This is a translation that I made of part of the Gospel of Matthew. I used the Nestle Aland Greek New Testament, an interlinear bible, a dictionary, a commentary and "The Elements of New Testament Greek". I'm no scholar, and I just did this out of interest, so I don't promise that it is an accurate translation, but I'm quite pleased with it.
What I discovered was that translation is difficult and time-consuming. Also, now that I've studied the text of Matthew 5 in far more detail than I had when I made this translation, I would now translate it slightly differently, so a good Bible knowledge is essential.
Oh, I started at Chapter 2 because Chapter 1 has all those "Abraham begat Isaac" bits, and so I didn't think it was an interesting place to start from.
So here is the text:
Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, at the time when Herod was king. Wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the newly-born King of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose, and have come to worship him.” When king Herod heard this, he was troubled, as were all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. He called together all the chief priests and learned people, and enquired from them where the Christ would be born. They replied, “In Bethlehem, in Judea, exactly as the prophet wrote:
“And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah,
for you will bring forth a ruler
who will shepherd Israel, my people.”
Herod summoned the wise men to a secret meeting and asked them the exact time that the star had appeared. Then he sent them on to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and make enquiries about this child, and when you find him, report back to me, so that I may also go and worship him.” So they listened to the king and went. And the star they had seen in the East guided them, until it came to rest above the house where the child was. And when they saw the star, they were extremely happy. They entered the house and saw the child with Mary his mother. They fell to the ground in worship before him, and opened up their treasure-chests, offering him gifts of gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. But they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, so they went back to their own country by another route.
When they had departed, one of the Lord’s angels appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Get up! Herod has started looking for the child, trying to kill him! Take the child and his mother, and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you to return.” So Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and fled by night to Egypt. They stayed there until Herod died, fulfilling the Lord’s words spoken by the prophet:
“I called my son out of Egypt.”
Herod was livid when he saw he had been tricked by the wise men. He sent people to kill all the young boys living in Bethlehem and its surroundings. He targeted children of two years and younger, according to the information he had obtained from the wise men. This fulfilled the words spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, when he said:
“A voice was heard in Ramah,
a voice of terrible weeping and mourning.
Rachel is weeping for her children,
she will not be comforted,
because they are no more.”
When Herod died, Joseph was still in Egypt. One of the Lord’s angels appeared to him in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel.” But Joseph heard that Herod’s son Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father, so Joseph was scared to go there. He was warned in a dream to head for Galilee, and when they arrived, they settled in the city of Nazareth. This fulfilled the words spoken through the prophets:
“He will be called a Nazarene.”
Around that time, John the Baptist appeared in the Judean wilderness, proclaiming, “Turn back to God, because the Kingdom of Heaven has come near!” John was the one described by Isaiah the prophet as:
“A voice crying out in the wilderness,
‘Get the road ready for the Lord!
Make straight paths for him!’”
John wore clothes made from camel hair with a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey. People from Jerusalem, all of Judea, and the towns along the river Jordan went out to him in the wilderness. He baptised them in the Jordan and they confessed their sins. But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to the baptism he said to them, “You slippery snakes! Who warned you to slither away from the anger that is coming? Don’t just say that you are turning back to God – produce fruit that shows that you have. And don’t keep reassuring each other, “We’ll be safe because Abraham is our father.” I tell you that God could easily make children for Abraham from the stones on the ground. He already has his axe aimed at the roots of the trees. If your tree is not producing good fruit he will chop it down and throw it on the fire. Yes, I baptise you with water as you turn from your sins. But someone else is following me, someone greater than me. I’m not good enough to even pick up his shoes! He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He will thresh the crops, gathering the wheat into his barn. But he’ll blow the chaff away to be burnt in unquenchable fire.
Then Jesus arrived from Galilee and went to the Jordan to be baptised by John. But John would not allow him, saying, “I need to be baptised by you, not you by me!” But Jesus answered, “At this time, allow me to be baptised, because it is the proper way for us to fulfil all that is righteous.” So John allowed him. And straight after, the very moment Jesus came up from the water, the heavens opened up, and the Spirit of God came down like a dove and rested on him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my son, my son whom I love. I am so pleased with him.”
Then the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. Jesus had fasted for forty days and forty nights, and was hungry. The Tempter approached him and said, “If you really were the Son of God, your words could turn these stones into loaves of bread.” But Jesus answered, “It has been written:
“Man shall not live only on bread,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Then the devil took him into the Holy City, stood him on the roof of the temple, and said, “If you really were the Son of God, you could throw yourself down, because it has been written:
“He will give his angels orders about you,
to hold you up in their hands,
so that you don’t strike your foot against a stone.”
Jesus replied, “Again, it has been written:
“Do not put the Lord your God to the test.””
Next, the devil took him to a very high mountaintop, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. He said to Jesus, “I will give all these things to you if you fall on the ground in worship to me.” Jesus replied, “Go away, Satan. For it has been written:
“You shall worship the Lord your God,
and you shall serve only him.””
Then the devil left him, and angels came and helped him.
When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he returned to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum, beside the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphthali. This fulfilled the words spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphthali,
way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles –
You who sat in darkness saw a great light.
To those in the land of the shadow of death,
a light burst forth.”
From that time on, Jesus began to proclaim this message: “Turn back to God, because the Kingdom of Heaven has come near!” And as he walked beside lake Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon (also called Peter) and Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” So they immediately left their nets and followed him. As Jesus continued along, he saw another set of brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in their boat with their father, mending their nets. Jesus called them too, and they immediately left the boat and their father, and followed him.
Jesus travelled throughout Galilee, teaching in the local synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom’s arrival. He healed every illness and every disease the people had. News of him spread into Syria, and they brought to him everyone who was ill, those with various diseases, those suffering torment, the demon-possessed, the mentally deranged, and the paralysed. He healed them all! Great crowds of people followed him, people from Galilee, Decapolis and Jerusalem, people from Judea and people from beyond the Jordan.
Seeing the crowds, he went up into the hills and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he taught them in these words:
“Happy are those who are humble before God –
the Kingdom of Heaven is made of these people.
Happy are those who mourn –
God will comfort them.
Happy are the humble –
they shall inherit the earth.
Happy are those who hunger and thirst for what is right –
God will give them what they desire.
Happy are those who are compassionate –
God will treat them with compassion.
Happy are those with a clean heart –
they will see God.
Happy are those who make peace –
they shall be called sons of God.
Happy are those who have been persecuted for doing what is right –
the Kingdom of Heaven is made of these people.
“And happy are you, when people criticise you and persecute you, and make up all sorts of evil lies about you, because you are mine. Be happy! Be glad! You have a big reward for this in heaven, because this is how they persecuted the ancient prophets.
“You are like salt on this earth. But if salt becomes unsalty, how can it be made salty again? It is of no more use, and is thrown on the ground to be trodden underfoot. You are the light of the world. No-one can hide a city that is built on a mountainside. No-one lights a lamp and then covers it with a bucket, they put it on a lamp-stand so that it shines on everyone in the room. Therefore, let your light shine on others, so that through your good work they may come to see the goodness of your Father in heaven.
“But don’t think I have come to abolish the Old Testament law and its prophecies. I haven’t come to destroy them, but to complete them. I tell you the truth, unless heaven and earth disappear, not one comma or one colon will disappear from the law, until its commands and prophecies are completed. So, whoever breaks even the least significant of the commands in the law, and teaches others to do the same, will be called the least significant in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever obeys the commands and teaches others to do the same will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. For I tell you that unless you obey the will of God more than the law-teachers and Pharisees, there is no way you can enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
“For example, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, “You must not commit murder; and anyone who does commit murder will be judged in court.” But I tell you that even someone who gets angry with his brother shall face God’s judgement. If anyone calls his brother an idiot, that person will stand before the jury. And whoever says, “You fool!” will face the fires of hell.
So, if you are bringing your gift to God’s altar, and right then remember that your brother has a grievance with you, leave what you are doing, and first go and be reconciled to your brother, then return and offer your gift.
If someone is threatening to take you to court, settle the matter quickly with him before you get there. Otherwise he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the guards, who will throw you in prison. I tell you the truth, there is no way for you to escape until you have paid the last penny.
You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, “You must not commit adultery.” But I tell you that if anyone even looks at another woman, with a eye to desire her, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. So if your right eye causes you to sin, pull it out and throw it away. It is better for one part of you to be destroyed rather than your whole body to be thrown into hell! And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for this one part to be destroyed rather than your whole body end up in hell.
It has also been said, “To get rid of your wife, write her a divorce certificate.” But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, even though she has not been adulterous, makes her an adulterer, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
You have also heard it was said to the people long ago, “You must not …
Unfortunately, that's as far as I've got.