Open Bible Data Home About News OET Key
OET OET-RV OET-LV ULT UST BSB MSB BLB AICNT OEB WEBBE WMBB NET LSV FBV TCNT T4T LEB BBE Moff JPS Wymth ASV DRA YLT Drby RV SLT Wbstr KJB-1769 KJB-1611 Bshps Gnva Cvdl TNT Wycl SR-GNT UHB BrLXX BrTr Related Topics Parallel Interlinear Reference Dictionary Search
InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Mat C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 C25 C26 C27 C28
Mat 8 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28 V29 V30 V31 V32 V33 V34
OET (OET-LV) For/Because I also am a_man being_appointed under authority, having soldiers under myself, and I_am_saying to_this one:
Be_gone, and he_is_going, and to_another:
Be_coming, and he_is_coming, and to_the slave of_me:
Do this, and he_is_doing it.
OET (OET-RV) because I’m also a man given a position under authority with soldiers under me, and I tell this one, ‘Come here,’ and he comes, and tell my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.
This section tells the story of a Roman officer who had greater faith than many Jews. This Gentile officer believed that Jesus had the power to heal his servant, even from a distance. Matthew used this story to show Jesus’ power. He also used this story to show that believing Gentiles would also be in the kingdom of God.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
The faith of a centurion
A believing Roman army officer
A Roman officer shows he believes strongly in Jesus’ power
There is a parallel passage for this section in Luke 7:1–10.
In 8:9, the words of the centurion show that he understood authority. He understood that when someone in authority gives a command, that command is obeyed. This implies that he recognized Jesus’ authority and believed that Jesus had the power to heal his servant, even from a distance. As 8:10 says, Jesus was amazed at the centurion’s faith.
Be careful that your translation of this verse does not imply that the centurion was ordering Jesus to heal his servant.
If people in your area will not understand the correct meaning of these words, you may want to add a footnote to explain. Here is a sample footnote:
In saying this, the centurion indicated that he believed that Jesus had the authority and power to heal by simply commanding it.
For I myself am a man under authority,
I also am under the authority of my higher officers,
I know this because I have leaders who give me orders,
For: In this context, the Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as For introduces an explanation for the centurion saying “just say the word” (in 8:8c). In this verse, the centurion explained that he knew that someone with authority could give a command, and the command would be obeyed. This implies that he recognized that Jesus had authority, and he believed that Jesus could heal his servant with a command.
Here are some ways to begin this verse:
With a conjunction or introductory phrase that introduces the explanation. For example:
I know this because (NLT)
Without any conjunction. For example:
I, too, am a man under the authority of superior officers (GNT)
I myself am a man under authority: The phrase a man under authority means “a man who is placed under the authority of others.” A centurion in the Roman army was an officer, but he was not the highest officer. There were senior officers who had authority over him. In some languages, it may be necessary to make some of this explicit. For example:
I am under the authority of my superior officers (NLT)
I have officers who give orders to me (CEV)
I myself: The Greek word that the BSB translates as myself probably has the sense of “also” here. The centurion used this word to compare himself to Jesus. Both had the authority to give commands.
It is perhaps going too far to say that the centurion was saying that Jesus is under authority like he was under authority.“…the point of comparison is in the issuing of effective commands, not in the respective hierarchical status of Jesus and this (subordinate) officer. There is in any case no problem in the recognition of Jesus as a “man” (which he was!), and if the centurion was sufficiently well informed to understand that Jesus was operating under the authority of the God of Israel as he himself was operating under the authority of his military superiors, Matthew would have no problem with this. But this pericope is not about defining Jesus’ christological status, but about the recognition of his unquestioned authority.” (France, p. 315) In most of this verse, the centurion spoke of his authority to give commands, not receive them. So he was comparing his authority to give commands with Jesus’ authority. It is perhaps because of this difficulty that some English versions do not translate the word myself.
under authority: The phrase under authority refers to the centurion submitting to officers of higher rank than him. Greek and English use the words “under” and “over” to describe differing levels of authority. Other languages may use different words to describe this relationship such as “in front” and “behind.” Translate this in a way that is natural in your language.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
I must obey people with higher authority
I must do what people with greater power tell me
with soldiers under me.
and I have soldiers under my authority.
and I also give orders to my soldiers.
with soldiers under me: This phrase means that the centurion had authority to command the soldiers that he led. He implied that, in the same way, he believed that Jesus had authority to heal people.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
I also have soldiers who must obey me
And I give orders to soldiers who are under me
I tell one to go, and he goes;
I say to one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes,
If I tell one soldier to go somewhere, he will go there,
and another to come, and he comes.
and I say to another soldier, ‘Come,’ and he comes.
and if I tell/call another soldier to come here, he will come.
I tell one to go, and he goes; and another to come, and he comes: The phrases one and another refer generally to any of the soldiers under the centurion’s authority.
Here is another way to translate this:
I tell one soldier ‘Go’ and he goes; and I tell another soldier ‘come’ and he comes
I tell one to go: Here the command go means that the centurion was giving the soldier an order to “go somewhere” or to “go do something.” It does not mean that the centurion was chasing away the soldier. In some languages, it may be necessary to make this more explicit. For example:
I send one soldier saying, “Go over there.”
I tell my servant to do something, and he does it.”
And I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
And if I tell my slave to do something, he will do it.”
my servant: The Greek word that the BSB translates as servant here is not the same Greek word as “servant” in verse 8:6a. Here the Greek word refers generally to any servant or slave. The Roman centurion also commanded his servants or slaves and they obeyed him.
Some English versions translate these two words differently. For example, the GNT translates this word as “slave.”
Use an expression that refers generally to any servant of the centurion. For example:
one of my servants
anyone who serves me
my slave (GNT)
In the Greek, the words “go,” “come,” and “Do something” are direct speech. For example:
And I say to the one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it. (ESV)
However, in some languages, it may be more natural to translate these commands as indirect speech, as the BSB models.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ὑπὸ ἐξουσίαν, τασσόμενος
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί Γάρ ἐγώ ἄνθρωπος εἰμί ὑπό ἐξουσίαν τασσόμενος ἔχων ὑπʼ ἐμαυτόν στρατιώτας καί λέγω τούτῳ Πορεύθητι καί πορεύεται καί ἄλλῳ Ἔρχου καί ἔρχεται καί τῷ δούλῳ μού Ποίησον τοῦτο καί ποιεῖ)
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: [whom someone has placed under authority]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ὑπ’ ἐμαυτὸν
under (Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί Γάρ ἐγώ ἄνθρωπος εἰμί ὑπό ἐξουσίαν τασσόμενος ἔχων ὑπʼ ἐμαυτόν στρατιώτας καί λέγω τούτῳ Πορεύθητι καί πορεύεται καί ἄλλῳ Ἔρχου καί ἔρχεται καί τῷ δούλῳ μού Ποίησον τοῦτο καί ποιεῖ)
Here the centurion speaks of those over whom he has authority as if they were under him. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable figure of speech or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [under my authority] or [whom I command]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes
καὶ λέγω τούτῳ, πορεύθητι, καὶ πορεύεται, καὶ ἄλλῳ, ἔρχου, καὶ ἔρχεται, καὶ τῷ δούλῳ μου, ποίησον τοῦτο, καὶ ποιεῖ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί Γάρ ἐγώ ἄνθρωπος εἰμί ὑπό ἐξουσίαν τασσόμενος ἔχων ὑπʼ ἐμαυτόν στρατιώτας καί λέγω τούτῳ Πορεύθητι καί πορεύεται καί ἄλλῳ Ἔρχου καί ἔρχεται καί τῷ δούλῳ μού Ποίησον τοῦτο καί ποιεῖ)
If it would be clearer in your language, you could translate this sentence so that there are not quotations within a quotation. Alternate translation: [and I tell this one to go, and he goes, and I tell another one to come, and he comes, and I tell my servant to do something, and he does it]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis
καὶ ἄλλῳ & καὶ τῷ δούλῳ μου
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί Γάρ ἐγώ ἄνθρωπος εἰμί ὑπό ἐξουσίαν τασσόμενος ἔχων ὑπʼ ἐμαυτόν στρατιώτας καί λέγω τούτῳ Πορεύθητι καί πορεύεται καί ἄλλῳ Ἔρχου καί ἔρχεται καί τῷ δούλῳ μού Ποίησον τοῦτο καί ποιεῖ)
The centurion is leaving out some of the words that a sentence would need in many languages to be complete. If it would be helpful in your language, you could supply these words from earlier in the sentence. Alternate translation: [and to another I say … and to my servant, I say]
OET (OET-LV) For/Because I also am a_man being_appointed under authority, having soldiers under myself, and I_am_saying to_this one:
Be_gone, and he_is_going, and to_another:
Be_coming, and he_is_coming, and to_the slave of_me:
Do this, and he_is_doing it.
OET (OET-RV) because I’m also a man given a position under authority with soldiers under me, and I tell this one, ‘Come here,’ and he comes, and tell my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.
Open Bible Data site copyright © 2023–2026 Freely-Given.org.
Python source code for creating these static pages is available on GitHub under an open licence.
For Bible data copyrights, see the details for each displayed Bible version.
The Open English Translation (OET) main site is at OpenEnglishTranslation.Bible or OET.Bible.