UTN uW Translation Notes:

Matthew 11 General Notes

Structure and Formatting

5. Jesus teaches about the gospel of the kingdom of God, and opposition to Jesus begins (11:1-12:50) * Jesus and John the Baptist (11:1–19) * John asks about who Jesus is (11:1–6) * Jesus teaches about John (11:7–15) * Jesus speaks about himself and John (11:16–19) * Judgment on Galilean cities (11:20–24) * Jesus speaks about his ministry (11:25–30)Some translations set quotations from the Old Testament farther to the right on the page than the rest of the text. The ULT does this with the quotation from Malachi 3:1 in 11:10.

Special Concepts in this Chapter

“Elijah”

In 11:14, Jesus says that John the Baptist is “Elijah, the one being about to come.” Here Jesus refers to a prophecy in Malachi 4:5–6 that indicates that God will send “Elijah” to prepare the way before God comes to judge his enemies and reward his people. Malachi is referring to a prophet who lived even earlier. This prophet, named Elijah, performed many miracles and spoke messages from God (see 1 Kings 17–19 and 2 Kings 2:1–17). So, when Jesus says that John is “Elijah,” he means that John fulfills the prophecy in Malachi that someone like the prophet Elijah will prepare the way before God comes to judge and reward people. If your readers would not know the prophecy in Malachi or the stories about the prophet Elijah, you may need to include some of this information in your translation or in a footnote.

The day of judgment

In 11:21–24, Jesus refers to “the day of judgment.” He says that, on that day, it will be more tolerable for wicked people who lived in cities like Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom than it will be for people who reject Jesus’ ministry in cities like Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. The phrase “day of judgment” refers to a specific time in the future when God will judge everyone, punish those who disobey him, and reward those who believe in and obey him. What Jesus means is that even wicked people who lived in cities like Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom will receive less punishment than people who reject him and his message. See the notes on these verses for translation options.

Important Figures of Speech in this Chapter

The comparison with children in 11:16–19

In these verses, Jesus compares how people treat him and John with how children play in the marketplace. There are two primary ways to understand the comparison. First, Jesus and John could be like the children who play flutes or sing funeral songs. In this case, Jesus is saying that people reject both John’s mournful ministry and Jesus’ joyful ministry. Second, the people whom Jesus is speaking about could be like the children who play flutes or sing funeral songs. In this case, Jesus is saying that these people are upset that John and Jesus do not behave as they want them to behave. Since both of these options have similar meanings, and because Jesus does not clearly explain which option he intended, if possible express the comparison in such a way that either interpretation could make sense.

Jesus rebuking cities in 11:20–24

In these verses, Jesus speaks to specific cities as if they were among the crowds who were listening to him. He speaks in this way to express his attitude towards these cities. Further, when Jesus refers to the cities, he uses their names to refer to the people who live in those cities. So, when Jesus speaks directly to Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, he is expressing his attitude toward the people who live in those cities. See the notes on these verses for translation strategies and options.

The yoke and burden metaphor in 11:28–30

In these verses, Jesus promises rest, an easy yoke, and a light burden to those who are laboring and heavy-burdened. There are several ways to understand these images. First, Jesus could be referring to how people struggle and suffer for many reasons, and he promises to make these things better. Second, Jesus could be referring to how people struggle to obey what the religious leaders say to do, and he promises to give them better and easier commands. Third, Jesus could be referring to how people suffer under the Roman empire, and he promises to be a better leader and ruler. Since Jesus is speaking to a crowd of people, most likely he used the images of yokes and burdens so that what he was saying would be relevant to all the people, no matter what they were struggling with. So, if possible preserve the figure of speech or express the idea in a general way that could refer to many different difficult or hard things.

Other Possible Translation Difficulties in this Chapter

The meaning of 11:12

This verse contains two clauses, and both clauses can be interpreted in several ways. First, there are several options for understanding the meaning of the clause “the kingdom of the heavens suffers violence”:1. the “kingdom” could be what experiences the “violence.” In this case, the violence could come from: * people who hate and attack the kingdom * people who want to make the kingdom stronger by using violence2. the “kingdom” could be what performs the “violence.” In this case, the kingdom advances or becomes stronger in forceful and powerful ways.Second, there are also several options for understanding the meaning of the clause “violent men take it by force”:1. the “men” could be evil or wicked. In this case, they could be trying to: * attack and destroy the kingdom * take the kingdom away from Jesus and his disciples2. the “men” could be trying to do what is right. In this case, they are trying to become part of the kingdom in forceful or powerful ways.Almost any combination of these options is possible for understanding the meaning of the verse. However, the most common interpretations are these:1. the kingdom experiences violence, and violent people attack it and try to destroy it2. the kingdom advances forcefully, and forceful people want to be part of it3. the kingdom advances forcefully, but violent people attack it and try to destroy it4. violent people want to make the kingdom stronger by violence, and they try to take the kingdom away from Jesus and his disciplesSee the translation notes on this verse for possible ways to express the ideas. Since there are many ways to understand the verse, if possible make your translation general enough to allow for several or all of these interpretations.

Singular and plural forms of “you”

Most of the forms of “you” in this chapter appear in speeches that Jesus gives to many people around him. Because of this, most forms of “you” in this chapter are plural. You should assume forms of “you” are plural unless a note specifies that the form is singular. (See: figs-yousingular)