By shifting Tell people into indirect discourse (“You are to say that”), Good News Translation avoids the possible complication of a quotation within a quotation. It is almost comical that the soldiers are told to spread the rumor abroad that Jesus’ disciples came during the night and stole his body while they were asleep. If they were asleep, how could they know what had happened to the body of Jesus? Moreover, as one commentator observes, “Above all, to ask them to say that they had fallen asleep while on watch and allowed what they were guarding to be stolen is asking them to sign their own death warrant.” Matthew appears to have recorded this narrative with some degree of humor, emphasizing how foolish it is to believe the rumor current in his day that Jesus’ disciples had stolen his body.

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 .