OET interlinear MAT 18:6

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

σκανδαλίσῃ ἕνα τῶν μικρῶν τούτων τῶν πιστευόντων εἰς ἐμέ

/may/_stumble one ¬the ˱of˲_little_‹ones› these ¬which believing in me

Here, Jesus is speaking of sinning as if it were stumbling. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἕνα τῶν μικρῶν τούτων τῶν πιστευόντων εἰς ἐμέ

one ¬the ˱of˲_little_‹ones› these ¬which believing in me

The phrase these little ones could refer: (1) to people who are not important from a human perspective. Alternate translation: “one of these unimportant people who believe in me” (2) to children who love Jesus and who are physically little compared to adults. Alternate translation: “one of these children who believe in me” (3) to people whose faith is new and has not yet become mature and strong. Alternate translation: “one of these people who recently believed in me”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

συμφέρει αὐτῷ ἵνα

˱it˲_/is/_benefitting ˱for˲_him that

Here Jesus implies that what he is about to describe is better than being punished by God for causing one of these little ones to sin. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. Alternate translation: “rather than being punished by God for doing that, it is better for him that”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

αὐτῷ & αὐτοῦ & καταποντισθῇ

˱for˲_him & ˱of˲_him & /may_be/_sunk

Although the terms him, his, and he are masculine, Jesus is using the words in a generic sense that includes both men and women. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a phrase that makes this clear. Alternate translation: “for that person … his or her … he or she would have been sunk”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

ἵνα κρεμασθῇ μύλος ὀνικὸς περὶ τὸν τράχηλον αὐτοῦ, καὶ καταποντισθῇ ἐν τῷ πελάγει τῆς θαλάσσης

that /may_be/_hanged /a/_millstone heavy around the neck ˱of˲_him and /may_be/_sunk in the depth ˱of˲_the sea

If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say who did the action, you could use an indefinite subject. Alternate translation: “that people might hang a millstone of a donkey around his neck and make sink him into the depth of the sea”

Note 6 topic: translate-unknown

μύλος ὀνικὸς

/a/_millstone heavy

A millstone was a round stone used for grinding grain into flour. The phrase of a donkey indicates that this kind of millstone was heavy enough that it took a donkey to turn it. If your readers would not be familiar with this type of stone, you could use the name of something similar in your area or you could use a more general term. Alternate translation: “a very large rock” or “a very heavy object”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

κρεμασθῇ & περὶ τὸν τράχηλον αὐτοῦ

/may_be/_hanged & around the neck ˱of˲_him

The implication is that someone would tie the millstone around the person’s neck. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. Alternate translation: “would have been attached to his neck”

Note 8 topic: translate-unknown

τῷ πελάγει τῆς θαλάσσης

the depth ˱of˲_the sea

Here, the phrase the depth of the sea refers to the parts of a body of water that are deep and far away from land. If your readers would not be familiar with what this phrase describes, you could use the name of something similar in your area or you could use a more general term. Alternate translation: “deep water” or “the parts of the sea that are far from land”

Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

τῷ πελάγει

the depth

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of depth, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: “the deep parts”