OET interlinear MAT 21:42

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: translate-tense

λέγει

/is/_saying

To call attention to a development in the story, Matthew uses the present tense in past narration. If it would not be natural to do that in your language, you could use the past tense in your translation. Alternate translation: “said”

Note 2 topic: writing-pronouns

αὐτοῖς

˱to˲_them

The pronoun them refers to the chief priests and the elders. If this is not clear for your readers, you could refer to them more directly. Alternate translation: “to the chief priests and elders”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

οὐδέποτε ἀνέγνωτε ἐν ταῖς Γραφαῖς, λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες, οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας; παρὰ Κυρίου ἐγένετο αὕτη, καὶ ἔστιν θαυμαστὴ ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν?

never ˱you_all˲_read in the Scriptures /the/_stone which rejected the_‹ones› building this /was/_become for /the/_head ˱of˲_/the/_corner from /the/_Lord became this and ˱it˲_is marvelous in /the/_eyes ˱of˲_us

Jesus is using the question form to rebuke and teach the chief priests and elders. If you would not use the question form for this purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or an exclamation. Alternate translation: “I know that you have read, ‘A stone that the builders rejected, this has become the head of the corner. This came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes.’” or “Surely you have read, ‘A stone that the builders rejected, this has become the head of the corner. This came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’!”

Note 4 topic: writing-quotations

οὐδέποτε ἀνέγνωτε ἐν ταῖς Γραφαῖς

never ˱you_all˲_read in the Scriptures

Here Jesus introduces a quotation from an important text, in this case, the Old Testament book of Psalms (see Psalm 118:22–23). If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase that indicates that Jesus is quoting from an important text. Alternate translation: “Did you never read in the book of Psalms” or “Have you never read what someone wrote in our Scriptures”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες, οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας

/the/_stone which rejected the_‹ones› building this /was/_become for /the/_head ˱of˲_/the/_corner

Here the author of the quotation speaks of a person whom others reject as if he were a stone that builders rejected. He speaks of this person gaining power and respect as if he became the head of the corner. Jesus is applying this quotation to himself as the stone. However, if possible, preserve the metaphor in your translation, or if necessary you could express the idea in simile form. Alternate translation: “A person who is like a stone that the builders rejected, that person has become like the head of the corner”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες

/the/_stone which rejected the_‹ones› building

Here the author of the quotation is referring to the way people in this culture used stones to build the walls of houses and other buildings. In this case, the people do not want to use the stone for building. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. Alternate translation: “A stone that the builders thought was not good enough to use for building”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

κεφαλὴν γωνίας

/the/_head ˱of˲_/the/_corner

The phrase the head of the corner refers to a specific stone that is especially key or important for a structure. It could be a stone at the corner of a wall, a stone at the top of an arch, or another important stone. You could use a term for one of these kinds of stones, or you could refer generally to an important or essential stone. Alternate translation: “the cornerstone” or “the capstone” or “the most important stone”

παρὰ Κυρίου ἐγένετο αὕτη

from /the/_Lord became this

Alternate translation: “The Lord has caused this”

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν

in in /the/_eyes ˱of˲_us

Here, eyes represents a person’s judgement or evaluation. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression from your language or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “in our opinion” or “from our perspective”