Mazmur 112:5

112:5 It goes well for the one ¹  who generously lends money,

and conducts his business honestly. ² 

Mazmur 112:9

112:9 He generously gives ³  to the needy;

his integrity endures. ⁴ 

He will be vindicated and honored. ⁵ 

Ulangan 15:9-11

15:9 Be careful lest you entertain the wicked thought that the seventh year, the year of cancellation of debts, has almost arrived, and your attitude ⁶  be wrong toward your impoverished fellow Israelite ⁷  and you do not lend ⁸  him anything; he will cry out to the Lord against you and you will be regarded as having sinned. ⁹  15:10 You must by all means lend ¹⁰  to him and not be upset by doing it, ¹¹  for because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you attempt. 15:11 There will never cease to be some poor people in the land; therefore, I am commanding you to make sure you open ¹²  your hand to your fellow Israelites ¹³  who are needy and poor in your land.

Ayub 31:16-20

31:16 If I have refused to give the poor what they desired, ¹⁴ 

or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

31:17 If I ate my morsel of bread myself,

and did not share any of it with orphans ¹⁵  –

31:18 but from my youth I raised the orphan ¹⁶  like a father,

and from my mother’s womb ¹⁷ 

I guided the widow! ¹⁸ 

31:19 If I have seen anyone about to perish for lack of clothing,

or a poor man without a coat,

31:20 whose heart did not bless me ¹⁹ 

as he warmed himself with the fleece of my sheep, ²⁰ 

Yesaya 32:8

32:8 An honorable man makes honorable plans;

his honorable character gives him security. ²¹ 

Yesaya 58:7-10

58:7 I want you ²²  to share your food with the hungry

and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people. ²³ 

When you see someone naked, clothe him!

Don’t turn your back on your own flesh and blood! ²⁴ 

58:8 Then your light will shine like the sunrise; ²⁵ 

your restoration will quickly arrive; ²⁶ 

your godly behavior ²⁷  will go before you,

and the Lord’s splendor will be your rear guard. ²⁸ 

58:9 Then you will call out, and the Lord will respond;

you will cry out, and he will reply, ‘Here I am.’

You must ²⁹  remove the burdensome yoke from among you

and stop pointing fingers and speaking sinfully.

58:10 You must ³⁰  actively help the hungry

and feed the oppressed. ³¹ 

Then your light will dispel the darkness, ³² 

and your darkness will be transformed into noonday. ³³ 

Lukas 6:30

6:30 Give to everyone who asks you, ³⁴  and do not ask for your possessions ³⁵  back ³⁶  from the person who takes them away.

Kisah Para Rasul 11:29

11:29 So the disciples, each in accordance with his financial ability, ³⁷  decided ³⁸  to send relief ³⁹  to the brothers living in Judea.

Kisah Para Rasul 20:35

20:35 By all these things, ⁴⁰  I have shown you that by working in this way we must help ⁴¹  the weak, ⁴²  and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” ⁴³ 

Kisah Para Rasul 20:2

20:2 After he had gone through those regions ⁴⁴  and spoken many words of encouragement ⁴⁵  to the believers there, ⁴⁶  he came to Greece, ⁴⁷ 

Kolose 1:9

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ⁴⁸  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ⁴⁹  to fill ⁵⁰  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

Kolose 1:6-15

1:6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel ⁵¹  is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing ⁵²  among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth. 1:7 You learned the gospel ⁵³  from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave ⁵⁴  – a ⁵⁵  faithful minister of Christ on our ⁵⁶  behalf – 1:8 who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ⁵⁷  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ⁵⁸  to fill ⁵⁹  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 1:10 so that you may live ⁶⁰  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ⁶¹  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, 1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of ⁶²  all patience and steadfastness, joyfully 1:12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share ⁶³  in the saints’ ⁶⁴  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, ⁶⁵  1:14 in whom we have redemption, ⁶⁶  the forgiveness of sins.

The Supremacy of Christ

1:15 ⁶⁷ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn ⁶⁸  over all creation, ⁶⁹ 

Ibrani 6:10

6:10 For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love you have demonstrated for his name, in having served and continuing to serve the saints.

Ibrani 13:16

13:16 And do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, ⁷⁰  for God is pleased with such sacrifices.

[112:5]  ¹ tn Heb “man.”

[112:5]  ² tn Heb “he sustains his matters with justice.”

[112:9]  ³ tn Heb “he scatters, he gives.”

[112:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “stands forever.”

[112:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “his horn will be lifted up in honor.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17).

[15:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “your eye.”

[15:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “your needy brother.”

[15:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “give” (likewise in v. 10).

[15:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “it will be a sin to you.”

[15:10]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “by all means.”

[15:10]  ¹¹ tc Heb “your heart must not be grieved in giving to him.” The LXX and Orig add, “you shall surely lend to him sufficient for his need,” a suggestion based on the same basic idea in v. 8. Such slavish adherence to stock phrases is without warrant in most cases, and certainly here.

[15:11]  ¹² tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “make sure.”

[15:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “your brother.”

[31:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “kept the poor from [their] desire.”

[31:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and an orphan did not eat from it.”

[31:18]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he grew up with me.” Several commentators have decided to change the pronoun to “I,” and make it causative.

[31:18]  ¹⁷ tn The expression “from my mother’s womb” is obviously hyperbolic. It is a way of saying “all his life.”

[31:18]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “I guided her,” referring to the widow mentioned in v. 16.

[31:20]  ¹⁹ tn The MT has simply “if his loins did not bless me.” In the conditional clause this is another protasis. It means, “if I saw someone dying and if he did not thank me for clothing them.” It is Job’s way of saying that whenever he saw a need he met it, and he received his share of thanks – which prove his kindness. G. R. Driver has it “without his loins having blessed me,” taking “If…not” as an Aramaism, meaning “except” (AJSL 52 [1935/36]: 164f.).

[31:20]  ²⁰ tn This clause is interpreted here as a subordinate clause to the first half of the verse. It could also be a separate clause: “was he not warmed…?”

[32:8]  ²¹ tn Heb “and he upon honorable things stands.”

[58:7]  ²² tn Heb “Is it not?” The rhetorical question here expects a positive answer, “It is!”

[58:7]  ²³ tn Heb “and afflicted [ones], homeless [ones] you should bring [into] a house.” On the meaning of מְרוּדִים (mÿrudim, “homeless”) see HALOT 633 s.v. *מָרוּד.

[58:7]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and from your flesh do not hide yourself.”

[58:8]  ²⁵ tn Heb “will burst out like the dawn.”

[58:8]  sn Light here symbolizes God’s favor and restored blessing, as the immediately following context makes clear.

[58:8]  ²⁶ tn Heb “prosper”; KJV “spring forth speedily.”

[58:8]  ²⁷ tn Or “righteousness.” Their godly behavior will be on display for all to see.

[58:8]  ²⁸ sn The nation will experience God’s protective presence.

[58:9]  ²⁹ tn Heb “if you.” In the Hebrew text vv. 9b-10 are one long conditional sentence. The protasis (“if” clauses appear in vv. 9b-10a), with the apodosis (“then” clause) appearing in v. 10b.

[58:10]  ³⁰ tn Heb “if you.” See the note on “you must” in v. 9b.

[58:10]  ³¹ tn Heb “If you furnish for the hungry [with] your being, and the appetite of the oppressed you satisfy.”

[58:10]  ³² tn Heb “will rise in the darkness.”

[58:10]  ³³ tn Heb “and your darkness [will be] like noonday.”

[6:30]  ³⁴ sn Jesus advocates a generosity and a desire to meet those in dire need with the command give to everyone who asks you. This may allude to begging; giving alms was viewed highly in the ancient world (Matt 6:1-4; Deut 15:7-11).

[6:30]  ³⁵ tn Grk “your things,” sometimes translated “what is yours” or “what belongs to you.”

[6:30]  ³⁶ sn Do not ask for your possessions back… is an example of showing forgiveness. Paul’s remarks in 1 Cor 6:7 may reflect this principle.

[11:29]  ³⁷ tn So BDAG 410 s.v. εὐπορέω.

[11:29]  ³⁸ tn Or “determined,” “resolved.”

[11:29]  ³⁹ tn Grk “to send [something] for a ministry,” but today it is common to speak of sending relief for victims of natural disasters.

[11:29]  sn The financial relief reflects the oneness of the church, meeting the needs of another (even racially distinct) community. Jerusalem, having ministered to them, now received ministry back. A later collection from Greece is noted in Rom 15:25-27, but it reflects the same spirit as this gift.

[20:35]  ⁴⁰ sn The expression By all these things means “In everything I did.”

[20:35]  ⁴¹ tn Or “must assist.”

[20:35]  ⁴² tn Or “the sick.” See Eph 4:28.

[20:35]  ⁴³ sn The saying is similar to Matt 10:8. Service and generosity should be abundant. Interestingly, these exact words are not found in the gospels. Paul must have known of this saying from some other source.

[20:2]  ⁴⁴ tn BDAG 633 s.v. μέρος 1.b.γ gives the meanings “the parts (of a geographical area), region, district,” but the use of “district” in this context probably implies too much specificity.

[20:2]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “and encouraging them with many words.” The participle παρακαλέσας (parakalesa", “encouraging”) has been translated by the phrase “spoken…words of encouragement” because the formal equivalent is awkward in contemporary English.

[20:2]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “[to] them”; the referent (the believers there) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:2]  ⁴⁷ tn In popular usage the term translated “Greece” here could also refer to the Roman province officially known as Achaia (BDAG 318 s.v. ῾Ελλάς).

[1:9]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.

[1:9]  ⁴⁹ tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ⁵⁰ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.

[1:6]  ⁵¹ 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]  ⁵² 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]  ⁵³ 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]  ⁵⁴ 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]  ⁵⁵ 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]  ⁵⁶ 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.

[1:9]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.

[1:9]  ⁵⁸ tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ⁵⁹ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.

[1:10]  ⁶⁰ tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”

[1:10]  ⁶¹ tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”

[1:11]  ⁶² 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]  ⁶³ 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]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “the inheritance of the saints.” The genitive noun τῶν ἁγίων (twn Jagiwn) is a possessive genitive: “the saints’ inheritance.”

[1:13]  ⁶⁵ tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).

[1:14]  ⁶⁶ 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.

[1:15]  ⁶⁷ 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]  ⁶⁸ 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]  ⁶⁹ 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.

[13:16]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “neglect doing good and fellowship.”