Matthew 8:19-21

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Matthew 8:19 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then.”
2. Matthew 8:19 tn Or “a scribe.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.
3. Matthew 8:19 sn The statement I will follow you wherever you go is an offer to follow Jesus as a disciple, no matter what the cost. There is nothing wrong with this profession, but it is unlikely that the speaker had fully thought through all the implications of such a sweeping commitment to follow Jesus.
4. Matthew 8:20 tn Or “the wild birds”; Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).
5. Matthew 8:20 sn According to Matt 4:13 Jesus made his home in Capernaum, so in spite of the common interpretation of this statement he was not technically homeless. More likely Jesus’ reply here has to do with the increasing opposition and rejection he and his disciples are encountering, so the question amounts to this: Does the man who wants to follow him understand the rejection he will be facing? The implication is that he does not.
6. Matthew 8:21 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
7. Matthew 8:21 tc ‡ Most mss (C L N W Γ Δ Θ 0250 ƒ^{1, 13} 565 579 700 1424 M al lat sy mae bo) read αὐτοῦ (autou, “his”) here, but the earliest witnesses, א and B (along with 33 it sa), lack it. The addition may have been a motivated reading to clarify whose disciples were in view. NA²⁸ includes the pronoun in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.