And if you had known what this means of Revised Standard Version contrasts rather sharply with the restructuring of Good News Translation, which begins the verse with “The scripture says….” This restructuring is helpful for at least two reasons: it simplifies the sentence structure, and it identifies Jesus’ words as a scripture quotation. The quotation comes from Hosea 6.6, a passage previously quoted in Matthew 9.13. See comments there.

The word this refers to this quotation from Hosea, but in many languages it is not usual to refer ahead to something that is not yet specified. So a third advantage of the restructuring of Good News Translation is that this problem also is resolved.

If you had known what this means here means more than simply being aware of something. The Pharisees probably thought they understood the verse, but Jesus is saying “If you knew what this really means” or “If you understood the real meaning.”

I desire mercy, and not sacrifice: note that the I in this quotation is God. The translation should not give the impression it is Jesus. Some can begin the verse by saying “God says in the Scriptures.” Another way is to use indirect speech, as in “The Scriptures say that God wants people to be merciful….”

Condemned is used again in verse 37; elsewhere in the New Testament it is found in Luke 6.37; James 5.6. In this context it means “declared people guilty,” “judged people to be guilty,” or “said that people have sinned.”

Guiltless is the same adjective used in Matthew 12.5. In this sentence guiltless may be translated slightly differently because of the overall structure of the sentence, although the meaning is the same as in verse 5. The last part of the verse can be “You would not have said that innocent people were guilty of sin” or “You would not have called people sinners who are not guilty.”

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 .