Lukas 22:32

22:32 but I have prayed for you, Simon, ¹  that your faith may not fail. ²  When ³  you have turned back, ⁴  strengthen ⁵  your brothers.”

Yohanes 21:15-17

Peter’s Restoration

21:15 Then when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, ⁶  do you love me more than these do?” ⁷  He replied, ⁸  “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.” ⁹  Jesus ¹⁰  told him, “Feed my lambs.” 21:16 Jesus ¹¹  said ¹²  a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He replied, ¹³  “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.” Jesus ¹⁴  told him, “Shepherd my sheep.” 21:17 Jesus ¹⁵  said ¹⁶  a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed ¹⁷  that Jesus ¹⁸  asked ¹⁹  him a third time, “Do you love me?” and said, ²⁰  “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus ²¹  replied, ²²  “Feed my sheep.

Kisah Para Rasul 9:31

9:31 Then ²³  the church throughout Judea, Galilee, ²⁴  and Samaria experienced ²⁵  peace and thus was strengthened. ²⁶  Living ²⁷  in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, the church ²⁸  increased in numbers.

Kisah Para Rasul 11:23

11:23 When ²⁹  he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain true ³⁰  to the Lord with devoted hearts, ³¹ 

Kisah Para Rasul 14:22-23

14:22 They strengthened ³²  the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue ³³  in the faith, saying, “We must enter the kingdom ³⁴  of God through many persecutions.” ³⁵  14:23 When they had appointed elders ³⁶  for them in the various churches, ³⁷  with prayer and fasting ³⁸  they entrusted them to the protection ³⁹  of the Lord in whom they had believed.

Kisah Para Rasul 20:28

20:28 Watch out for ⁴⁰  yourselves and for all the flock of which ⁴¹  the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, ⁴²  to shepherd the church of God ⁴³  that he obtained ⁴⁴  with the blood of his own Son. ⁴⁵ 

Roma 15:14

Paul’s Motivation for Writing the Letter

15:14 But I myself am fully convinced about you, my brothers and sisters, ⁴⁶  that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another.

Roma 15:29

15:29 and I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of Christ’s blessing.

Roma 15:1

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. ⁴⁷ 

Kolose 1:7

1:7 You learned the gospel ⁴⁸  from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave ⁴⁹  – a ⁵⁰  faithful minister of Christ on our ⁵¹  behalf –

Kolose 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ⁵²  brothers and sisters ⁵³  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ⁵⁴  from God our Father! ⁵⁵ 

Kolose 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁵⁶  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Filipi 1:25-26

1:25 And since I am sure of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for the sake of your progress ⁵⁷  and joy in the faith, ⁵⁸  1:26 so that what you can be proud of may increase ⁵⁹  because of me in Christ Jesus, when I come back to you. ⁶⁰ 

Filipi 3:12-18

Keep Going Forward

3:12 Not that I have already attained this – that is, I have not already been perfected – but I strive to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me. ⁶¹  3:13 Brothers and sisters, ⁶²  I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: ⁶³  Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead, 3:14 with this goal in mind, ⁶⁴  I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God ⁶⁵  in Christ Jesus. 3:15 Therefore let those of us who are “perfect” embrace this point of view. ⁶⁶  If you think otherwise, God will reveal to you the error of your ways. ⁶⁷  3:16 Nevertheless, let us live up to the standard ⁶⁸  that we have already attained. ⁶⁹ 

3:17 Be imitators of me, ⁷⁰  brothers and sisters, ⁷¹  and watch carefully those who are living this way, just as you have us as an example. 3:18 For many live, about whom I have often told you, and now, with tears, I tell you that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ.

Kolose 1:28

1:28 We proclaim him by instructing ⁷²  and teaching ⁷³  all people ⁷⁴  with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature ⁷⁵  in Christ.

Kolose 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁷⁶  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Kolose 1:11-14

1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of ⁷⁷  all patience and steadfastness, joyfully 1:12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share ⁷⁸  in the saints’ ⁷⁹  inheritance in the light. 1:13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ⁸⁰  1:14 in whom we have redemption, ⁸¹  the forgiveness of sins.

Ibrani 6:1

6:1 Therefore we must progress beyond ⁸²  the elementary ⁸³  instructions about Christ ⁸⁴  and move on ⁸⁵  to maturity, not laying this foundation again: repentance from dead works and faith in God,

Ibrani 13:17

13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls and will give an account for their work. ⁸⁶  Let them do this ⁸⁷  with joy and not with complaints, for this would be no advantage for you.

[22:32]  ¹ sn Here and in the remainder of the verse the second person pronouns are singular, so only Peter is in view. The name “Simon” has been supplied as a form of direct address to make this clear in English.

[22:32]  ² sn That your faith may not fail. Note that Peter’s denials are pictured here as lapses, not as a total absence of faith.

[22:32]  ³ tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[22:32]  ⁴ tn Or “turned around.”

[22:32]  ⁵ sn Strengthen your brothers refers to Peter helping to strengthen their faith. Jesus quite graciously restores Peter “in advance,” even with the knowledge of his approaching denials.

[21:15]  ⁶ tc The majority of mss (A C² Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï sy) read “Simon, the son of Jonah” here and in vv. 16 and 17, but these are perhaps assimilations to Matt 16:17. The reading “Simon, son of John” is better attested, being found in א¹ (א* only has “Simon” without mention of his father) B C* D L W lat co.

[21:15]  ⁷ tn To whom (or what) does “these” (τούτων, toutwn) refer? Three possibilities are suggested: (1) τούτων should be understood as neuter, “these things,” referring to the boats, nets, and fishing gear nearby. In light of Peter’s statement in 21:3, “I am going fishing,” some have understood Peter to have renounced his commission in light of his denials of Jesus. Jesus, as he restores Peter and forgives him for his denials, is asking Peter if he really loves his previous vocation more than he loves Jesus. Three things may be said in evaluation of this view: (a) it is not at all necessary to understand Peter’s statement in 21:3 as a renouncement of his discipleship, as this view of the meaning of τούτων would imply; (b) it would probably be more likely that the verb would be repeated in such a construction (see 7:31 for an example where the verb is repeated); and (c) as R. E. Brown has observed (John [AB], 2:1103) by Johannine standards the choice being offered to Peter between material things and the risen Jesus would seem rather ridiculous, especially after the disciples had realized whom it was they were dealing with (the Lord, see v. 12). (2) τούτων refers to the other disciples, meaning “Do you love me more than you love these other disciples?” The same objection mentioned as (c) under (1) would apply here: Could the author, in light of the realization of who Jesus is which has come to the disciples after the resurrection, and which he has just mentioned in 21:12, seriously present Peter as being offered a choice between the other disciples and the risen Jesus? This leaves option (3), that τούτων refers to the other disciples, meaning “Do you love me more than these other disciples do?” It seems likely that there is some irony here: Peter had boasted in 13:37, “I will lay down my life for you,” and the synoptics present Peter as boasting even more explicitly of his loyalty to Jesus (“Even if they all fall away, I will not,” Matt 26:33; Mark 14:29). Thus the semantic force of what Jesus asks Peter here amounts to something like “Now, after you have denied me three times, as I told you you would, can you still affirm that you love me more than these other disciples do?” The addition of the auxiliary verb “do” in the translation is used to suggest to the English reader the third interpretation, which is the preferred one.

[21:15]  ⁸ tn Grk “He said to him.”

[21:15]  ⁹ tn Is there a significant difference in meaning between the two words for love used in the passage, ἀγαπάω and φιλέω (agapaw and filew)? Aside from Origen, who saw a distinction in the meaning of the two words, most of the Greek Fathers like Chrysostom and Cyril of Alexandria, saw no real difference of meaning. Neither did Augustine nor the translators of the Itala (Old Latin). This was also the view of the Reformation Greek scholars Erasmus and Grotius. The suggestion that a distinction in meaning should be seen comes primarily from a number of British scholars of the 19th century, especially Trench, Westcott, and Plummer. It has been picked up by others such as Spicq, Lenski, and Hendriksen. But most modern scholars decline to see a real difference in the meaning of the two words in this context, among them Bernard, Moffatt, Bonsirven, Bultmann, Barrett, Brown, Morris, Haenchen, and Beasley-Murray. There are three significant reasons for seeing no real difference in the meaning of ἀγαπάω and φιλέω in these verses: (1) the author has a habit of introducing slight stylistic variations in repeated material without any significant difference in meaning (compare, for example, 3:3 with 3:5, and 7:34 with 13:33). An examination of the uses of ἀγαπάω and φιλέω in the Fourth Gospel seems to indicate a general interchangeability between the two. Both terms are used of God’s love for man (3:16, 16:27); of the Father’s love for the Son (3:35, 5:20); of Jesus’ love for men (11:5, 11:3); of the love of men for men (13:34, 15:19); and of the love of men for Jesus (8:42, 16:27). (2) If (as seems probable) the original conversation took place in Aramaic (or possibly Hebrew), there would not have been any difference expressed because both Aramaic and Hebrew have only one basic word for love. In the LXX both ἀγαπάω and φιλέω are used to translate the same Hebrew word for love, although ἀγαπάω is more frequent. It is significant that in the Syriac version of the NT only one verb is used to translate vv. 15-17 (Syriac is very similar linguistically to Palestinian Aramaic). (3) Peter’s answers to the questions asked with ἀγαπάω are ‘yes’ even though he answers using the verb φιλέω. If he is being asked to love Jesus on a higher or more spiritual level his answers give no indication of this, and one would be forced to say (in order to maintain a consistent distinction between the two verbs) that Jesus finally concedes defeat and accepts only the lower form of love which is all that Peter is capable of offering. Thus it seems best to regard the interchange between ἀγαπάω and φιλέω in these verses as a minor stylistic variation of the author, consistent with his use of minor variations in repeated material elsewhere, and not indicative of any real difference in meaning. Thus no attempt has been made to distinguish between the two Greek words in the translation.

[21:15]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:16]  ¹¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:16]  ¹² tn Grk “said again.” The word “again” (when used in connection with the phrase “a second time”) is redundant and has not been translated.

[21:16]  ¹³ tn Grk “He said to him.”

[21:16]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:17]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:17]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “said to him.” The words “to him” are clear from the context and slightly redundant in English.

[21:17]  ¹⁷ tn Or “was sad.”

[21:17]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:17]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “said to.”

[21:17]  ²⁰ tn Grk “and said to him.” The words “to him” are clear from the context and slightly redundant in English.

[21:17]  ²¹ tc ‡ Most witnesses, especially later ones (A Θ Ψ Ë¹³ Ï), read ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς (Jo Ihsou", “Jesus”) here, while B C have ᾿Ιησοῦς without the article and א D W ˹ 33 565 al lat lack both. Because of the rapid verbal exchange in this pericope, “Jesus” is virtually required for clarity, providing a temptation to scribes to add the name. Further, the name normally occurs with the article. Although it is possible that B C accidentally omitted the article with the name, it is just as likely that they added the simple name to the text for clarity’s sake, while other witnesses added the article as well. The omission of ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς thus seems most likely to be authentic. NA²⁷ includes the words in brackets, indicating some doubts as to their authenticity.

[21:17]  tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:17]  ²² tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”

[9:31]  ²³ tn Or “Therefore.” This verse is another summary text in Acts (cf. 2:41-47; 4:32-37; 5:12-16; 6:7).

[9:31]  ²⁴ tn Grk “and Galilee,” 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.

[9:31]  ²⁵ tn Grk “had.”

[9:31]  ²⁶ tn Or “Built up.” The participle οἰκοδομουμένη (oikodomoumenh) has been translated as a participle of result related to εἶχεν (eicen). It could also be understood as adverbial to ἐπληθύνετο (eplhquneto): “Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria experienced peace. Strengthened and living in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.” Although some scholars do not regard the participle of result as a legitimate category, it is actually fairly common (see ExSyn 637-39).

[9:31]  ²⁷ tn Grk “And living.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[9:31]  ²⁸ tn Grk “it”; the referent (the church) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:23]  ²⁹ tn Grk “Antioch, who when.” The relative pronoun was omitted and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.

[11:23]  ³⁰ tn BDAG 883 s.v. προσμένω 1.a.β has “remain true to the Lord” for προσμένειν (prosmenein) in this verse.

[11:23]  sn He…encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord. The call to faithfulness is frequent in Acts (2:40; 14:22; 15:32; 16:39; 20:1-2).

[11:23]  ³¹ tn Grk “with purpose of heart”; BDAG 869 s.v. πρόθεσις 2.a translates this phrase “purpose of heart, i.e. devotion” here.

[14:22]  ³² tn Grk “to Antioch, strengthening.” Due to the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was started here. This participle (ἐπιστηρίζοντες, episthrizonte") and the following one (παρακαλοῦντες, parakalounte") have been translated as finite verbs connected by the coordinating conjunction “and.”

[14:22]  ³³ sn And encouraged them to continue. The exhortations are like those noted in Acts 11:23; 13:43. An example of such a speech is found in Acts 20:18-35. Christianity is now characterized as “the faith.”

[14:22]  ³⁴ sn This reference to the kingdom of God clearly refers to its future arrival.

[14:22]  ³⁵ tn Or “sufferings.”

[14:23]  ³⁶ sn Appointed elders. See Acts 20:17.

[14:23]  ³⁷ tn The preposition κατά (kata) is used here in a distributive sense; see BDAG 512 s.v. κατά B.1.d.

[14:23]  ³⁸ tn Literally with a finite verb (προσευξάμενοι, proseuxamenoi) rather than a noun, “praying with fasting,” but the combination “prayer and fasting” is so familiar in English that it is preferable to use it here.

[14:23]  ³⁹ tn BDAG 772 s.v. παρατίθημι 3.b has “entrust someone to the care or protection of someone” for this phrase. The reference to persecution or suffering in the context (v. 22) suggests “protection” is a better translation here. This looks at God’s ultimate care for the church.

[20:28]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “Be on your guard for” (cf. v. 29). Paul completed his responsibility to the Ephesians with this warning.

[20:28]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “in which.”

[20:28]  ⁴² tn Or “guardians.” BDAG 379-80 s.v. ἐπίσκοπος 2 states, “The term was taken over in Christian communities in ref. to one who served as overseer or supervisor, with special interest in guarding the apostolic tradition…Ac 20:28.” This functional term describes the role of the elders (see v. 17). They were to guard and shepherd the congregation.

[20:28]  ⁴³ tc The reading “of God” (τοῦ θεοῦ, tou qeou) is found in א B 614 1175 1505 al vg sy; other witnesses have “of the Lord” (τοῦ κυρίου, tou kuriou) here (so Ì⁷⁴ A C* D E Ψ 33 1739 al co), while the majority of the later minuscule mss conflate these two into “of the Lord and God” (τοῦ κυρίου καὶ [τοῦ] θεοῦ, tou kuriou kai [tou] qeou). Although the evidence is evenly balanced between the first two readings, τοῦ θεοῦ is decidedly superior on internal grounds. The final prepositional phrase of this verse, διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ ἰδίου (dia tou {aimato" tou idiou), could be rendered “through his own blood” or “through the blood of his own.” In the latter translation, the object that “own” modifies must be supplied (see tn below for discussion). But this would not be entirely clear to scribes; those who supposed that ἰδίου modified αἵματος would be prone to alter “God” to “Lord” to avoid the inference that God had blood. In a similar way, later scribes would be prone to conflate the two titles, thereby affirming the deity (with the construction τοῦ κυρίου καὶ θεοῦ following the Granville Sharp rule and referring to a single person [see ExSyn 272, 276-77, 290]) and substitutionary atonement of Christ. For these reasons, τοῦ θεοῦ best explains the rise of the other readings and should be considered authentic.

[20:28]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “acquired.”

[20:28]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “with his own blood”; Grk “with the blood of his own.” The genitive construction could be taken in two ways: (1) as an attributive genitive (second attributive position) meaning “his own blood”; or (2) as a possessive genitive, “with the blood of his own.” In this case the referent is the Son, and the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. See further C. F. DeVine, “The Blood of God,” CBQ 9 (1947): 381-408.

[20:28]  sn That he obtained with the blood of his own Son. This is one of only two explicit statements in Luke-Acts highlighting the substitutionary nature of Christ’s death (the other is in Luke 22:19).

[15:14]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[15:1]  ⁴⁷ 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.”

[1:7]  ⁴⁸ 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]  ⁴⁹ 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]  ⁵⁰ 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]  ⁵¹ 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.

[1:2]  ⁵² 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]  ⁵³ 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]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ⁵⁵ 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.

[1:1]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:25]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “for your progress.”

[1:25]  ⁵⁸ sn Paul’s confidence in his release from prison (I know that I will remain and continue with all of you) implies that this Roman imprisonment did not end in his death. Hence, there is the likelihood that he experienced a second Roman imprisonment later on (since the belief of the early church was that Paul died under Nero in Rome). If so, then the pastoral letters (1-2 Tim, Titus) could well fit into a life of Paul that goes beyond any descriptions in the book of Acts (which ends with Paul’s first Roman imprisonment). Some have argued that the pastorals cannot be genuine because they cannot fit into the history of Acts. But this view presupposes that Paul’s first Roman imprisonment was also his last.

[1:26]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “your boasting may overflow in Christ Jesus because of me,” or possibly, “your boasting in me may overflow in Christ Jesus.” BDAG 536 s.v. καύχημα 1 translates the phrase τὸ καύχημα ὑμῶν (to kauchma jJumwn) in Phil 1:26 as “what you can be proud of.”

[1:26]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “through my coming again to you.”

[3:12]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “that for which I also was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.” The passive has been translated as active in keeping with contemporary English style.

[3:13]  ⁶² tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.

[3:13]  ⁶³ tn Grk “But this one thing (I do).”

[3:14]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “according to the goal.”

[3:14]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “prize, namely, the heavenly calling of God.”

[3:15]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “those of us who are ‘perfect’ should think this,” or possibly “those of us who are mature should think this.”

[3:15]  sn The adjective perfect comes from the same root as the verb perfected in v. 12; Paul may well be employing a wordplay to draw in his opponents. Thus, perfect would then be in quotation marks and Paul would then argue that no one – neither they nor he – is in fact perfect. The thrust of vv. 1-16 is that human credentials can produce nothing that is pleasing to God (vv. 1-8). Instead of relying on such, Paul urges his readers to trust God for their righteousness (v. 9) rather than their own efforts, and at the same time to press on for the prize that awaits them (vv. 12-14). He argues further that perfection is unattainable in this life (v. 15), yet the level of maturity that one has reached should not for this reason be abandoned (v. 16).

[3:15]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “reveal this to you.” The referent of the pronoun “this” is the fact that the person is thinking differently than Paul does. This has been specified in the translation with the phrase “the error of your ways”; Paul is stating that God will make it known to these believers when they are not in agreement with Paul.

[3:16]  ⁶⁸ tc Although κανόνι (kanoni, “standard, rule”) is found in most witnesses, though in various locations in this verse (א² D² Ψ 075 Ï), it is almost surely a motivated reading, for it clarifies the cryptic τῷ αὐτῷ (tw autw, “the same”). Both the fact that the word floats, and that there are other variants which accomplish greater clarity by other means, strongly suggests the secondary nature of any of the longer readings here. Further, the shortest text has excellent and early support in Ì^16,46 א* A B I^vid 6 33 1739 co, rendering it decidedly the preferred reading. The translation adds “standard” because of English requirements, not because of textual basis.

[3:16]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “Nevertheless, to what we have attained, to the same hold fast.”

[3:17]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “become fellow imitators with me [of Christ].”

[3:17]  ⁷¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.

[1:28]  ⁷² tn Or “admonishing,” or “warning.” BDAG 679 s.v. νουθετέω states, “to counsel about avoidance or cessation of an improper course of conduct,, admonish, warn, instruct.” After the participle νουθετοῦντες (nouqetounte", “instructing”) the words πάντα ἄνθρωπον (panta anqrwpon, “all men”) occur in the Greek text, but since the same phrase appears again after διδάσκοντες (didaskontes) it was omitted in translation to avoid redundancy in English.

[1:28]  ⁷³ tn The two participles “instructing” (νουθετοῦντες, nouqetounte") and “teaching” (διδάσκοντες, didaskonte") are translated as participles of means (“by”) related to the finite verb “we proclaim” (καταγγέλλομεν, katangellomen).

[1:28]  ⁷⁴ tn Here ἄνθρωπον (anqrwpon) is twice translated as a generic (“people” and “person”) since both men and women are clearly intended in this context.

[1:28]  ⁷⁵ tn Since Paul’s focus is on the present experience of the Colossians, “mature” is a better translation of τέλειον (teleion) than “perfect,” since the latter implies a future, eschatological focus.

[1:1]  ⁷⁶ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:11]  ⁷⁷ tn The expression “for the display of” is an attempt to convey in English the force of the Greek preposition εἰς (eis) in this context.

[1:12]  ⁷⁸ tn BDAG 473 s.v. ἱκανόω states, “τινὰ εἴς τι someone for someth. Col 1:12.” The point of the text is that God has qualified the saints for a “share” or “portion” in the inheritance of the saints.

[1:12]  ⁷⁹ tn Grk “the inheritance of the saints.” The genitive noun τῶν ἁγίων (twn Jagiwn) is a possessive genitive: “the saints’ inheritance.”

[1:13]  ⁸⁰ tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).

[1:14]  ⁸¹ tc διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ (dia tou {aimato" autou, “through his blood”) is read at this juncture by several minuscule mss (614 630 1505 2464 al) as well as a few, mostly secondary, versional and patristic witnesses. But the reading was prompted by the parallel in Eph 1:7 where the wording is solid. If these words had been in the original of Colossians, why would scribes omit them here but not in Eph 1:7? Further, the testimony on behalf of the shorter reading is quite overwhelming: {א A B C D F G Ψ 075 0150 6 33 1739 1881 Ï latt co as well as several other versions and fathers}. The conviction that “through his blood” is not authentic in Col 1:14 is as strong as the conviction that these words are authentic in Eph 1:7.

[6:1]  ⁸² tn Grk “Therefore leaving behind.” The implication is not of abandoning this elementary information, but of building on it.

[6:1]  ⁸³ tn Or “basic.”

[6:1]  ⁸⁴ tn Grk “the message of the beginning of Christ.”

[6:1]  ⁸⁵ tn Grk “leaving behind…let us move on.”

[13:17]  ⁸⁶ tn Or “as ones who will give an account”; Grk “as giving an account.”

[13:17]  ⁸⁷ tn Grk “that they may do this.”