2 Korintus 4:2-3

4:2 But we have rejected ¹  shameful hidden deeds, ²  not behaving ³  with deceptiveness ⁴  or distorting the word of God, but by open proclamation of the truth we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience before God. 4:3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing,

2 Korintus 4:13

4:13 But since we have the same spirit of faith as that shown in ⁵  what has been written, “I believed; therefore I spoke,” ⁶  we also believe, therefore we also speak.

Yohanes 10:24

10:24 The Jewish leaders ⁷  surrounded him and asked, ⁸  “How long will you keep us in suspense? ⁹  If you are the Christ, ¹⁰  tell us plainly.” ¹¹ 

Yohanes 16:25

16:25 “I have told you these things in obscure figures of speech; ¹²  a time ¹³  is coming when I will no longer speak to you in obscure figures, but will tell you ¹⁴  plainly ¹⁵  about the Father.

Yohanes 16:29

16:29 His disciples said, “Look, now you are speaking plainly ¹⁶  and not in obscure figures of speech! ¹⁷ 

Yohanes 16:1

16:1 “I have told you all these things so that you will not fall away. ¹⁸ 

Kolose 1:19

1:19 For God ¹⁹  was pleased to have all his ²⁰  fullness dwell ²¹  in the Son ²² 

Kolose 4:4

4:4 Pray that I may make it known as I should. ²³ 

[4:2]  ¹ tn L&N 13.156; the word can also mean “to assert opposition to,” thus here “we have denounced” (L&N 33.220).

[4:2]  ² tn Grk “the hidden things [deeds] of shame”; here αἰσχύνης (aiscunh") has been translated as an attributive genitive.

[4:2]  ³ tn Or “not conducting ourselves”; Grk “not walking” (a common NT idiom for conduct, way of life, or behavior).

[4:2]  ⁴ tn Or “craftiness.”

[4:13]  ⁵ tn Grk “spirit of faith according to.”

[4:13]  ⁶ sn A quotation from Ps 116:10.

[10:24]  ⁷ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders. The question they ask Jesus (“Are you the Christ?”) is the same one they sent and asked of John the Baptist in the desert (see John 1:19-34). See also the note on the phrase “the Jewish people” in v. 19.

[10:24]  ⁸ tn Grk “said to him.” This has been translated as “asked” for stylistic reasons.

[10:24]  ⁹ tn Grk “How long will you take away our life?” (an idiom which meant to keep one from coming to a conclusion about something). The use of the phrase τὴν ψυχὴν ἡμῶν αἴρεις (thn yuchn Jhmwn airei") meaning “to keep in suspense” is not well attested, although it certainly fits the context here. In modern Greek the phrase means “to annoy, bother.”

[10:24]  ¹⁰ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[10:24]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[10:24]  ¹¹ tn Or “publicly.”

[16:25]  ¹² tn Or “in parables”; or “in metaphors.” There is some difficulty in defining παροιμίαις (paroimiai") precisely: A translation like “parables” does not convey accurately the meaning. BDAG 779-80 s.v. παροιμία suggests in general “proverb, saw, maxim,” but for Johannine usage “veiled saying, figure of speech, in which esp. lofty ideas are concealed.” In the preceding context of the Farewell Discourse, Jesus has certainly used obscure language and imagery at times: John 13:8-11; 13:16; 15:1-17; and 16:21 could all be given as examples. In the LXX this word is used to translate the Hebrew mashal which covers a wide range of figurative speech, often containing obscure or enigmatic elements.

[16:25]  ¹³ tn Grk “an hour.”

[16:25]  ¹⁴ tn Or “inform you.”

[16:25]  ¹⁵ tn Or “openly.”

[16:29]  ¹⁶ tn Or “openly.”

[16:29]  ¹⁷ tn Or “not in parables.” or “not in metaphors.”

[16:29]  sn How is the disciples’ reply to Jesus now you are speaking plainly and not in obscure figures of speech to be understood? Their claim to understand seems a bit impulsive. It is difficult to believe that the disciples have really understood the full implications of Jesus’ words, although it is true that he spoke to them plainly and not figuratively in 16:26-28. The disciples will not fully understand all that Jesus has said to them until after his resurrection, when the Holy Spirit will give them insight and understanding (16:13).

[16:1]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “so that you will not be caused to stumble.”

[16:1]  sn In Johannine thought the verb σκανδαλίζω (skandalizw) means to trip up disciples and cause them to fall away from Jesus’ company (John 6:61, 1 John 2:10). Similar usage is found in Didache 16:5, an early Christian writing from around the beginning of the 2nd century a.d. An example of a disciple who falls away is Judas Iscariot. Here and again in 16:4 Jesus gives the purpose for his telling the disciples about coming persecution: He informs them so that when it happens, the disciples will not fall away, which in this context would refer to the confusion and doubt which they would certainly experience when such persecution began. There may have been a tendency for the disciples to expect immediately after Jesus’ victory over death the institution of the messianic kingdom, particularly in light of the turn of events recorded in the early chapters of Acts. Jesus here forestalls such disillusionment for the disciples by letting them know in advance that they will face persecution and even martyrdom as they seek to carry on his mission in the world after his departure. This material has parallels in the Olivet Discourse (Matt 24-25) and the synoptic parallels.

[1:19]  ¹⁹ tn The noun “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but since God is the one who reconciles the world to himself (cf. 2 Cor 5:19), he is clearly the subject of εὐδόκησεν (eudokhsen).

[1:19]  ²⁰ tn The Greek article τό (to), insofar as it relates to God, may be translated as a possessive pronoun, i.e., “his.” BDAG 404 s.v. εὐδοκέω 1 translates the phrase as “all the fullness willed to dwell in him” thus leaving the referent as impersonal. Insofar as Paul is alluding to the so-called emanations from God this is acceptable. But the fact that “the fullness” dwells in a person (i.e., “in him”) seems to argue for the translation “his fullness” where “his” refers to God.

[1:19]  ²¹ tn The aorist verb κατοικῆσαι (katoikhsai) could be taken as an ingressive, in which case it refers to the incarnation and may be translated as “begin to dwell, to take up residence.” It is perhaps better, though, to take it as a constative aorist and simply a reference to the fact that the fullness of God dwells in Jesus Christ. This is a permanent dwelling, though, not a temporary one, as the present tense in 2:9 makes clear.

[1:19]  ²² tn Grk “him”; the referent (the Son; see v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:4]  ²³ tn The phrase begins with the ἵνα (Jina) clause and is subordinate to the imperative προσκαρτερεῖτε (proskartereite) in v. 2. The reference to the idea that Paul must make it known indicates that this clause is probably best viewed as purpose and not content, like the ἵνα of v. 3. It is the second purpose stated in the context; the first is expressed through the infinitive λαλῆσαι (lalhsai) in v. 3. The term “pray” at the beginning of the sentence is intended to pick up the imperative of v. 3.