Yesaya 42:6-7

42:6 “I, the Lord, officially commission you; ¹ 

I take hold of your hand.

I protect you ²  and make you a covenant mediator for people, ³ 

and a light ⁴  to the nations, ⁵ 

42:7 to open blind eyes, ⁶ 

to release prisoners ⁷  from dungeons,

those who live in darkness from prisons.

Yesaya 49:6

49:6 he says, “Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant,

to reestablish the tribes of Jacob,

and restore the remnant ⁸  of Israel? ⁹ 

I will make you a light to the nations, ¹⁰ 

so you can bring ¹¹  my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth.”

Yesaya 49:9

49:9 You will say ¹²  to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’

and to those who are in dark dungeons, ¹³  ‘Emerge.’ ¹⁴ 

They will graze beside the roads;

on all the slopes they will find pasture.

Yesaya 60:1

Zion’s Future Splendor

60:1 “Arise! Shine! For your light arrives!

The splendor ¹⁵  of the Lord shines on you!

Yesaya 60:3

60:3 Nations come to your light,

kings to your bright light.

Yesaya 60:19-20

60:19 The sun will no longer supply light for you by day,

nor will the moon’s brightness shine on you;

the Lord will be your permanent source of light –

the splendor of your God will shine upon you. ¹⁶ 

60:20 Your sun will no longer set;

your moon will not disappear; ¹⁷ 

the Lord will be your permanent source of light;

your time ¹⁸  of sorrow will be over.

Yohanes 1:4-5

1:4 In him was life, ¹⁹  and the life was the light of mankind. ²⁰  1:5 And the light shines on ²¹  in the darkness, ²²  but ²³  the darkness has not mastered it. ²⁴ 

Yohanes 1:9

1:9 The true light, who gives light to everyone, ²⁵  was coming into the world. ²⁶ 

Yohanes 8:12

Jesus as the Light of the World

8:12 Then Jesus spoke out again, ²⁷  “I am the light of the world. ²⁸  The one who follows me will never ²⁹  walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Yohanes 12:46

12:46 I have come as a light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in darkness.

Yohanes 12:1

Jesus’ Anointing

12:1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom he ³⁰  had raised from the dead.

Kolose 1:1-2

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ³¹  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 1:2 to the saints, the faithful ³²  brothers and sisters ³³  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ³⁴  from God our Father! ³⁵ 

Kolose 3:18

Exhortation to Households

3:18 Wives, submit to your ³⁶  husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

Kolose 4:6

4:6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer everyone.

Kolose 4:1

4:1 Masters, treat your slaves with justice and fairness, because you know that you also have a master in heaven.

Kolose 1:4-8

1:4 since ³⁷  we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints. 1:5 Your faith and love have arisen ³⁸  from the hope laid up ³⁹  for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel ⁴⁰  1:6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel ⁴¹  is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing ⁴²  among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth. 1:7 You learned the gospel ⁴³  from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave ⁴⁴  – a ⁴⁵  faithful minister of Christ on our ⁴⁶  behalf – 1:8 who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

Kolose 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁴⁷  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Yohanes 2:9-11

2:9 When ⁴⁸  the head steward tasted the water that had been turned to wine, not knowing where it came from ⁴⁹  (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), he ⁵⁰  called the bridegroom 2:10 and said to him, “Everyone ⁵¹  serves the good wine first, and then the cheaper ⁵²  wine when the guests ⁵³  are drunk. You have kept the good wine until now!” 2:11 Jesus did this as the first of his miraculous signs, ⁵⁴  in Cana ⁵⁵  of Galilee. In this way he revealed ⁵⁶  his glory, and his disciples believed in him. ⁵⁷ 

[42:6]  ¹ tn Heb “call you in righteousness.” The pronoun “you” is masculine singular, referring to the servant. See the note at 41:2.

[42:6]  ² tn The translation assumes the verb is derived from the root נָצַר (natsar, “protect”). Some prefer to derive it from the root יָצַר (yatsar, “form”).

[42:6]  ³ tn Heb “a covenant of people.” A person cannot literally be a covenant; בְּרִית (bÿrit) is probably metonymic here, indicating a covenant mediator. The precise identity of עָם (’am, “people”) is uncertain. In v. 5 עָם refers to mankind, and the following reference to “nations” also favors this. But in 49:8, where the phrase בְּרִית עָם occurs again, Israel seems to be in view.

[42:6]  ⁴ sn Light here symbolizes deliverance from bondage and oppression; note the parallelism in 49:6b and in 51:4-6.

[42:6]  ⁵ tn Or “the Gentiles” (so KJV, ASV, NIV); the same Hebrew word can be translated “nations” or “Gentiles” depending on the context.

[42:7]  ⁶ sn This does not refer to literal physical healing of the blind. As the next two lines suggest, this refers metonymically to freeing captives from their dark prisons where their eyes have grown unaccustomed to light.

[42:7]  ⁷ sn This does not refer to hardened, dangerous criminals, who would have been executed for their crimes in ancient Near Eastern society. This verse refers to political prisoners or victims of social injustice.

[49:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “the protected [or “preserved”] ones.”

[49:6]  ⁹ sn The question is purely rhetorical; it does not imply that the servant was dissatisfied with his commission or that he minimized the restoration of Israel.

[49:6]  ¹⁰ tn See the note at 42:6.

[49:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “be” (so KJV, ASV); CEV “you must take.”

[49:9]  ¹² tn Heb “to say.” In the Hebrew text the infinitive construct is subordinated to what precedes.

[49:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “in darkness” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “the prisoners of darkness.”

[49:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “show yourselves” (so ASV, NAB, NASB).

[60:1]  ¹⁵ tn Or “glory” (so most English versions).

[60:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and your God for your splendor.”

[60:20]  ¹⁷ sn In this verse “sun” and “moon” refer to the Lord’s light, which will replace the sun and moon (see v. 19). Light here symbolizes the restoration of divine blessing and prosperity in conjunction with the Lord’s presence. See 30:26.

[60:20]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “days” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[1:4]  ¹⁹ tn John uses ζωή (zwh) 37 times: 17 times it occurs with αἰώνιος (aiwnios), and in the remaining occurrences outside the prologue it is clear from context that “eternal” life is meant. The two uses in 1:4, if they do not refer to “eternal” life, would be the only exceptions. (Also 1 John uses ζωή 13 times, always of “eternal” life.)

[1:4]  sn An allusion to Ps 36:9, which gives significant OT background: “For with you is the fountain of life; In your light we see light.” In later Judaism, Bar 4:2 expresses a similar idea. Life, especially eternal life, will become one of the major themes of John’s Gospel.

[1:4]  ²⁰ tn Or “humanity”; Grk “of men” (but ἄνθρωπος [anqrwpo"] is used in a generic sense here, not restricted to males only, thus “mankind,” “humanity”).

[1:5]  ²¹ tn To this point the author has used past tenses (imperfects, aorists); now he switches to a present. The light continually shines (thus the translation, “shines on”). Even as the author writes, it is shining. The present here most likely has gnomic force (though it is possible to take it as a historical present); it expresses the timeless truth that the light of the world (cf. 8:12, 9:5, 12:46) never ceases to shine.

[1:5]  sn The light shines on. The question of whether John has in mind here the preincarnate Christ or the incarnate Christ is probably too specific. The incarnation is not really introduced until v. 9, but here the point is more general: It is of the very nature of light, that it shines.

[1:5]  ²² sn The author now introduces what will become a major theme of John’s Gospel: the opposition of light and darkness. The antithesis is a natural one, widespread in antiquity. Gen 1 gives considerable emphasis to it in the account of the creation, and so do the writings of Qumran. It is the major theme of one of the most important extra-biblical documents found at Qumran, the so-called War Scroll, properly titled The War of the Sons of Light with the Sons of Darkness. Connections between John and Qumran are still an area of scholarly debate and a consensus has not yet emerged. See T. A. Hoffman, “1 John and the Qumran Scrolls,” BTB 8 (1978): 117-25.

[1:5]  ²³ tn Grk “and,” but the context clearly indicates a contrast, so this has been translated as an adversative use of καί (kai).

[1:5]  ²⁴ tn Or “comprehended it,” or “overcome it.” The verb κατέλαβεν (katelaben) is not easy to translate. “To seize” or “to grasp” is possible, but this also permits “to grasp with the mind” in the sense of “to comprehend” (esp. in the middle voice). This is probably another Johannine double meaning – one does not usually think of darkness as trying to “understand” light. For it to mean this, “darkness” must be understood as meaning “certain people,” or perhaps “humanity” at large, darkened in understanding. But in John’s usage, darkness is not normally used of people or a group of people. Rather it usually signifies the evil environment or ‘sphere’ in which people find themselves: “They loved darkness rather than light” (John 3:19). Those who follow Jesus do not walk in darkness (8:12). They are to walk while they have light, lest the darkness “overtake/overcome” them (12:35, same verb as here). For John, with his set of symbols and imagery, darkness is not something which seeks to “understand (comprehend)” the light, but represents the forces of evil which seek to “overcome (conquer)” it. The English verb “to master” may be used in both sorts of contexts, as “he mastered his lesson” and “he mastered his opponent.”

[1:9]  ²⁵ tn Grk “every man” (but in a generic sense, “every person,” or “every human being”).

[1:9]  ²⁶ tn Or “He was the true light, who gives light to everyone who comes into the world.” The participle ἐρχόμενον (ercomenon) may be either (1) neuter nominative, agreeing with τὸ φῶς (to fw"), or (2) masculine accusative, agreeing with ἄνθρωπον (anqrwpon). Option (1) results in a periphrastic imperfect with ἦν (hn), ἦν τὸ φῶς… ἐρχόμενον, referring to the incarnation. Option (2) would have the participle modifying ἄνθρωπον and referring to the true light as enlightening “every man who comes into the world.” Option (2) has some rabbinic parallels: The phrase “all who come into the world” is a fairly common expression for “every man” (cf. Leviticus Rabbah 31.6). But (1) must be preferred here, because: (a) In the next verse the light is in the world; it is logical for v. 9 to speak of its entering the world; (b) in other passages Jesus is described as “coming into the world” (6:14, 9:39, 11:27, 16:28) and in 12:46 Jesus says: ἐγὼ φῶς εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἐλήλυθα (egw fw" ei" ton kosmon elhluqa); (c) use of a periphrastic participle with the imperfect tense is typical Johannine style: 1:28, 2:6, 3:23, 10:40, 11:1, 13:23, 18:18 and 25. In every one of these except 13:23 the finite verb is first and separated by one or more intervening words from the participle.

[1:9]  sn In v. 9 the world (κόσμος, kosmos) is mentioned for the first time. This is another important theme word for John. Generally, the world as a Johannine concept does not refer to the totality of creation (the universe), although there are exceptions at 11:9. 17:5, 24, 21:25, but to the world of human beings and human affairs. Even in 1:10 the world created through the Logos is a world capable of knowing (or reprehensibly not knowing) its Creator. Sometimes the world is further qualified as this world (ὁ κόσμος οὗτος, Jo kosmos Joutos) as in 8:23, 9:39, 11:9, 12:25, 31; 13:1, 16:11, 18:36. This is not merely equivalent to the rabbinic phrase “this present age” (ὁ αἰών οὗτος, Jo aiwn Joutos) and contrasted with “the world to come.” For John it is also contrasted to a world other than this one, already existing; this is the lower world, corresponding to which there is a world above (see especially 8:23, 18:36). Jesus appears not only as the Messiah by means of whom an eschatological future is anticipated (as in the synoptic gospels) but also as an envoy from the heavenly world to this world.

[8:12]  ²⁷ tn Grk “Then again Jesus spoke to them saying.”

[8:12]  ²⁸ sn The theory proposed by F. J. A. Hort (The New Testament in the Original Greek, vol. 2, Introduction; Appendix, 87-88), that the backdrop of 8:12 is the lighting of the candelabra in the court of women, may offer a plausible setting to the proclamation by Jesus that he is the light of the world. The last time that Jesus spoke in the narrative (assuming 7:53-8:11 is not part of the original text, as the textual evidence suggests) is in 7:38, where he was speaking to a crowd of pilgrims in the temple area. This is where he is found in the present verse, and he may be addressing the crowd again. Jesus’ remark has to be seen in view of both the prologue (John 1:4, 5) and the end of the discourse with Nicodemus (John 3:19-21). The coming of Jesus into the world provokes judgment: A choosing up of sides becomes necessary. The one who comes to the light, that is, who follows Jesus, will not walk in the darkness. The one who refuses to come, will walk in the darkness. In this contrast, there are only two alternatives. So it is with a person’s decision about Jesus. Furthermore, this serves as in implicit indictment of Jesus’ opponents, who still walk in the darkness, because they refuse to come to him. This sets up the contrast in chap. 9 between the man born blind, who receives both physical and spiritual sight, and the Pharisees (John 9:13, 15, 16) who have physical sight but remain in spiritual darkness.

[8:12]  ²⁹ tn The double negative οὐ μή (ou mh) is emphatic in 1st century Hellenistic Greek.

[12:1]  ³⁰ tn Grk “whom Jesus,” but a repetition of the proper name (Jesus) here would be redundant in the English clause structure, so the pronoun (“he”) is substituted in the translation.

[1:1]  ³¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:2]  ³² tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ³³ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:2]  ³⁴ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ³⁵ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.

[3:18]  ³⁶ tn The article τοῖς (tois) with ἀνδράσιν (andrasin, “husbands”) has been translated as a possessive pronoun (“your”); see ExSyn 215.

[1:4]  ³⁷ tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).

[1:5]  ³⁸ tn Col 1:3-8 form one long sentence in the Greek text and have been divided at the end of v. 4 and v. 6 and within v. 6 for clarity, in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English toward shorter sentences. Thus the phrase “Your faith and love have arisen from the hope” is literally “because of the hope.” The perfect tense “have arisen” was chosen in the English to reflect the fact that the recipients of the letter had acquired this hope at conversion in the past, but that it still remains and motivates them to trust in Christ and to love one another.

[1:5]  ³⁹ tn BDAG 113 s.v. ἀπόκειμαι 2 renders ἀποκειμένην (apokeimenhn) with the expression “reserved” in this verse.

[1:5]  ⁴⁰ tn The term “the gospel” (τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, tou euangeliou) is in apposition to “the word of truth” (τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας, tw logw th" alhqeia") as indicated in the translation.

[1:6]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “just as in the entire world it is bearing fruit.” The antecedent (“the gospel”) of the implied subject (“it”) of ἐστιν (estin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:6]  ⁴² tn Though the participles are periphrastic with the present tense verb ἐστίν (estin), the presence of the temporal indicator “from the day” in the next clause indicates that this is a present tense that reaches into the past and should be translated as “has been bearing fruit and growing.” For a discussion of this use of the present tense, see ExSyn 519-20.

[1:7]  ⁴³ tn Or “learned it.” The Greek text simply has “you learned” without the reference to “the gospel,” but “the gospel” is supplied to clarify the sense of the clause. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[1:7]  ⁴⁴ tn The Greek word translated “fellow slave” is σύνδουλος (sundoulo"); the σύν- prefix here denotes association. Though δοῦλος is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:7]  ⁴⁵ tn The Greek text has “who (ὅς, Jos) is a faithful minister.” The above translation conveys the antecedent of the relative pronoun quite well and avoids the redundancy with the following substantival participle of v. 8, namely, “who told” (ὁ δηλώσας, Jo dhlwsa").

[1:7]  ⁴⁶ tc ‡ Judging by the superior witnesses for the first person pronoun ἡμῶν (Jhmwn, “us”; Ì⁴⁶ א* A B D* F G 326* 1505 al) vs. the second person pronoun ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “you”; found in א² C D¹ Ψ 075 33 1739 1881 Ï lat sy co), ἡμῶν should be regarded as original. Although it is possible that ἡμῶν was an early alteration of ὑμῶν (either unintentionally, as dittography, since it comes seventeen letters after the previous ἡμῶν; or intentionally, to conform to the surrounding first person pronouns), this supposition is difficult to maintain in light of the varied and valuable witnesses for this reading. Further, the second person is both embedded in the verb ἐμάθετε (emaqete) and is explicit in v. 8 (ὑμῶν). Hence, the motivation to change to the first person pronoun is counterbalanced by such evidence. The second person pronoun may have been introduced unintentionally via homoioarcton with the ὑπέρ (Juper) that immediately precedes it. As well, the second person reading is somewhat harder for it seems to address Epaphras’ role only in relation to Paul and his colleagues, rather than in relation to the Colossians. Nevertheless, the decision must be based ultimately on external evidence (because the internal evidence can be variously interpreted), and this strongly supports ἡμῶν.

[1:1]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[2:9]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “And when.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, δέ (de) has not been translated here.

[2:9]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “and he did not know where it came from.”

[2:9]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “the head steward”; here the repetition of the phrase is somewhat redundant in English and the pronoun (“he”) is substituted in the translation.

[2:10]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “every man” (in a generic sense).

[2:10]  ⁵² tn Or “poorer.”

[2:10]  ⁵³ tn Grk “when they”; the referent (the guests) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:11]  ⁵⁴ tn This sentence in Greek involves an object-complement construction. The force can be either “Jesus did this as,” or possibly “Jesus made this to be.” The latter translation accents not only Jesus’ power but his sovereignty too. Cf. also 4:54 where the same construction occurs.

[2:11]  ⁵⁵ map For location see Map1 C3; Map2 D2; Map3 C5.

[2:11]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “in Cana of Galilee, and he revealed.”

[2:11]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “his disciples trusted in him,” or “his disciples put their faith in him.”