In the context the act of laying hands on the children may be meaningful, but in some languages laid his hands on them will be more naturally “laid his hands on in blessing” or “laid his hands on as he blessed them.”

Both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, as most other translations, provide a fairly literal rendering of this verse. Attention should be given to the need for care in rendering them, which Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch represents by “the children.” As in verse 13, it may need to be specified where Jesus placed his hands; for example, “on the heads of the children” or “on the head of each of the children.”

And went away is part of the same sentence in the text, but many translations will begin a new sentence, such as “Then he went away” or “After that Jesus left that place.”

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 .