MAT 4:15 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
⇔  the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
⇔  Galilee of the Gentiles—

UST “I am speaking about people in the regions that belong to the tribe of Zebulun and to the tribe of Naphtali.
⇔ These regions are by the Sea of Galilee, on the other side of the Jordan River.
⇔ We call these regions Galilee, where many non-Jewish people live.
⇔ 

BLB "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles--

AICNT “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,

OEB “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
⇔ the land of the Road by the sea, and beyond the Jordan,
⇔ with Galilee of the Gentiles –

WEBBE “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
⇔ towards the sea, beyond the Jordan,
⇔ Galilee of the Gentiles,

WMBB (Same as above)

NET “ Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
⇔  the way by the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles –

LSV “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations!

FBV “In the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphthali, on the road to the sea, across the Jordan River, in Galilee where the foreigners live:

TCNT ⇔ “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
⇔ way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,

T4T “Zebulun region and Naphtali region are on the road which is near Galilee Lake and on the eastern side of the Jordan River. They are the regions in Galilee District where many non-Jews are living.

LEB • “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, toward the sea ,[fn] on the other side of the Jordan,
• Galilee of the Gentiles[fn]—

4:14 Literally “the way of the sea”

4:14 Or “nations”; the same Greek word can be translated “nations” or “Gentiles” depending on the context

BBE The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,

Moff Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali
⇔ lying to the sea, across the Jordan,
⇔ Galilee of the Gentiles!

Wymth "Zebulun's land and Naphtali's land; the road by the Lake; the country beyond the Jordan; Galilee of the Nations!

ASV The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
⇔ Toward the sea, beyond the Jordan,
⇔ Galilee of the Gentiles,

DRA Land of Zabulon and land of Nephthalim, the way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles:

YLT 'Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations! —

Drby Land of Zabulon and land of Nepthalim, way of [the] sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations:

RV The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, Toward the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,
(The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, Toward the sea, beyond Yordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, )

SLT The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, the way of the sea beyond Jordan, Galilee of the nations:

Wbstr The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles:

KJB-1769 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;
(The land of Zabulon, and the land of Naphtalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Yordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; )

KJB-1611 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthali, by the way of the Sea beyond Iordane, Galilee of the Gentiles:
(The land of Zabulon, and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the Sea beyond Yordan, Galilee of the Gentiles:)

Bshps The lande of Zabulon, & Nephthalim, (by) the way of the sea beyonde Iordane, Galilee of the Gentiles.
(The land of Zabulon, and Naphtalim, (by) the way of the sea beyond Yordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.)

Gnva The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim by the way of the sea, beyond Iordan, Galile of the Gentiles:
(The land of Zabulon, and the land of Naphtalim by the way of the sea, beyond Yordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: )

Cvdl The londe of zabulon and Neptalim, the waye of the see beyonde Iordan, and Galile of the Gentyls,
(The land of zabulon and Neptalim, the way of the sea beyond Yordan, and Galilee of the Gentyls,)

TNT The londe of zabulon and Neptalim the waye of the see beyonde Iordan Galile of the Gentyls
(The land of zabulon and Neptalim the way of the sea beyond Yordan Galilee of the Gentyls )

Wycl The lond of Sabulon and the lond of Neptalym, the weie of the see ouer Jordan, of Galilee of hethen men,
(The land of Sabulon and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea over Yordan, of Galilee of heathen men,)

Luth Das Land Zabulon und das Land Nephtalim am Wege des Meers, jenseit des Jordans, und das heidnische Galiläa,
(The country Zabulon and the country Nephtalim in/at/on_the ways the seas, beyond the Yordans, and the heidnische Galilee,)

ClVg [Terra Zabulon, et terra Nephthalim, via maris trans Jordanem, Galilæa gentium:[fn]
([Land Zabulon, and earth/land Nephthalim, way/road of_the_sea across Yordan, Galilæa nations: )

4.15 Terra Zabulon. ID. Quod primo positum est prætermittit evangelista; scilicet: Primo tempore alleviata est terra Zabulon et terra Nephtalim Isa. 9.: sicut et quod in medio est, etc., usque ad sed pro figura eorum qui vocandi sunt de gentibus, ea quæ gentium est hic memoratur.

4.15 Land Zabulon. ID. That at_first placed it_is interrupts evangelist; namely: At_first at_the_time alleviata it_is earth/land Zabulon and earth/land Nephtalim Isa. 9.: like and that in/into/on in_the_middle it_is, etc., until to but for figure/form their who/which vocandi are from/about nations, them which nations it_is this/here memoratur.

UGNT γῆ Ζαβουλὼν καὶ γῆ Νεφθαλείμ, ὁδὸν θαλάσσης, πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου, Γαλιλαία τῶν ἐθνῶν.
(gaʸ Zaboulōn kai gaʸ Nefthaleim, hodon thalassaʸs, peran tou Yordanou, Galilaia tōn ethnōn.)

SBL-GNT Γῆ Ζαβουλὼν καὶ γῆ Νεφθαλίμ, ὁδὸν θαλάσσης, πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου, Γαλιλαία τῶν ἐθνῶν,
(Gaʸ Zaboulōn kai gaʸ Nefthalim, hodon thalassaʸs, peran tou Yordanou, Galilaia tōn ethnōn,)

RP-GNT Γῆ Ζαβουλὼν καὶ γῆ Νεφθαλείμ, ὁδὸν θαλάσσης, πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου, Γαλιλαία τῶν ἐθνῶν,
(Gaʸ Zaboulōn kai gaʸ Nefthaleim, hodon thalassaʸs, peran tou Yordanou, Galilaia tōn ethnōn,)

TC-GNT ⇔ Γῆ Ζαβουλὼν καὶ γῆ [fn]Νεφθαλείμ,
⇔ ὁδὸν θαλάσσης, πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου, Γαλιλαία τῶν ἐθνῶν,
( ⇔ Gaʸ Zaboulōn kai gaʸ Nefthaleim,
⇔ hodon thalassaʸs, peran tou Yordanou, Galilaia tōn ethnōn, )

4:15 νεφθαλειμ ¦ νεφθαλιμ NA SBL

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 4:12–17: Jesus began preaching in Galilee

After Jesus’ temptation, he left the district of Judea and went to his home in the town of Nazareth, which is in the district of Galilee (2:22–23). Later he moved from Nazareth to the town of Capernaum (4:12–13).

In this section, Matthew again showed how Jesus’ life fulfilled the words of a prophet (4:14–16). This section shows that the main idea that Jesus preached in this early part of his work was: “Turn away from your sins, because the kingdom of heaven is near” (4:17 in the GNT).

Here are some other headings for this section:

Jesus began his work in Galilee

The ministry of Jesus began

There are brief parallel passages for this section in Luke 4:14–15 and Mark 1:14–15.

Paragraph 4:12–16

In this paragraph, Matthew told his readers how Jesus fulfilled one of Isaiah’s prophecies. He returned to the province of Galilee and moved to the town of Capernaum.

4:15–16

Matthew 4:15–16 is a quotation from Isaiah 9:1–2. Much of the quote is poetry, so you should translate it as poetry.

4:15a

“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,

“In the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
“You people who live in the land of Zebulun and you who live in the land of Naphtali,

Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali: The Greek phrase that the BSB has literally translated as Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali is a figure of speech called apostrophe. God (through Isaiah) spoke directly to these two lands as if he were speaking to two people. The implied information is that God had a message for those who lived in those areas. So they needed to listen carefully to it. For example:

Listen, lands of Zebulun and Naphtali (CEV)

If it is not natural to use apostrophe here, you may want to translate these phrases something like the following:

You people who live in the land of Zebulun and you who live in the land of Naphtali

In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali (NLT)

Or you may want to speak indirectly about the land. For example:

Regarding/About the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali

This is a message for those who live in the land of Zebulun and those who live in the land of Naphtali

4:15b

the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,

in the land which is beside the lake and across the Jordan River,
the land which is near/beside the lake, the land which is on the other side of the Jordan River,

the Way of the Sea: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as the Way of the Sea describes where the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali are located. There are two ways to interpret this phrase:

These lands are located near/beside the Sea of Galilee. For example:
beside the sea (NLT) (RSV, NCV, NLT, JBP)
These lands are located along a road that went through them to the sea. Some think that this refers to a Roman road that went to the Mediterranean Sea. For example:
on the road to the sea (GNT) (GNT, CEV, NRSV, REB)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). It has more commentary support.

the Sea: The Greek word that the BSB here translates as Sea also occurs in 4:13b. This word is used in the New Testament to refer to both the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean Sea. English versions do not specify which sea this word refers to. However, the Sea of Galilee contains fresh water, and the Mediterranean Sea contains salt water. If your language has different words for these two types of seas, you should translate this word as the one that contains fresh water.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

lake

lake of Galilee

beyond the Jordan: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as beyond the Jordan also describes where the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali are located. It describes where these lands are located from the perspective of someone who was on the east side of the Jordan River. So the word beyond refers to the west side.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

on the other side of the Jordan (GNT)

across the Jordan River (GW)

4:15c

Galilee of the Gentiles—

in the land also called Galilee, a land where many who are not Jews live,
the land whose other name is Galilee, a land where foreigners/non-Jews also live.

Galilee of the Gentiles: The phrase Galilee of the Gentiles is another way to describe the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. As mentioned in 4:13c, the land that belonged to these two clans covered some of the same area as the district of Galilee.

The land was referred to as Galilee of the Gentiles because both Jews and Gentiles lived in the district of Galilee.

of the Gentiles: The Greek word that the BSB and many other English versions translate as Gentiles also means “nations” or “ethnic groups.” The Jews used this word to refer to all the people groups besides themselves.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

where foreigners live (GW)

where the non-Jewish people live (NCV)

where the non-Jews also live

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

γῆ Ζαβουλὼν καὶ γῆ Νεφθαλείμ, ὁδὸν θαλάσσης, πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου, Γαλιλαία τῶν ἐθνῶν

land (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Γῆ Ζαβουλών καί γῆ Νεφθαλὶμ ὁδόν θαλάσσης πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου Γαλιλαία τῶν ἐθνῶν)

Here, the areas that Isaiah refers to represent the people who live in those areas. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression from your language or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [The people who live in the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the people who live on the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, the people who live in Galilee of the Gentiles]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

γῆ Ζαβουλὼν καὶ γῆ Νεφθαλείμ, ὁδὸν θαλάσσης, πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου, Γαλιλαία τῶν ἐθνῶν

land (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Γῆ Ζαβουλών καί γῆ Νεφθαλὶμ ὁδόν θαλάσσης πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου Γαλιλαία τῶν ἐθνῶν)

Each of the three lines of poetry in this verse gives a different description of the same area. Hebrew poetry was based on this kind of repetition, and it would be good to show this to your readers by including all three descriptions in your translation rather than combining them. However, if it would be helpful to your readers, you could connect the phrases with a word or phrase that indicates that these lines are all descriptions of one place. Alternate translation: [The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, which is the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, which is Galilee of the Gentiles]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ὁδὸν θαλάσσης

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Γῆ Ζαβουλών καί γῆ Νεφθαλὶμ ὁδόν θαλάσσης πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου Γαλιλαία τῶν ἐθνῶν)

The phrase the way of the sea could refer to: (1) areas near the sea of Galilee. Alternate translation: [the areas around the Sea of Galilee] (2) a road that ended at the Mediterranean sea. Alternate translation: [the road that goes to the Mediterranean sea]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου

beyond the Jordan

Here Isaiah could be referring to: (1) areas to the west of the Jordan River. Alternate translation: [on the western side of the Jordan] (2) areas to the east of the Jordan River. Alternate translation: [on the eastern side of the Jordan]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

Γαλιλαία τῶν ἐθνῶν

Galilee ˱of˲_the pagans

Here, Isaiah is using the possessive form to describe Galilee as a place where Gentiles live. If this is not clear in your language, you could express the idea in another way. Alternate translation: [Galilee, home of Gentiles]

Parallel MAT 4:15

Section 4:12–17: Jesus began preaching in Galilee

Paragraph 4:12–16

4:15–16

4:15a

4:15b

4:15c