Kejadian 37:22

37:22 Reuben continued, ¹  “Don’t shed blood! Throw him into this cistern that is here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” ²  (Reuben said this ³  so he could rescue Joseph ⁴  from them ⁵  and take him back to his father.)

Kejadian 42:21-22

42:21 They said to one other, ⁶  “Surely we’re being punished ⁷  because of our brother, because we saw how distressed he was ⁸  when he cried to us for mercy, but we refused to listen. That is why this distress ⁹  has come on us!” 42:22 Reuben said to them, “Didn’t I say to you, ‘Don’t sin against the boy,’ but you wouldn’t listen? So now we must pay for shedding his blood!” ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 133:1-3

Psalm 133 ¹¹ 

A song of ascents, ¹²  by David.

133:1 Look! How good and how pleasant it is

when brothers live together! ¹³ 

133:2 It is like fine oil poured on the head

which flows down the beard ¹⁴  –

Aaron’s beard,

and then flows down his garments. ¹⁵ 

133:3 It is like the dew of Hermon, ¹⁶ 

which flows down upon the hills of Zion. ¹⁷ 

Indeed ¹⁸  that is where the Lord has decreed

a blessing will be available – eternal life. ¹⁹ 

Yohanes 13:34-35

13:34 “I give you a new commandment – to love ²⁰  one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. ²¹  13:35 Everyone ²²  will know by this that you are my disciples – if you have love for one another.”

Efesus 4:31-32

4:31 You must put away every kind of bitterness, anger, wrath, quarreling, and evil, slanderous talk. 4:32 Instead, ²³  be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you. ²⁴ 

Filipi 2:2-5

2:2 complete my joy and be of the same mind, ²⁵  by having the same love, being united in spirit, ²⁶  and having one purpose. 2:3 Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition ²⁷  or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. 2:4 Each of you should be concerned ²⁸  not only ²⁹  about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well. ³⁰  2:5 You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had, ³¹ 

Kolose 3:12-13

Exhortation to Unity and Love

3:12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, ³²  kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 3:13 bearing with one another and forgiving ³³  one another, if someone happens to have ³⁴  a complaint against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others. ³⁵ 

Kolose 3:1

Exhortations to Seek the Things Above

3:1 Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Kolose 1:13

1:13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ³⁶ 

[37:22]  ¹ tn Heb “and Reuben said to them.”

[37:22]  ² sn The verbs translated shed, throw, and lay sound alike in Hebrew; the repetition of similar sounds draws attention to Reuben’s words.

[37:22]  ³ tn The words “Reuben said this” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[37:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “from their hands” (cf. v. 21). This expression has been translated as “them” here for stylistic reasons.

[42:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “a man to his neighbor.”

[42:21]  ⁷ tn Or “we are guilty”; the Hebrew word can also refer to the effect of being guilty, i.e., “we are being punished for guilt.”

[42:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “the distress of his soul.”

[42:21]  ⁹ sn The repetition of the Hebrew noun translated distress draws attention to the fact that they regard their present distress as appropriate punishment for their refusal to ignore their brother when he was in distress.

[42:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and also his blood, look, it is required.” God requires compensation, as it were, from those who shed innocent blood (see Gen 9:6). In other words, God exacts punishment for the crime of murder.

[133:1]  ¹¹ sn Psalm 133. The psalmist affirms the benefits of family unity.

[133:1]  ¹² sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[133:1]  ¹³ sn This statement refers to the extended family structure of ancient Israel, where brothers would often live in proximity to one another (Deut 25:5), giving the family greater social prominence and security. However, in its later application in the Israelite cult it probably envisions unity within the covenant community. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 212-15.

[133:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “[it is] like the good oil on the head, going down on the beard.”

[133:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “which goes down in accordance with his measured things.” The Hebrew phrase מִדּוֹתָיו (middotayv, “his measured things”) refers here to the robes worn by Aaron. HALOT 546 s.v. *מַד derives the form from מַד (midah, “robe”) rather than מִדָּה (middah, “measured thing”). Ugaritic md means “robe” and is pluralized mdt.

[133:3]  ¹⁶ sn Hermon refers to Mount Hermon, located north of Israel.

[133:3]  ¹⁷ sn The hills of Zion are those surrounding Zion (see Pss 87:1; 125:2). The psalmist does not intend to suggest that the dew from Mt. Hermon in the distant north actually flows down upon Zion. His point is that the same kind of heavy dew that replenishes Hermon may also be seen on Zion’s hills. See A. Cohen, Psalms (SoBB), 439. “Dew” here symbolizes divine blessing, as the next line suggests.

[133:3]  ¹⁸ tn Or “for.”

[133:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forever.”

[13:34]  ²⁰ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause gives the content of the commandment. This is indicated by a dash in the translation.

[13:34]  ²¹ sn The idea that love is a commandment is interesting. In the OT the ten commandments have a setting in the covenant between God and Israel at Sinai; they were the stipulations that Israel had to observe if the nation were to be God’s chosen people. In speaking of love as the new commandment for those whom Jesus had chosen as his own (John 13:1, 15:16) and as a mark by which they could be distinguished from others (13:35), John shows that he is thinking of this scene in covenant terminology. But note that the disciples are to love “Just as I have loved you” (13:34). The love Jesus has for his followers cannot be duplicated by them in one sense, because it effects their salvation, since he lays down his life for them: It is an act of love that gives life to people. But in another sense, they can follow his example (recall to the end, 13:1; also 1 John 3:16, 4:16 and the interpretation of Jesus’ washing of the disciples’ feet). In this way Jesus’ disciples are to love one another: They are to follow his example of sacrificial service to one another, to death if necessary.

[13:35]  ²² tn Grk “All people,” although many modern translations have rendered πάντες (pantes) as “all men” (ASV, RSV, NASB, NIV). While the gender of the pronoun is masculine, it is collective and includes people of both genders.

[4:32]  ²³ tc ‡ Although most witnesses have either δέ (de; Ì⁴⁹ א A D² Ψ 33 1739^mg Ï lat) or οὖν (oun; D* F G 1175) here, a few important mss lack a conjunction (Ì⁴⁶ B 0278 6 1739* 1881). If either conjunction were originally in the text, it is difficult to explain how the asyndetic construction could have arisen (although the dropping of δέ could have occurred via homoioteleuton). Further, although Hellenistic Greek rarely joined sentences without a conjunction, such does occur in the corpus Paulinum on occasion, especially to underscore a somber point. “Instead” has been supplied in the translation because of stylistic requirements, not textual basis. NA²⁷ places δέ in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

[4:32]  ²⁴ tn Or “forgiving.”

[2:2]  ²⁵ tn Or “and feel the same way,” “and think the same thoughts.” The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated “and be of the same mind” to reflect its epexegetical force to the imperative “complete my joy.”

[2:2]  ²⁶ tn The Greek word here is σύμψυχοι (sumyucoi, literally “fellow souled”).

[2:3]  ²⁷ tn Grk “not according to selfish ambition.” There is no main verb in this verse; the subjunctive φρονῆτε (fronhte, “be of the same mind”) is implied here as well. Thus, although most translations supply the verb “do” at the beginning of v. 3 (e.g., “do nothing from selfish ambition”), the idea is even stronger than that: “Don’t even think any thoughts motivated by selfish ambition.”

[2:4]  ²⁸ tn On the meaning “be concerned about” for σκοπέω (skopew), see L&N 27.36.

[2:4]  ²⁹ tn The word “only” is not in the Greek text, but is implied by the ἀλλὰ καί (alla kai) in the second clause (“but…as well”). The bulk of the Western text dropped the καί, motivated most likely by ascetic concerns.

[2:4]  ³⁰ tc The bulk of the Western text (D*^,c F G K it) dropped καί (kai) here, most likely due to ascetic concerns. Strong external attestation for its inclusion from excellent witnesses as well as the majority (Ì⁴⁶ א A B C D² 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï) also marks it as original.

[2:4]  tn Verses 1-4 constitute one long conditional sentence in Greek. The protasis is in verse 1, while vv. 2-4 constitute the apodosis. There is but one verb not in a subordinate clause in vv. 2-4, the imperative “complete” in v. 2. This is followed by a subjunctive after ἵνα (Jina, translated as an epexegetical clause, “and be of the same mind”) and three instrumental participles. Thus the focus of these four verses is to “be of the same mind” and all that follows this instruction is the means for accomplishing that.

[2:5]  ³¹ tn Grk “Have this attitude in/among yourselves which also [was] in Christ Jesus,” or “Have this attitude in/among yourselves which [you] also [have] in Christ Jesus.”

[3:12]  ³² tn If the genitive construct σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμοῦ (splancna oiktirmou) is a hendiadys then it would be “compassion” or “tenderheartedness.” See M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 161.

[3:13]  ³³ tn For the translation of χαριζόμενοι (carizomenoi) as “forgiving,” see BDAG 1078 s.v. χαρίζομαι 3. The two participles “bearing” (ἀνεχόμενοι, anecomenoi) and “forgiving” (χαριζόμενοι) express the means by which the action of the finite verb “clothe yourselves” is to be carried out.

[3:13]  ³⁴ tn Grk “if someone has”; the term “happens,” though not in the Greek text, is inserted to bring out the force of the third class condition.

[3:13]  ³⁵ tn The expression “forgive others” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. It is included in the translation to make the sentence complete and more comprehensible to the English reader.

[1:13]  ³⁶ tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).