vv.6–9), the "little ones" (μικροί, vv.6, 10, 14) and the recurring "one" welcomed or strayed (εἷς, vv.5, 6, 10, 12–14), the ἀφίημι "forgive" keyword (vv.21, 27, 32, 35), and the ἀποδίδωμι "repay" motif of the parable (vv.25–34).

Matthew 19 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ ΙΘ′

Theme. On the road from Galilee to Judea, Jesus grounds marriage in the creation order against the divorce casuistry of his day, welcomes the little children as heirs of the kingdom, and shows the rich young man that eternal life turns not on a deed but on renouncing all to follow him — sealing it with the promise of a hundredfold and the reversal of first and last.

Outline.

• A · 19:1–12 — Marriage, divorce, and eunuchs for the kingdom. Leaving Galilee for Judea beyond the Jordan, Jesus heals the crowds (1–2). Pharisees test him on divorce "for any cause" (3); he answers from creation — male and female, one flesh, joined by God and not to be parted (4–6). Moses' certificate was a concession to hard hearts, not the beginning (7–8); his own ruling carves out the porneia-exception (9). To the disciples' "better not to marry" (10) he replies that the celibate saying is given only to those granted it — including those who make themselves eunuchs for the kingdom (11–12).
• B · 19:13–15 — Let the little children come. Children are brought for blessing and the disciples rebuke those who bring them (13); Jesus reverses the rebuke — do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom (14) — lays hands on them, and departs (15).
• C · 19:16–26 — The rich young man and the eye of the needle. A man asks what good deed gains eternal life (16); Jesus redirects to the One who is good and to the commandments (17–19). The man claims to have kept them and asks what he still lacks (20); the "one thing" — sell, give, follow — sends him away grieved, for he had many possessions (21–22). Jesus teaches how hard it is for the rich to enter, the camel and the needle's eye (23–24); to the astonished "who then can be saved?" he answers that with God all things are possible (25–26).
• D · 19:27–30 — The hundredfold, the twelve thrones, and the last first. Peter asks what awaits the disciples who left all (27); Jesus promises the Twelve thrones judging Israel in the regeneration (28) and a hundredfold with eternal life to all who leave home and kin for his name (29) — capped by the reversal: many first will be last, and the last first (30).

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 19, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. A handful of points of variation are worth flagging. At v.4 the editions divide over ὁ κτίσας ('the one who created,' read here) versus ὁ ποιήσας ('the one who made'); the participles are synonymous, and the Creator of v.4 remains the unexpressed subject of εἶπεν in v.5 (citing Gen 2:24). At v.9 the divorce-and-remarriage saying has a fluid textual and form-critical history: the exceptive clause is printed μὴ ἐπὶ πορνείᾳ ('not for sexual immorality'), but a strong stream of witnesses reads παρεκτὸς λόγου πορνείας ('except for a matter of immorality,' assimilating to 5:32), and many witnesses append καὶ ὁ ἀπολελυμένην γαμήσας μοιχᾶται ('and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery,' also from 5:32); the shorter critical text is followed. At v.16 the address is printed simply Διδάσκαλε, the Byzantine Διδάσκαλε ἀγαθέ (from Mark/Luke) not read; correspondingly v.17 reads Τί με ἐρωτᾷς περὶ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ; εἷς ἐστιν ὁ ἀγαθός rather than the Markan 'Why do you call me good?'. At v.20 ἐφύλαξα is sometimes expanded ἐκ νεότητός μου ('from my youth'), not read here. At v.24 the editions read διελθεῖν for the camel and εἰσελθεῖν for the rich man; the famed κάμηλος ('camel') is original, the rationalizing κάμιλος ('rope/cable') a late conjecture without manuscript warrant. At v.29 the editions divide over the object list (some add ἢ γυναῖκα, 'or wife') and over ἑκατονταπλασίονα ('a hundredfold,' read here) versus πολλαπλασίονα (from Luke). Orthographic variants (movable-ν, ι-subscript, Μωϋσῆς/Μωσῆς) are not noted. Note further the chapter's verbal links: ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς ties the creation argument to the concession (vv.4, 8); ἀπολύω, the divorce term, runs through the controversy (vv.3, 7, 8, 9); ζωὴ αἰώνιος frames the rich-man scene and its reward (vv.16, 29); βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν / τοῦ θεοῦ recurs at the children, the needle's eye, and the eunuch saying (vv.12, 14, 23, 24); and the πρῶτος/ἔσχατος reversal (v.30) bridges into the vineyard parable of 20:1–16.

Matthew 20 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ Κ′

Theme. The kingdom overturns human reckonings of priority and power: a vineyard owner's scandalous generosity makes the last first (vv.1–16), and the road to the cross redefines greatness as service — climaxing in the Son of Man who came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many (v.28), enacted in compassion on two blind beggars at Jericho (vv.29–34).

Outline.

• A · 20:1–16 — The laborers in the vineyard: the last first. A householder hires laborers at dawn for a denarius and then again at the third, sixth, ninth, and eleventh hours, the latecomers promised only "whatever is right" (1–7). At evening he pays all alike, beginning with the last (8–10); the all-day workers grumble at being made "equal" (11–12), but the owner defends his justice (the contract was honored) and his freedom to be generous with his own — their grievance is an "evil eye" at his goodness (13–15) — and the verdict seals it: "so the last shall be first, and the first last" (16, recapitulating 19:30).
• B · 20:17–19 — The third passion prediction. Going up to Jerusalem, Jesus takes the Twelve aside and foretells in unprecedented detail that the Son of Man will be handed to the chief priests and scribes and condemned to death (17–18), delivered to the Gentiles to be mocked, scourged, and crucified — the first explicit mention of crucifixion in Matthew — and raised on the third day (19).
• C · 20:20–28 — The sons of Zebedee; greatness as service. The mother of James and John kneels and asks the two chief seats in the kingdom (20–21); Jesus redirects the request to its cost, the "cup" he must drink, which they will indeed share, though the seats are the Father's to assign (22–23). The ten are indignant (24), and Jesus contrasts Gentile lords who dominate with the kingdom's reversal — whoever would be great must be servant, whoever first must be slave (25–27) — grounded in the Son of Man who came not to be served but to serve and give his life a ransom for many (28).
• D · 20:29–34 — The two blind men at Jericho. Leaving Jericho before the Jerusalem ascent, two blind men cry out "Son of David, have mercy" (29–30); the crowd rebukes them, but they cry the louder (31). Jesus stops the procession, asks what they want (the very question put to the brothers in v.21), and, moved with compassion, touches their eyes — they regain sight and follow him on the way (32–34).

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 20, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. A few points of variation are passed over without a marginal note: at v.7 the later Byzantine text adds καὶ ὃ ἐὰν ᾖ δίκαιον λήψεσθε ("and whatever is right you will receive"), absent from the best witnesses and omitted here; at v.15 the editions divide over the word order ἢ οὐκ ἔξεστίν μοι ὃ θέλω ποιῆσαι ἐν τοῖς ἐμοῖς and whether to read ἢ before οὐκ; at v.16 the later text appends πολλοὶ γάρ εἰσιν κλητοί, ὀλίγοι δὲ ἐκλεκτοί ("for many are called, but few chosen"), drawn from 22:14 and not part of the critical text here; at v.17 the editions divide over ἀναβαίνων ("going up") with or without μαθητάς and the article, and over the inclusion of αὐτοῦ; at vv.22–23 the later text adds the clause about the baptism Jesus is baptized with (καὶ τὸ βάπτισμα ὃ ἐγὼ βαπτίζομαι βαπτισθῆναι), assimilated from Mark 10:38–39 and omitted by the best Matthean witnesses; at v.26 the editions divide between ἔσται ("shall be," read here) and ἔστω ("let him be"); at v.31 some witnesses read ἔκραξαν / ἔκραζον. Orthographic variants (movable-ν, ι-subscript, the spelling Ζεβεδαίου / Μαθθαῖον) are not noted. The chapter has 34 verses; none is legitimately omitted by the critical text. Note the structural hinge: the parable's verdict "so the last shall be first, and the first last" (v.16) recapitulates 19:30 and frames the disciples' status-seeking (vv.20–28), which Jesus answers with the ransom-saying (v.28, λύτρον ἀντὶ πολλῶν); the keyword δοῦλος/διάκονος ("servant") and the πρῶτος/ἔσχατος ("first/last") antithesis bind the parable to the discipleship teaching, while the third passion prediction (vv.17–19) supplies the cross that the ransom-saying interprets.

Matthew 21 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ ΚΑ′

Theme. Jerusalem's true king comes humble on a donkey to claim his city and temple — hailed by crowds and children with the Hosanna of Psalm 118, judging the fruitless cult, and unmasking, in three confrontations and two vineyard parables, the leaders who will reject the cornerstone and lose the kingdom to a fruit-bearing people.

Outline.

• A · 21:1–11 — The triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Approaching Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sends two disciples for a donkey and her colt (1–3); Matthew reads the scene through Zechariah 9:9 (with Isa 62:11) — the gentle king coming on a donkey (4–5); the disciples obey and Jesus rides in over the spread garments (6–7) as the crowds carpet the road and shout the Hosanna of Psalm 118 (8–9); the whole city is shaken, asking "Who is this?" — "the prophet Jesus from Nazareth" (10–11).
• B · 21:12–17 — The cleansing of the temple. Jesus drives out the buyers and sellers and overturns the money-changers' and dove-sellers' tables (12), declaring "my house shall be called a house of prayer" but "you make it a den of robbers" (13, Isa 56:7 / Jer 7:11); he heals the blind and lame in the temple (14), and when the chief priests are indignant at the children's Hosanna he answers from Psalm 8:3 — "out of the mouth of infants you have prepared praise" (15–16) — then withdraws to Bethany (17).
• C · 21:18–22 — The cursing of the fig tree and faith. Hungry in the morning, Jesus finds a leafy but fruitless fig tree and curses it; it withers at once (18–19); when the disciples marvel, he teaches that undoubting faith can wither trees and move mountains (20–21), and that believing prayer receives whatever it asks (22).
• D · 21:23–27 — The question about authority. The chief priests and elders challenge Jesus' authority (23); he counters with the question of John's baptism — from heaven or from men? (24–25a) — a dilemma that traps them between condemning their own unbelief and fearing the crowd (25b–26); they plead ignorance, and Jesus likewise withholds his answer (27).
• E · 21:28–32 — The parable of the two sons. One son refuses but repents and goes; the other agrees but does not (28–30); the first did the father's will (31a). So tax-collectors and prostitutes, who believed John's way of righteousness, enter the kingdom ahead of the leaders, who saw and still did not repent (31b–32).
• F · 21:33–46 — The parable of the wicked tenants. A landowner lets out a vineyard (Isa 5) and sends servants for the fruit, but the tenants beat and kill them, and at last kill the heir-son to seize the inheritance (33–39); the owner will destroy them and give the vineyard to others (40–41). Jesus clinches it with Psalm 118 — the rejected stone become the cornerstone (42) — declaring the kingdom taken from the leaders and given to a fruit-bearing people, the stone crushing whom it falls on (43–44); the chief priests and Pharisees perceive he means them but fear the crowd that holds him a prophet (45–46).

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 21, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. A few points of variation are passed over without a marginal note. At v.7 some witnesses read ἐπεκάθισεν ("he sat," singular) for ἐπεκάθισαν ("they set him," plural), and the antecedent of ἐπάνω αὐτῶν ("on them") is the garments, not the two animals. At v.12 the longer reading τὸ ἱερὸν τοῦ θεοῦ ("the temple of God") is attested by part of the tradition; θεοῦ is bracketed / sometimes omitted. At vv.28–31 the manuscript tradition is famously tangled over which son said yes and which actually went, and over the crowd's answer; the most widely printed arrangement (the first son refuses then goes, and "the first" is the right answer) is followed. At v.44 the saying "the one who falls on this stone…" is omitted by a few witnesses (notably D and some Old Latin) and is frequently bracketed in the editions as a possible harmonization to Luke 20:18; it is printed here. Old Testament citations (Zech 9:9 / Isa 62:11 at v.5; Ps 117:25–26 LXX at v.9; Isa 56:7 / Jer 7:11 at v.13; Ps 8:3 LXX at v.16; Ps 117:22–23 LXX at v.42) follow the LXX where quoted. Note the chapter's structural keywords: καρπός ("fruit," vv.19, 34, 41, 43) ties the fig tree to the vineyard and to the kingdom's verdict; the messianic "Son of David" frames the Hosanna of crowds (v.9) and children (v.15); and the crowd's verdict "prophet" brackets the section (vv.11, 46), the very esteem that stays the leaders' hand. Orthographic variants (movable-ν, ι-subscript, itacisms) are not noted.

Matthew 22 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ ΚΒ′

Theme. The temple-controversies reach their height: a parable of the wedding feast exposes the leaders' refusal and the unfit guest (vv.1–14), then three tests — taxes to Caesar, the resurrection, the great commandment — are turned back on the questioners, until Jesus' own riddle of David's Lord silences them all and ends the debate.

Outline.

• A · 22:1–14 — The parable of the wedding banquet and the garment. A king's wedding feast for his son, the invited refusing and even murdering the servants (1–6), the king's destroying judgment on the murderers and their city (7), the streets thrown open so the hall is filled with bad and good alike (8–10), and the wordless guest without a wedding garment bound and cast into outer darkness — 'many called, few chosen' (11–14).
• B · 22:15–22 — Paying taxes to Caesar — 'render to Caesar.' The Pharisees with the Herodians lay a snare over the poll-tax with flattering speech (15–17); Jesus, naming their hypocrisy, calls for the denarius and asks whose image and inscription it bears (18–20), and answers, 'render to Caesar the things of Caesar, and to God the things of God' — and they marvel and withdraw (21–22).
• C · 22:23–33 — The Sadducees and the resurrection. The Sadducees, who deny the resurrection, pose the riddle of the woman widowed seven times under the levirate law (23–28); Jesus answers that they err, knowing neither the Scriptures nor God's power — in the resurrection there is no marriage but angelic life (29–30) — and proves the resurrection from God's self-naming at the bush as the God of the living patriarchs (31–32), astonishing the crowds (33).
• D · 22:34–40 — The great commandment: love God and neighbor. The regrouped Pharisees send a lawyer to test which commandment is great (34–36); Jesus answers with the Shema — love the Lord your God with all heart, soul, and mind (37–38, Deut 6:5) — and a second like it, love your neighbor as yourself (39, Lev 19:18): on these two hang the whole Law and the Prophets (40).
• E · 22:41–46 — Whose son is the Christ — David's Lord (Ps 110). Jesus turns the question on the assembled Pharisees: whose son is the Christ (41–42)? If David, in the Spirit, calls him 'Lord' (Ps 110:1), how is he David's son (43–45)? No one can answer a word, and from that day no one dared question him further (46).

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 22, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. A few points of variation are passed over without a marginal note: at v.7 the editions read ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ὠργίσθη ('the king was angry'); some witnesses prefix ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐκεῖνος. At v.10 πονηρούς τε καὶ ἀγαθούς ('both bad and good') is read with the better witnesses. At v.13 the word-order of δήσαντες αὐτοῦ πόδας καὶ χεῖρας ἐκβάλετε αὐτόν varies among witnesses. At v.16 some witnesses omit αὐτῶν after μαθητάς. At v.30 the editions divide over ἄγγελοι ('angels,' read here) versus ἄγγελοι θεοῦ / ἄγγελοι τοῦ θεοῦ. At v.35 a few witnesses omit νομικός ('a lawyer'); it is read here. At v.37 the Deut 6:5 citation reads καρδία / ψυχή / διάνοια, where the LXX and Synoptic parallels vary the third member (ἰσχύς / δύναμις). At v.44 ὑποπόδιον ('footstool') is printed against ὑποκάτω in some witnesses. Orthographic variants (movable-ν, ι-subscript, Δαυίδ/Δαβίδ) are not noted. The chapter has 46 verses; none is legitimately omitted by the critical text. Observe the verbal threads: φιμόω ('muzzle, silence') binds the speechless guest (v.12), the silenced Sadducees (v.34), and the unanswerable lawyers (v.46); the καλέω/κλητός word-group ('call/called') runs through the parable (vv.3, 4, 8, 9, 14); and ἀνάστασις/ἀνίστημι ('resurrection/raise') is pointedly seeded in the levirate ἀναστήσει σπέρμα (v.24) before the resurrection debate proper.

Matthew 23 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ ΚΓ′

Theme. Jesus' climactic public indictment of the scribes and Pharisees: from the seat-of-Moses concession ("do as they say, not as they do") through the sevenfold "woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites" on a religion of display, casuistry, and inward corruption, to the prophet-killers' inherited blood-guilt — closing with the grief-stricken lament over Jerusalem and the abandonment of her "house."

Outline.

• A · 23:1–12 — Moses' seat: do as they say, not as they do; one Teacher, one Father. To crowds and disciples Jesus concedes the scribes' and Pharisees' teaching authority on Moses' seat yet severs their word from their deed (1–3): they bind crushing, unliftable burdens and act for show — broad phylacteries, long tassels, the best couches, front benches, marketplace greetings, and the title "Rabbi" (4–7). The community must refuse such titles — one Teacher, one Father, one Instructor — for the greatest is servant, and self-exaltation is reversed by God (8–12).
• B · 23:13–22 — Woes 1–3: the shut kingdom, the proselyte, and blind oath-casuistry. The first woe: hypocrites who shut the kingdom in people's faces, neither entering nor letting others in (13). [The critical text prints no v.14.] The second: they cross sea and land to win one proselyte, then make him doubly a son of hell (15). The third indicts their oath-casuistry as blind folly — gold over temple, gift over altar — when the greater sanctifies the lesser, and an oath by temple, altar, or heaven binds one to God himself enthroned (16–22).
• C · 23:23–28 — Woes 4–6: tithing herbs, the strained gnat, the cup, and whitewashed tombs. The fourth woe: scrupulously tithing mint, dill, and cumin while neglecting the weightier matters — justice, mercy, faithfulness — straining out the gnat while swallowing the camel (23–24). The fifth: scouring the cup's outside while the inside brims with greed and self-indulgence; clean the inside first (25–26). The sixth: like whitewashed tombs, lovely without but full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness within — righteous in appearance, full of hypocrisy and lawlessness in fact (27–28).
• D · 23:29–36 — Woe 7: the prophets' tombs and the blood of the righteous. The seventh woe: building and adorning the prophets' tombs while disavowing their fathers' guilt — thereby witnessing against themselves as the murderers' sons (29–31). "Fill up the measure of your fathers!" (32); serpents, brood of vipers, how flee hell's judgment? (33) Christ sovereignly sends prophets, sages, and scribes to be killed, crucified, scourged, and hounded (34), so that on this generation may come all righteous blood from Abel to Zechariah son of Barachiah, slain between sanctuary and altar (35) — all of it, "Amen," upon this generation (36).
• E · 23:37–39 — The lament over Jerusalem. The doubled-vocative lament: O Jerusalem, killer of prophets and stoner of those sent to her — how often Christ longed to gather her children as a hen her chicks, and she would not (37); so her house is left to her desolate (38); and she will not see him again until she cries, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" (39).

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 23, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. The single most consequential point is the omission of v.14: the words "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows' houses and for a pretext pray at length; therefore you will receive greater condemnation" are absent from the earliest and best witnesses (א B D L Z Θ f1 and others) and are judged a later harmonizing interpolation from Mark 12:40 / Luke 20:47, inserted either before v.13 or (in the Byzantine tradition) after it. The critical text therefore prints no v.14, and this chapter contains 38 verses (1–13, 15–39), numbered up to 39 with a gap at 14; the build reports 38 verses. Other variants passed over without a marginal note: at v.4 some bracket/omit δυσβάστακτα ("hard to bear"); at v.8 the title is read διδάσκαλος ("teacher") against the later καθηγητής, which the best text reserves for v.10; at v.19 some witnesses prefix μωροὶ καί ("fools and"); at v.25 ἀκρασίας ("self-indulgence") is read over the variant ἀδικίας; at v.38 the editions divide over whether ἔρημος ("desolate") stands (read here) or is omitted. Orthographic variants (movable-ν, ι-subscript, the spelling Μωϋσέως) are not noted. Note the chapter's binding threads: the inside/outside (ἔξωθεν/ἔσωθεν) antithesis structuring the fifth and sixth woes (vv.25–28); the keyword ὑποκριταί stamped on each woe; the "greater sanctifies the lesser" logic answering the oath-casuistry (vv.17, 19); and the blood-and-prophets motif (vv.30–37) that ties the seventh woe to the lament.

Matthew 24 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ ΚΔ′

Theme. The Olivet Discourse: prompted by the foretold destruction of the temple and the disciples' question about the sign of Christ's coming (παρουσία) and the end of the age, Jesus surveys the deceptions, wars, and persecutions that are only the "beginning of birth pains," moves through the desolating abomination and the great tribulation to the visible, glorious coming of the Son of Man and the gathering of the elect, and closes by pressing — since no one knows the day or hour — relentless watchfulness, in the parables of Noah's heedless generation, the thief, and the faithful versus wicked servant.

Outline.

• A · 24:1–3 — The temple's fall foretold; the disciples' question. Jesus leaves the temple and predicts that not one stone will be left upon another (1–2); on the Mount of Olives the disciples ask privately when these things will be and what will be the sign of his παρουσία and the end of the age (3) — the triple question the discourse answers.
• B · 24:4–14 — The beginning of birth pains. A controlling warning against deception governs the survey: false messiahs claiming Jesus' name (4–5); wars, rumors of wars, nation against nation, famines and earthquakes — only the ἀρχὴ ὠδίνων, the beginning of birth pains (6–8); then the disciples' own ordeal — betrayal, death, universal hatred, apostasy, false prophets, multiplying lawlessness and cooling love — with the promise that the one who endures to the end will be saved and the gospel of the kingdom preached to all nations before the end comes (9–14).
• C · 24:15–28 — The abomination of desolation and the great tribulation. Daniel's "abomination of desolation" standing in the holy place ("let the reader understand") triggers headlong flight from Judea — no return for goods, woe to the pregnant and nursing, prayers that it not fall in winter or on a Sabbath (15–20); then unequalled tribulation, shortened for the elect's sake (21–22); renewed warnings against false christs and false prophets whose signs could deceive even the elect, for the Parousia will be as public and unmistakable as lightning across the sky — wherever the corpse, the vultures gather (23–28).
• D · 24:29–31 — The coming of the Son of Man and the gathering of the elect. Immediately after the tribulation the cosmic powers are shaken — sun darkened, moon dimmed, stars falling (29); the sign of the Son of Man appears, the tribes of the earth mourn, and all see him coming on the clouds with power and great glory (30); with a great trumpet the angels gather the elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (31).
• E · 24:32–35 — The lesson of the fig tree and "this generation." As the fig tree's tender branch and budding leaves signal that summer is near, so the foretold signs signal that he is near, at the very doors (32–33); "this generation" (ἡ γενεὰ αὕτη) will not pass away until all these things take place (34); heaven and earth will pass away, but Jesus' words will never pass away (35).
• F · 24:36–44 — The unknown day and the call to watch. Of that day and hour no one knows — not the angels, nor the Son, but the Father alone (36); as Noah's generation ate, drank, and married heedlessly until the flood swept them all away, so will be the Parousia (37–39); two will be in a field, two grinding at the mill — one taken, one left (40–41); therefore watch, for like a thief the Son of Man comes at an unexpected hour — be ready (42–44).
• G · 24:45–51 — The faithful and the wicked servant. The faithful and wise steward, set over the household to give food at the proper time, is blessed when his master finds him so doing, and is promoted over all the master's goods (45–47); but the wicked servant who presumes "my master is delayed," beats his fellow servants, and carouses with drunkards will be cut to pieces and assigned the hypocrites' portion — where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (48–51).

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 24, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. A few points of variation are flagged rather than silently resolved. At v.36 the words οὐδὲ ὁ υἱός ("nor the Son") are read here with the earliest and best witnesses (א* B D Θ and the Markan parallel, Mark 13:32), though they are absent from many later manuscripts (including the bulk of the Byzantine tradition), most plausibly through doctrinal scruple or harmonization. At v.31 some witnesses add φωνῆς ("a great trumpet of voice"); μετὰ σάλπιγγος μεγάλης is printed. At v.38 the editions vary between τρώγοντες ("munching/eating," read here) and ἔτρωγον, and between the forms γαμοῦντες/γαμίζοντες and ἐκγαμίζοντες; the participial reading is followed. At v.42 the editions divide over the temporal indicator ποίᾳ ἡμέρᾳ ("on what day," read here) versus ποίᾳ ὥρᾳ ("at what hour"). Orthographic variants (movable-ν, ι-subscript, itacism) are not noted. The chapter is steeped in the Old Testament: the "abomination of desolation" at v.15 cites Daniel (Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11); the cosmic collapse at v.29 weaves Isa 13:10 and 34:4; the Son of Man on the clouds at v.30 is Dan 7:13–14 with the mourning of Zech 12:10–14; the gathering at v.31 echoes Deut 30:4 / Isa 27:13; and the Noah analogy of vv.37–39 recalls Genesis 6–7. Note the structural keywords: πλανάω ("lead astray," vv.4, 5, 11, 24), παρουσία ("coming," vv.3, 27, 37, 39), ἐκλεκτοί ("the elect," vv.22, 24, 31), and the imperatives βλέπετε / γρηγορεῖτε / γίνεσθε ἕτοιμοι that frame the call to vigilance.

Matthew 25 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ ΚΕ′

Theme. The close of the Olivet Discourse presses one demand — readiness for the Son of Man's return — through three pictures: the ten virgins who must keep their own lamps lit, the servants who must trade with their master's talents, and the nations judged by what they did, or left undone, to "the least of these." Watchfulness, faithful stewardship, and unselfconscious mercy are the marks of those who enter the kingdom and eternal life.

Outline.

• A · 25:1–13 — The ten virgins: wise and foolish, "keep watch." The kingdom is likened to ten virgins going out to meet the bridegroom (1); five foolish take lamps but no reserve oil, five wise carry oil in flasks (2–4). The bridegroom's delay overtakes them all in sleep (5) until the midnight cry rouses them (6–7); the foolish, their lamps failing, beg oil that cannot be shared and are sent to buy it (8–9), and while they are away the ready enter the wedding feast and the door is shut (10). Their belated "Lord, lord, open to us" meets the chilling "I do not know you" (11–12) — so: keep watch, for you know neither the day nor the hour (13).
• B · 25:14–30 — The talents: faithful stewardship and "the joy of your master." A man entrusts five, two, and one talent to three servants "according to ability" and journeys away (14–15); the first two trade and double the trust (16–17), but the third buries his in the ground (18). After a long time the master settles accounts (19): the two faithful hear "well done, good and faithful servant… enter into the joy of your master" and are promoted from little to much (20–23). The one-talent man, pleading fear of a hard master who reaps where he did not sow, returns the bare talent (24–25); condemned as wicked and slothful — he could at least have banked it at interest (26–27) — his talent is given to the ten-talent man (28), for to everyone who has more is given, but from the one who has not even what he has is taken (29), and he is cast into the outer darkness (30).
• C · 25:31–46 — The Son of Man judges the nations: sheep and goats. The Son of Man comes in glory, enthroned with all the angels, and gathers all the nations, separating them as a shepherd parts sheep from goats — sheep on the right, goats on the left (31–33). The King welcomes the blessed to inherit the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world, for they fed, watered, welcomed, clothed, and visited him (34–36); when the righteous ask in surprise when they saw him so (37–39), he replies that what they did to one of the least of these his brothers they did to him (40). To the cursed on the left he says "depart… into the eternal fire prepared for the devil," for they left those same deeds undone (41–43); their self-justifying protest (44) meets the counter-verdict: what they failed to do to the least, they failed to do to him (45) — and these go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life (46).

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 25, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. A few points of variation are passed over without a marginal note: at v.1 some witnesses add καὶ τῆς νύμφης ("and the bride") after τοῦ νυμφίου, an attractive but secondary expansion not printed; at v.6 the form γέγονεν / ἐγένετο varies, and the perfect ἐξέρχεσθε is read; at v.13 the Byzantine tradition adds ἐν ᾗ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἔρχεται ("in which the Son of Man comes"), an assimilation to 24:44 not in the critical text; at v.16 the editions divide between the aorist ἐκέρδησεν ("gained," read) and the present/imperfect; at v.31 some witnesses read ἅγιοι ἄγγελοι ("holy angels"), the shorter ἄγγελοι being printed; at v.41 the participle is κατηραμένοι ("cursed ones"). Orthographic variants (movable-ν, ι-subscript, ἐλάχιστος spelling) are not noted. The chapter has 46 verses; none is legitimately omitted by the critical text. Observe the chapter's structural unity as the climax of the discourse: γρηγορέω ("keep watch," v.13) caps the virgins; the master's repeated εἴσελθε εἰς τὴν χαρὰν τοῦ κυρίου σου (vv.21, 23) rewards faithful stewardship; the participial perfects εὐλογημένοι / ἡτοιμασμένην (v.34) are answered by κατηραμένοι / ἡτοιμασμένον (v.41), the kingdom "prepared" for the blessed against the fire "prepared for the devil"; and ἐλάχιστος ("least," vv.40, 45) — with "my brothers" in v.40, without it in v.45 — identifies the King with the needy, the verdict resolving in the balanced antithesis αἰώνιος κόλασις / ζωή ("eternal punishment / life," v.46).

Matthew 26 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ ΚϚ′

Theme. The longest chapter in Matthew opens the passion: the plot and the anointing for burial, Judas's bargain, the Passover-Supper where Jesus gives his body and "my blood of the covenant poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins," the Gethsemane agony resolved in "not as I will, but as you," the arrest with the sword renounced, the trial before Caiaphas where Jesus answers "you have said so" and points to "the Son of Man at the right hand of Power," and Peter's threefold denial sealed by the cock's crow. Throughout, the Son of Man goes "as it is written," sovereignly obedient to a script of Scripture.

Outline.

• A · 26:1–13 — The plot, and the anointing at Bethany. The fifth discourse closed (the recurring "when Jesus had finished" formula), Jesus dates his crucifixion to the Passover, now two days off (1–2); the chief priests and elders plot to seize him by stealth, but not during the feast — a caveat overruled by God's timetable (3–5). At Bethany a woman pours costly ointment on his head; against the disciples' "Why this waste?" Jesus defends the deed as a "beautiful work" preparing his body for burial, to be told wherever the gospel is preached, in memory of her (6–13).
• B · 26:14–16 — Judas's bargain. Judas Iscariot, "one of the twelve," goes to the chief priests, who weigh out thirty pieces of silver (the slave-price of Exod 21:32, the shepherd's wage of Zech 11:12); from then on he watches for an opportunity to hand Jesus over.
• C · 26:17–30 — The Passover, the betrayer foretold, and the Supper. The disciples prepare the Passover at Jesus' sovereign word, "My time is near" (17–19). At table he foretells betrayal by one eating with him; "woe to that man… better had he not been born"; Judas alone says "Rabbi," and is told "you have said so" (20–25). Over bread — "this is my body" — and cup — "this is my blood of the covenant, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" — Jesus institutes the Supper, vowing not to drink again until the kingdom (26–29); they sing the Hallel and go to the Mount of Olives (30).
• D · 26:31–35 — The falling away and Peter's denial foretold. Citing Zech 13:7 (the struck shepherd, scattered sheep), Jesus foretells all will fall away that night, yet promises to go before them, risen, into Galilee (31–32); Peter's "I will never fall away" / "even if I must die with you" is met with "before the cock crows you will deny me three times" (33–35).
• E · 26:36–46 — Gethsemane. Sorrowful "unto death," Jesus takes Peter and the sons of Zebedee and prays three times that the cup might pass — "yet not as I will, but as you," then "your will be done" (36–44); each time he finds the three asleep — "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" — and at last rouses them: the hour has come, the betrayer is at hand (45–46).
• F · 26:47–56 — The arrest. Judas comes with a crowd and the prearranged kiss; "Friend, do what you came to do" (47–50). A disciple's sword severs the high priest's servant's ear, but Jesus stops him — "all who take the sword will perish by the sword" — and notes that twelve legions of angels stand ready; yet the Scriptures must be fulfilled (51–54). He exposes the cowardice of a nighttime arrest, and all the disciples flee, fulfilling v.31 (55–56).
• G · 26:57–68 — Before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin. Jesus is led to Caiaphas; Peter follows at a distance to "see the end" (57–58). The council seeks false testimony in vain until two allege the temple-saying (59–61). Silent under accusation, Jesus answers the high priest's adjuration: "You have said so. But… you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven" (Ps 110:1 + Dan 7:13) — charged with blasphemy, condemned to death, spat upon and struck, mockingly told to "prophesy" (62–68).
• H · 26:69–75 — Peter's threefold denial. In the courtyard a servant girl, then another, then the bystanders (betrayed by his Galilean accent) press Peter; he denies Jesus thrice — at last with oaths and self-cursing — "I do not know the man"; the cock crows, he remembers Jesus' word, and goes out and weeps bitterly.

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 26, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. A few points are worth flagging. At v.28 the cup-word reads τὸ αἷμά μου τῆς διαθήκης ("my blood of the covenant") without the adjective καινῆς ("new") that the Byzantine tradition (and the Lukan/Pauline parallel, 1 Cor 11:25) adds; the shorter reading is printed, and the εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν ("for the forgiveness of sins") is unique to Matthew. At v.3 the words καὶ οἱ γραμματεῖς ("and the scribes") are absent from the critical text though present in later witnesses. At v.27 ποτήριον is anarthrous in the best text; at v.42 the second cup-saying omits τὸ ποτήριον in some witnesses. At vv.60, 71 minor transpositions (the doubled οὐχ εὗρον / ὕστερον προσελθόντες; ἄλλη "another" maidservant) are not noted. Orthographic variants (movable-ν, ι-subscript, Γεθσημανί/Γεθσημανεί, Καϊάφα spelling) are passed over. The chapter has 75 verses; none is legitimately omitted by the critical text. Observe the chapter's web of links: παραδίδωμι ("hand over, betray") is the leitwort threading the whole (vv.2, 15–16, 21, 23–25, 45–48); the threefold pattern binds Jesus' three prayers, the three sleeping disciples, and Peter's three denials; the Son-of-Man title frames passion-prediction (v.2), woe (v.24), arrest (v.45), and exaltation (v.64); and the Scripture-"must" (δεῖ, γέγραπται, πληρωθῶσιν, vv.24, 31, 54, 56) governs the action throughout.

Matthew 27 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ ΚΖ′

Theme. The trial, crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus: handed to Pilate and abandoned even by his betrayer, condemned through envy and a clamoring crowd, mocked as King of the Jews, and crucified amid the echoes of Psalm 22 — he dies with the cry of dereliction, and the rent veil, the quaking earth, the raised saints, and a Gentile centurion's confession declare who he is, before he is sealed in a borrowed tomb under guard.

Outline.

• A · 27:1–10 — Jesus handed to Pilate; the remorse and death of Judas. The dawn council formalizes the death-resolve and delivers Jesus, bound, to Pilate (1–2). Judas, seeing the condemnation, is seized with remorse (μεταμεληθείς, not μετάνοια), returns the thirty pieces of silver confessing 'innocent blood,' and — flinging the money into the sanctuary — hangs himself (3–5). The priests, scrupling to put blood-money in the treasury, buy the potter's field for a strangers' graveyard, named to this day the Field of Blood (6–8); Matthew sees here a prophecy 'spoken through Jeremiah' fulfilled (9–10).
• B · 27:11–26 — Before Pilate: Barabbas, the cry to crucify, the washing of hands. Questioned on his kingship, Jesus answers 'Σὺ λέγεις' and then keeps an Isaianic silence that amazes Pilate (11–14). The Passover-amnesty custom sets up the choice between Barabbas and 'Jesus who is called Christ,' offered to crowds Pilate knows act from envy (15–18). Pilate's wife warns him off 'that righteous man' (19), but the leaders sway the crowds, who demand Barabbas and 'Let him be crucified' (20–23). Pilate washes his hands, disclaiming the blood; the people take it upon themselves and their children; Barabbas is freed, and Jesus is scourged and handed over (24–26).
• C · 27:27–31 — The soldiers' mockery. The whole cohort robes Jesus in scarlet, crowns him with thorns, arms him with a reed-scepter, kneels in mock homage hailing 'King of the Jews,' spits, and strikes him with the reed — then re-dresses him and leads him out to crucify (27–31).
• D · 27:32–44 — The crucifixion, the charge, and the threefold mockery. Simon of Cyrene is conscripted to bear the cross (32); at Golgotha the wine mixed with gall is refused and the garments parted by lot (33–36). The titulus reads 'This is Jesus, the King of the Jews' (37); two robbers are crucified flanking him (38). Passersby wagging their heads, the chief priests with scribes and elders, and even the co-crucified robbers heap mockery, scripting Psalm 22 unawares (39–44).
• E · 27:45–56 — The darkness, the cry of dereliction, the death, and its signs. Darkness covers the land from noon to three (45); about the ninth hour Jesus cries 'Ηλι ηλι λεμα σαβαχθανι,' Psalm 22:1, misheard as a call to Elijah (46–49), and with a loud cry yields up his spirit (50). The temple veil is torn top-to-bottom, the earth quakes, rocks split, tombs open, and many holy dead are raised, entering the holy city after his resurrection (51–53); the centurion and his men confess, 'Truly this was the Son of God' (54), as the Galilean women — Mary Magdalene, the other Mary, the mother of Zebedee's sons — watch from afar (55–56).
• F · 27:57–66 — The burial by Joseph of Arimathea and the sealing of the tomb. Joseph of Arimathea, a rich disciple, obtains the body from Pilate, wraps it in clean linen, and lays it in his own new rock-hewn tomb sealed with a great stone (57–60), the two Marys sitting opposite (61). The next day the chief priests and Pharisees, recalling 'that deceiver's' resurrection prediction, secure from Pilate a guard against theft, and the tomb is sealed and watched (62–66).

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 27, broadly uniform across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. Several variants are worth flagging without a marginal apparatus. At vv.16–17 a noted body of witnesses (the Caesarean text, Origen's knowledge of it, family 1, the Sinaitic Syriac) gives the prisoner the name 'Jesus Barabbas' (Ἰησοῦν Βαραββᾶν), printed by some editors and bracketed by others; the shorter 'Barabbas' is followed here, the longer reading sharpening the irony of 'which Jesus?' At v.9 the citation is ascribed to Jeremiah though its wording is chiefly Zechariah 11:12–13 (with motifs from Jer 19 and 32) — a famous attribution crux, not a textual one (a few witnesses omit the name or read 'Zechariah'/'Isaiah'). At v.24 some witnesses read 'this righteous blood' (τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ δικαίου τούτου) for 'this blood.' At v.35 the Byzantine tradition adds an explicit fulfillment citation of Psalm 22:18, absent from the earliest text and omitted here. At v.46 the transliterated cry varies between the Hebraizing ηλι ηλι (read here, easing the Elijah-misunderstanding of v.47) and the Aramaic ελωι ελωι of Mark, with λεμα/λαμα and σαβαχθανι/ζαφθανι spellings. Most notably, after v.49 several major witnesses (א B C L and others) insert 'But another took a spear and pierced his side, and out came water and blood' (ἄλλος δὲ λαβὼν λόγχην ἔνυξεν αὐτοῦ τὴν πλευράν, καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ὕδωρ καὶ αἷμα) — almost certainly a very early intrusion harmonizing to John 19:34, since it places the spear-thrust before Jesus' death; it is bracketed or relegated by the editions and omitted here. Orthographic variants (movable-ν, ι-subscript, Ἁριμαθαία/Ἀριμαθαία, Μαρία/Μαριάμ) are not noted. The chapter is saturated with the Old Testament: the thirty silver and the potter's field (Zech 11; Jer 18–19, 32), the silence of the lamb (Isa 53:7), the parted garments, head-wagging and taunting mockers, and the cry of dereliction (Ps 22:1, 7–8, 18), the gall and sour wine (Ps 69:21), and the rich man's tomb (Isa 53:9); its wording follows the LXX where it cites.

Matthew 28 — ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΘΘΑΙΟΝ ΚΗ′

Theme. The resurrection and its commission: at dawn the women find the tomb opened by an angel and hear that the crucified Jesus has been raised; the risen Lord meets them and then, on a Galilean mountain, claims all authority in heaven and on earth and sends the eleven to make disciples of all nations — baptizing into the triune name and teaching obedience — with the abiding pledge, "I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Outline.

• A · 28:1–7 — The empty tomb: the earthquake, the angel, and the announcement. At first light on the first day the two Marys come to view the tomb (1); a great earthquake and an angel descending from heaven roll back the stone and sit upon it, his appearance like lightning and his robe snow-white (2–3), so that the guards quake and become as dead men (4). The angel reassures the women — do not fear, you seek the crucified Jesus (5) — proclaims the Easter word, "he is not here, for he has been raised as he said," and invites them to see the empty place (6), then commissions them to tell the disciples he has risen and goes before them into Galilee, where they will see him (7).
• B · 28:8–10 — Jesus meets the women. Leaving quickly with fear and great joy, they run to report (8) when the risen Jesus himself meets them with a greeting; they grasp his feet and worship (9). He repeats the angel's charge — do not fear; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, where they will see me (10) — naming the deserters "my brothers."
• C · 28:11–15 — The guards bribed: the counter-story. While the women go, some of the guard report to the chief priests (11), who with the elders take counsel and give the soldiers a large bribe (12) to say the disciples stole the body by night while they slept (13) — a self-defeating tale — promising to placate the governor and shield them (14); the soldiers comply, and the story persists among the Jews "to this day" (15).
• D · 28:16–20 — The Great Commission in Galilee. The eleven go to the appointed mountain (16); seeing Jesus they worship, though some doubt (17). He approaches and declares that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him (18); therefore they are to make disciples of all the nations — baptizing into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (19) and teaching obedience to all he commanded (20a) — with the closing promise, "behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (20b).

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of Matthew 28, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. A few points of variation are passed over without a marginal note: at v.6 the words ὁ κύριος ("the Lord") after ἔκειτο are read by many witnesses and printed, though omitted by some; at v.8 the editions divide over ἀπελθοῦσαι (read) versus ἐξελθοῦσαι; at v.9 a later expansion at the head of the verse (ὡς δὲ ἐπορεύοντο ἀπαγγεῖλαι τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ) is not printed, the salutation being read with ἰδού alone; at v.19 the triadic baptismal name is uniform in the manuscript tradition. Orthographic variants (movable-ν, ι-subscript, the spelling Μαθθαῖον/Ματθαῖον) are not noted. Beyond the apparatus, the chapter is bound by a web of verbal links: the σεισμός of v.2 ("earthquake") and the cognate ἐσείσθησαν of v.4 ("trembled") tie the theophany to the guards' collapse; the divine passive ἠγέρθη ("was raised," vv.6, 7) is the kerygmatic centre; προάγει (v.7) fulfils 26:32; the threefold πᾶς of vv.18–20 (all authority, all nations, all I commanded) structures the commission; and the Emmanuel μεθ' ὑμῶν εἰμι of v.20 forms an inclusio with "God with us" (1:23), framing the whole Gospel.

Major translation & exegetical cruxes

Where the Greek legitimately admits more than one rendering or reading, the point was flagged in the lexical notes and chapter text_notes rather than decided silently; the more common analysis was generally taken and the alternative noted. The principal cruxes in Matthew:

How the data set is organized

• nt-interlinear/data/matthew{1..28}.json — the durable scholarly content: one JSON object per chapter (reference, titles, text-note, outline, and verses with per-word annotation and per-verse discourse notes). The data set shares the nt-interlinear toolkit and schema with the Pauline volumes.
• nt-interlinear/ — a chapter-agnostic renderer (stdlib-only HTML; headless-Chromium PDF) that turns any conforming data file into a six-tier interlinear document. Adding a chapter (or a book) requires no code changes.
• Rendered artifacts — Matthew{1..28}.html and .pdf under staticsite/Matthew/, linked from its index.html.

The interpretive tiers (syntactic function, semantic force, discourse structure, and the proposed argument outlines) are interpretive by nature; where readings legitimately differ, the more common analysis was generally chosen, and the lexical notes are condensed orientation rather than a substitute for a lexicon (e.g. BDAG) or a full commentary.