Some will continue the sentence begun in verse 15, linking the two verses by and, as in the text. Others will find it more natural to begin a new sentence here.

Ordered is the same verb translated “rebuked” in 8.26 (Good News Translation “ordered … to stop”). See comments there.

The subject of ordered is Jesus, perhaps rendered by a pronoun, but the antecedent of them is not as clear. It could be those whom he had healed or all the people in the crowds. Most translations make it refer to the former group.

To make him known is translated “to tell others about him” by Good News Translation. Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition has “to speak openly of him,” and New American Bible “to make public what he had done” (note Barclay “to surround him with publicity”). The command not to make Jesus known is a frequent theme in the Gospel of Mark, but not in Matthew. A number of suggestions have been offered as to why Jesus gave this command, but the scholars remain of divided opinion. Fortunately this information is not necessary for the translator to know.

Some have understood to make him known to mean “to tell people who he was,” but “to tell other people about him” will be better, or “to spread the word everywhere about him.” It can be direct speech: “Jesus spoke to them very sternly and said, ‘Don’t go talking about me everywhere.’ ”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .