Yesaya 55:11

55:11 In the same way, the promise that I make

does not return to me, having accomplished nothing. ¹ 

No, it is realized as I desire

and is fulfilled as I intend.” ² 

Yeremia 23:22

23:22 But if they had stood in my inner circle, ³ 

they would have proclaimed my message to my people.

They would have caused my people to turn from their wicked ways

and stop doing the evil things they are doing.

Roma 10:10-14

10:10 For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness ⁴  and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation. ⁵  10:11 For the scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” ⁶  10:12 For there is no distinction between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, who richly blesses all who call on him. 10:13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. ⁷ 

10:14 How are they to call on one they have not believed in? And how are they to believe in one they have not heard of? And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them ⁸ ?

Roma 11:14

11:14 if somehow I could provoke my people to jealousy and save some of them.

Roma 11:1

Israel’s Rejection not Complete nor Final

11:1 So I ask, God has not rejected his people, has he? Absolutely not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.

Kolose 1:22

1:22 but now he has reconciled you ⁹  by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him –

Kolose 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹⁰  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Kolose 2:16

2:16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you with respect to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days –

Kolose 2:19-20

2:19 He has not held fast ¹¹  to the head from whom the whole body, supported ¹²  and knit together through its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God. ¹³ 

2:20 If you have died with Christ to the elemental spirits ¹⁴  of the world, why do you submit to them as though you lived in the world?

Kolose 2:2

2:2 My goal is that ¹⁵  their hearts, having been knit together ¹⁶  in love, may be encouraged, and that ¹⁷  they may have all the riches that assurance brings in their understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely, Christ, ¹⁸ 

Titus 2:10

2:10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith, ¹⁹  in order to bring credit to ²⁰  the teaching of God our Savior in everything.

Filemon 1:19

1:19 I, Paul, have written ²¹  this letter ²²  with my own hand: ²³  I will repay it. I could also mention that you owe ²⁴  me your very self.

Yakobus 5:20

5:20 he should know that the one who turns a sinner back from his wandering path ²⁵  will save that person’s ²⁶  soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

[55:11]  ¹ tn Heb “so is the word which goes out from my mouth, it does not return to empty.” “Word” refers here to divine promises, like the ones made just prior to and after this (see vv. 7b, 12-13).

[55:11]  ² tn Heb “but it accomplishes what I desire, and succeeds [on the mission] which I send it.”

[55:11]  sn Verses 8-11 focus on the reliability of the divine word and support the promises before (vv. 3-5, 7b) and after (vv. 12-13) this. Israel can be certain that repentance will bring forgiveness and a new covenantal relationship because God’s promises are reliable. In contrast to human plans (or “thoughts”), which are destined to fail (Ps 94:11) apart from divine approval (Prov 19:21), and human deeds (or “ways”), which are evil and lead to destruction (Prov 1:15-19; 3:31-33; 4:19), God’s plans are realized and his deeds accomplish something positive.

[23:22]  ³ tn Or “had been my confidant.” See the note on v. 18.

[10:10]  ⁴ tn Grk “believes to righteousness.”

[10:10]  ⁵ tn Grk “confesses to salvation.”

[10:11]  ⁶ sn A quotation from Isa 28:16.

[10:13]  ⁷ sn A quotation from Joel 2:32.

[10:14]  ⁸ tn Grk “preaching”; the words “to them” are supplied for clarification.

[1:22]  ⁹ tc Some of the better representatives of the Alexandrian and Western texts have a passive verb here instead of the active ἀποκατήλλαξεν (apokathllaxen, “he has reconciled”): ἀποκατηλλάγητε (apokathllaghte) in (Ì⁴⁶) B, ἀποκατήλλακται [sic] (apokathllaktai) in 33, and ἀποκαταλλαγέντες (apokatallagente") in D* F G. Yet the active verb is strongly supported by א A C D² Ψ 048 075 [0278] 1739 1881 Ï lat sy. Internally, the passive creates an anacoluthon in that it looks back to the accusative ὑμᾶς (Juma", “you”) of v. 21 and leaves the following παραστῆσαι (parasthsai) dangling (“you were reconciled…to present you”). The passive reading is certainly the harder reading. As such, it may well explain the rise of the other readings. At the same time, it is possible that the passive was produced by scribes who wanted some symmetry between the ποτε (pote, “at one time”) of v. 21 and the νυνὶ δέ (nuni de, “but now”) of v. 22: Since a passive periphrastic participle is used in v. 21, there may have a temptation to produce a corresponding passive form in v. 22, handling the ὑμᾶς of v. 21 by way of constructio ad sensum. Since παραστῆσαι occurs ten words later, it may not have been considered in this scribal modification. Further, the Western reading (ἀποκαταλλαγέντες) hardly seems to have arisen from ἀποκατηλλάγητε (contra TCGNT 555). As difficult as this decision is, the preferred reading is the active form because it is superior externally and seems to explain the rise of all forms of the passive readings.

[1:22]  tn The direct object is omitted in the Greek text, but it is clear from context that “you” (ὑμᾶς, Jumas) is implied.

[1:1]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[2:19]  ¹¹ tn The Greek participle κρατῶν (kratwn) was translated as a finite verb to avoid an unusually long and pedantic sentence structure in English.

[2:19]  ¹² tn See BDAG 387 s.v. ἐπιχορηγέω 3.

[2:19]  ¹³ tn The genitive τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou) has been translated as a genitive of source, “from God.”

[2:20]  ¹⁴ tn See the note on the phrase “elemental spirits” in 2:8.

[2:2]  ¹⁵ tn Verse two begins a subordinate ἵνα (Jina) clause which was divided up into two sentences for the sake of clarity in English. Thus the phrase “My goal is that” is an attempt to reflect in the translation the purpose expressed through the ἵνα clauses.

[2:2]  ¹⁶ tn BDAG 956 s.v. συμβιβάζω 1.b reads “unite, knit together.” Some commentators take the verb as a reference to instruction, “instructed in love.” See P. T. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon (WBC), 93.

[2:2]  ¹⁷ tn The phrase “and that” translates the first εἰς (eis) clause of v. 2 and reflects the second goal of Paul’s striving and struggle for the Colossians – the first is “encouragement” and the second is “full assurance.”

[2:2]  ¹⁸ tc There are at least a dozen variants here, almost surely generated by the unusual wording τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ (tou qeou, Cristou, “of God, Christ”; so Ì⁴⁶ B Hil). Scribes would be prone to conform this to more common Pauline expressions such as “of God, who is in Christ” (33), “of God, the Father of Christ” (א* A C 048^vid 1175 bo), and “of the God and Father of Christ” (א² Ψ 075 0278 365 1505 pc). Even though the external support for the wording τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ is hardly overwhelming, it clearly best explains the rise of the other readings and should thus be regarded as authentic.

[2:10]  ¹⁹ tn Or “showing that genuine faith is productive.” At issue between these two translations is the force of ἀγαθήν (agaqhn): Is it attributive (as the text has it) or predicate (as in this note)? A number of considerations point in the direction of a predicate ἀγαθήν (e.g., separation from the noun πίστιν (pistin) by the verb, the possibility that the construction is an object-complement, etc.), though is not usually seen as an option in either translations or commentaries. Cf. ExSyn 188-89, 312-13, for a discussion. Contextually, it makes an intriguing statement, for it suggests a synthetic or synonymous parallel: “‘Slaves should be wholly subject to their masters…demonstrating that all [genuine] faith is productive, with the result [ecbatic ἵνα] that they will completely adorn the doctrine of God.’ The point of the text, then, if this understanding is correct, is an exhortation to slaves to demonstrate that their faith is sincere and results in holy behavior. If taken this way, the text seems to support the idea that saving faith does not fail, but even results in good works” (ExSyn 312-13). The translation of ἀγαθήν as an attributive adjective, however, also makes good sense.

[2:10]  ²⁰ tn Or “adorn,” “show the beauty of.”

[1:19]  ²¹ tn Grk “I wrote” Here ἔγραψα (egraya) is functioning as an epistolary aorist. Paul puts it in the past tense because from Philemon’s perspective when he reads the letter it will, of course, already have been written.

[1:19]  ²² tn The phrase “this letter” does not appear in the Greek text, but is supplied in the English translation to clarify the meaning.

[1:19]  ²³ sn With my own hand. Paul may have considered this letter so delicate that he wrote the letter himself as opposed to using an amanuensis or secretary.

[1:19]  ²⁴ sn The statement you owe me your very self means that Paul was responsible for some sort of blessing in the life of Philemon; though a monetary idea may be in mind, it is perhaps better to understand Paul as referring to the spiritual truth (i.e., the gospel) he had taught Philemon.

[5:20]  ²⁵ tn Grk “from the error of his way” (using the same root as the verb “to wander, to err” in the first part of the verse).

[5:20]  ²⁶ tn Grk “his soul”; the referent (the sinner mentioned at the beginning of the verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.