Keluaran 23:4-5

23:4 “If you encounter ¹  your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, you must by all means return ²  it to him. 23:5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen under its load, you must not ignore him, ³  but be sure to help ⁴  him with it. ⁵ 

Matius 5:44

5:44 But I say to you, love your enemy and ⁶  pray for those who persecute you,

Lukas 10:29-37

10:29 But the expert, ⁷  wanting to justify ⁸  himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 10:30 Jesus replied, ⁹  “A man was going down ¹⁰  from Jerusalem ¹¹  to Jericho, ¹²  and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat ¹³  him up, and went off, leaving him half dead. ¹⁴  10:31 Now by chance ¹⁵  a priest was going down that road, but ¹⁶  when he saw the injured man ¹⁷  he passed by ¹⁸  on the other side. ¹⁹  10:32 So too a Levite, when he came up to ²⁰  the place and saw him, ²¹  passed by on the other side. 10:33 But ²²  a Samaritan ²³  who was traveling ²⁴  came to where the injured man ²⁵  was, and when he saw him, he felt compassion for him. ²⁶  10:34 He ²⁷  went up to him ²⁸  and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil ²⁹  and wine on them. Then ³⁰  he put him on ³¹  his own animal, ³²  brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 10:35 The ³³  next day he took out two silver coins ³⁴  and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever else you spend, I will repay you when I come back this way.’ ³⁵  10:36 Which of these three do you think became a neighbor ³⁶  to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 10:37 The expert in religious law ³⁷  said, “The one who showed mercy ³⁸  to him.” So ³⁹  Jesus said to him, “Go and do ⁴⁰  the same.”

Roma 15:1-2

Exhortation for the Strong to Help the Weak

15:1 But we who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not just please ourselves. ⁴¹  15:2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good to build him up.

Kolose 1:15

The Supremacy of Christ

1:15 ⁴² He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn ⁴³  over all creation, ⁴⁴ 

Galatia 6:1-2

Support One Another

6:1 Brothers and sisters, ⁴⁵  if a person ⁴⁶  is discovered in some sin, ⁴⁷  you who are spiritual ⁴⁸  restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness. ⁴⁹  Pay close attention ⁵⁰  to yourselves, so that you are not tempted too. 6:2 Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatia 6:1

Support One Another

6:1 Brothers and sisters, ⁵¹  if a person ⁵²  is discovered in some sin, ⁵³  you who are spiritual ⁵⁴  restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness. ⁵⁵  Pay close attention ⁵⁶  to yourselves, so that you are not tempted too.

Galatia 5:14

5:14 For the whole law can be summed up in a single commandment, ⁵⁷  namely, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” ⁵⁸ 

Ibrani 12:12-13

12:12 Therefore, strengthen ⁵⁹  your listless hands and your weak knees, ⁶⁰  12:13 and make straight paths for your feet, ⁶¹  so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but be healed.

[23:4]  ¹ tn Heb “meet” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).

[23:4]  ² tn The construction uses the imperfect tense (taken here as an obligatory imperfect) and the infinitive absolute for emphasis.

[23:5]  ³ tn The line reads “you will cease to forsake him” – refrain from leaving your enemy without help.

[23:5]  ⁴ tn The law is emphatic here as well, using the infinitive absolute and the imperfect of instruction (or possibly obligation). There is also a wordplay here: two words עָזַב (’azav) are used, one meaning “forsake” and the other possibly meaning “arrange” based on Arabic and Ugaritic evidence (see U. Cassuto, Exodus, 297-98).

[23:5]  ⁵ sn See H. B. Huffmon, “Exodus 23:4-5: A Comparative Study,” A Light Unto My Path, 271-78.

[5:44]  ⁶ tc Most mss ([D] L [W] Θ Ë¹³ 33 Ï lat) read “bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you,” before “those who persecute you.” But this is surely a motivated reading, importing the longer form of this aphorism from Luke 6:27-28. The shorter text is found in א B ˹ pc sa, as well as several fathers and versional witnesses.

[10:29]  ⁷ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (the expert in religious law, shortened here to “the expert”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:29]  ⁸ tn Or “vindicate.”

[10:29]  sn The expert in religious law picked up on the remark about the neighbor and sought to limit his responsibility for loving. Some believed this obligation would only be required toward the righteous (Sir 12:1-4). The lawyer was trying to see if that was right and thus confidently establish his righteousness (wanting to justify himself).

[10:30]  ⁹ tn Grk “answering, said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “replied.”

[10:30]  ¹⁰ sn The journey from Jerusalem to Jericho was 17 mi (27 km), descending some 1800 ft (540 m) in altitude. It was known for its danger because the road ran through areas of desert and caves where the robbers hid.

[10:30]  ¹¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[10:30]  ¹² map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[10:30]  ¹³ tn Grk “and beat,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[10:30]  ¹⁴ sn That is, in a state between life and death; severely wounded.

[10:31]  ¹⁵ sn The phrase by chance adds an initial note of hope and fortune to the expectation in the story.

[10:31]  ¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context between the priest’s expected action (helping the victim) and what he really did.

[10:31]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the injured man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:31]  ¹⁸ sn It is not said why the priest passed by and refused to help. It is not relevant to the point of the parable that no help was given in the emergency situation.

[10:31]  ¹⁹ sn The text suggests that the priest went out of his way (on the other side) not to get too close to the scene.

[10:32]  ²⁰ tn Here κατά (kata) has been translated “up to”; it could also be translated “upon.”

[10:32]  ²¹ tn The clause containing the aorist active participle ἐλθών (elqwn) suggests that the Levite came up to the place, took a look, and then moved on.

[10:33]  ²² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context between the previous characters (considered by society to be examples of piety and religious duty) and a hated Samaritan.

[10:33]  ²³ tn This is at the beginning of the clause, in emphatic position in the Greek text.

[10:33]  ²⁴ tn The participle ὁδεύων (Jodeuwn) has been translated as an adjectival participle (cf. NAB, NASB, TEV); it could also be taken temporally (“while he was traveling,” cf. NRSV, NIV).

[10:33]  ²⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the injured man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:33]  ²⁶ tn “Him” is not in the Greek text but is implied. The verb means “to feel compassion for,” and the object of the compassion is understood.

[10:33]  sn Here is what made the Samaritan different: He felt compassion for him. In the story, compassion becomes the concrete expression of love. The next verse details explicitly six acts of compassion.

[10:34]  ²⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Instead, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[10:34]  ²⁸ tn The words “to him” are not in the Greek text but are implied. The participle προσελθών (proselqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[10:34]  ²⁹ sn The ancient practice of pouring oil was designed to comfort and clean the wounds (Isa 1:6).

[10:34]  ³⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. Because of the length and complexity of this Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[10:34]  ³¹ tn It is not clear whether the causative nuance of the verb included actual assistance or not (“helped him on” versus “had him get on”; see L&N 15.98), but in light of the severity of the man’s condition as described in the preceding verses, some degree of assistance was almost certainly needed.

[10:34]  ³² sn His own animal refers to a riding animal, presumably a donkey, but not specified.

[10:35]  ³³ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[10:35]  ³⁴ tn Grk “two denarii.”

[10:35]  sn The two silver coins were denarii. A denarius was a silver coin worth about a day’s pay for a laborer; this would be an amount worth about two days’ pay.

[10:35]  ³⁵ tn Grk “when I come back”; the words “this way” are part of an English idiom used to translate the phrase.

[10:36]  ³⁶ sn Jesus reversed the question the expert in religious law asked in v. 29 to one of becoming a neighbor by loving. “Do not think about who they are, but who you are,” was his reply.

[10:37]  ³⁷ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (the expert in religious law) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:37]  ³⁸ sn The neighbor did not do what was required (that is why his response is called mercy) but had compassion and out of kindness went the extra step that shows love. See Mic 6:8. Note how the expert in religious law could not bring himself to admit that the example was a Samaritan, someone who would have been seen as a racial half-breed and one not worthy of respect. So Jesus makes a second point that neighbors may appear in surprising places.

[10:37]  ³⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the concluding summary.

[10:37]  ⁴⁰ tn This recalls the verb of the earlier reply in v. 28.

[15:1]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “and not please ourselves.” NT Greek negatives used in contrast like this are often not absolute, but relative: “not so much one as the other.”

[1:15]  ⁴² sn This passage has been typeset as poetry because many scholars regard this passage as poetic or hymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for determining if a passage is poetic or hymnic: “(a) stylistic: a certain rhythmical lilt when the passages are read aloud, the presence of parallelismus membrorum (i.e., an arrangement into couplets), the semblance of some metre, and the presence of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, chiasmus, and antithesis; and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary, particularly the presence of theological terms, which is different from the surrounding context” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 188-89). Classifying a passage as hymnic or poetic is important because understanding this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree that the above criteria are present in this passage, so the decision to typeset it as poetry should be viewed as a tentative decision about its genre.

[1:15]  ⁴³ tn The Greek term πρωτότοκος (prwtotokos) could refer either to first in order of time, such as a first born child, or it could refer to one who is preeminent in rank. M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 43, expresses the meaning of the word well: “The ‘firstborn’ was either the eldest child in a family or a person of preeminent rank. The use of this term to describe the Davidic king in Ps 88:28 LXX (=Ps 89:27 EVV), ‘I will also appoint him my firstborn (πρωτότοκον), the most exalted of the kings of the earth,’ indicates that it can denote supremacy in rank as well as priority in time. But whether the πρωτό- element in the word denotes time, rank, or both, the significance of the -τοκος element as indicating birth or origin (from τίκτω, give birth to) has been virtually lost except in ref. to lit. birth.” In Col 1:15 the emphasis is on the priority of Jesus’ rank as over and above creation (cf. 1:16 and the “for” clause referring to Jesus as Creator).

[1:15]  ⁴⁴ tn The genitive construction πάσης κτίσεως (pash" ktisew") is a genitive of subordination and is therefore translated as “over all creation.” See ExSyn 103-4.

[6:1]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:11.

[6:1]  ⁴⁶ tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense, referring to both men and women.

[6:1]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “some transgression” (L&N 88.297).

[6:1]  ⁴⁸ sn Who are spiritual refers to people who are controlled and directed by God’s Spirit.

[6:1]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “with a gentle spirit” or “gently.”

[6:1]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “taking careful notice.”

[6:1]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:11.

[6:1]  ⁵² tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense, referring to both men and women.

[6:1]  ⁵³ tn Or “some transgression” (L&N 88.297).

[6:1]  ⁵⁴ sn Who are spiritual refers to people who are controlled and directed by God’s Spirit.

[6:1]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “with a gentle spirit” or “gently.”

[6:1]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “taking careful notice.”

[5:14]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “can be fulfilled in one commandment.”

[5:14]  ⁵⁸ sn A quotation from Lev 19:18.

[12:12]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “straighten.”

[12:12]  ⁶⁰ sn A quotation from Isa 35:3. Strengthen your listless hands and your weak knees refers to the readers’ need for renewed resolve and fresh strength in their struggles (cf. Heb 10:36-39; 12:1-3).

[12:13]  ⁶¹ sn A quotation from Prov 4:26. The phrase make straight paths for your feet is figurative for “stay on God’s paths.”