UTN uW Translation Notes:

Matthew 4 Chapter Introduction

Structure and Formatting

1. The birth of Jesus Christ and the beginning of his ministry ([1:1–4:25](../01/01.md)) * The devil tempts Jesus ([4:1–11](../04/01.md)) * Jesus begins his public ministry ([4:12–17](../04/12.md)) * Jesus calls four of his disciples ([4:18–22](../04/18.md)) * Summary of Jesus’ early ministry ([4:23–25](../04/23.md))Some translations set each line of poetry farther to the right than the rest of the text to make it easier to read. The ULT does this with the poetry in [4:15–16](../04/15.md), which are words from the Old Testament.

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

The Devil

The devil, also named Satan, is an evil spiritual being. In this chapter, he tempts Jesus to disobey God. He even quotes the Bible to try to convince Jesus to disobey. Consider how you might naturally refer to a powerful and evil spiritual being.

Temptation

In [4:1–11](../04/01.md), Matthew tells the story of how Jesus was tempted by the devil. The devil tried to convince Jesus to do things that would be disobedient. Jesus already knew how he was supposed to live his life and how he was supposed to die on the cross. The devil tempted Jesus to act in a different way. In response, Jesus quotes the Bible and does not do what the devil tempts him to do.

Fishermen

Four of Jesus’ first disciples (Peter, Andrew, James, and John) were fishermen. In their culture, fishermen usually stood on the shore or in a boat and threw a net into the water. The edges of the net had weights on it, so the net sank into the water and trapped any fish beneath it. Then, fishermen would pull on a rope to close the net and haul it to shore or onto the boat. If people in your culture do not fish or do not fish in that way, consider how much information you need to provide to help your readers understand the story.

Translation Issues in This Chapter

Singular and plural forms of “you”

Most of the forms of “you” in this chapter appear in dialogue between Jesus and the devil. Because of this, most forms of “you” in this chapter are singular. You should assume forms of “you” are singular unless a note specifies that the form is plural. (See: figs-yousingular)