Exodus 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 

Exodus 23:2

23:2 “You must not follow a crowd ⁶  in doing evil things; ⁷  in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice, ⁸ 

Exodus 6:22

6:22 The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.

Exodus 6:2

6:2 God spoke ⁹  to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. ¹⁰ 

Exodus 28:9-15

28:9 “You are to take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, ¹¹  28:10 six ¹²  of their names on one stone, and the six remaining names on the second stone, according to the order of their birth. ¹³  28:11 You are to engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel with the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a seal; ¹⁴  you are to have them set ¹⁵  in gold filigree ¹⁶  settings. 28:12 You are to put the two stones on the shoulders of the ephod, stones of memorial for the sons of Israel, and Aaron will bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders for a memorial. ¹⁷  28:13 You are to make filigree settings of gold 28:14 and two braided chains of pure gold, like a cord, and attach the chains to the settings.

28:15 “You are to make a breastpiece for use in making decisions, ¹⁸  the work of an artistic designer; you are to make it in the same fashion as the ephod; you are to make it of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twisted linen.

Psalms 7:4

7:4 or have wronged my ally, ¹⁹ 

or helped his lawless enemy, ²⁰ 

Psalms 35:13-14

35:13 When they were sick, I wore sackcloth, ²¹ 

and refrained from eating food. ²² 

(If I am lying, may my prayers go unanswered!) ²³ 

35:14 I mourned for them as I would for a friend or my brother. ²⁴ 

I bowed down ²⁵  in sorrow as if I were mourning for my mother. ²⁶ 

Proverbs 25:21-22

25:21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat,

and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,

25:22 for you will heap coals of fire on his head, ²⁷ 

and the Lord will reward you. ²⁸ 

Luke 6:27-28

6:27 “But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies, ²⁹  do good to those who hate you, 6:28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat ³⁰  you.

Luke 6:34-35

6:34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to be repaid, ³¹  what credit is that to you? Even sinners ³²  lend to sinners, so that they may be repaid in full. ³³  6:35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back. ³⁴  Then ³⁵  your reward will be great, and you will be sons ³⁶  of the Most High, ³⁷  because he is kind to ungrateful and evil people. ³⁸ 

Luke 23:34

23:34 [But Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”] ³⁹  Then ⁴⁰  they threw dice ⁴¹  to divide his clothes. ⁴² 

Acts 7:60

7:60 Then he fell ⁴³  to his knees and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” ⁴⁴  When ⁴⁵  he had said this, he died. ⁴⁶ 

Romans 12:14

12:14 Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse.

Romans 12:20-21

12:20 Rather, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will be heaping burning coals on his head. ⁴⁷  12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:1

Consecration of the Believer’s Life

12:1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, ⁴⁸  by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to God ⁴⁹  – which is your reasonable service.

Colossians 4:12-13

4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a slave ⁵⁰  of Christ, ⁵¹  greets you. He is always struggling in prayer on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured ⁵²  in all the will of God. 4:13 For I can testify that he has worked hard ⁵³  for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis.

Colossians 4:1

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

Colossians 1:4-8

1:4 since ⁵⁴  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 ⁵⁵  from the hope laid up ⁵⁶  for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel ⁵⁷  1:6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel ⁵⁸  is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing ⁵⁹  among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth. 1:7 You learned the gospel ⁶⁰  from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave ⁶¹  – a ⁶²  faithful minister of Christ on our ⁶³  behalf – 1:8 who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁶⁴  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 2:23

2:23 Even though they have the appearance of wisdom ⁶⁵  with their self-imposed worship and false humility ⁶⁶  achieved by an ⁶⁷  unsparing treatment of the body – a wisdom with no true value – they in reality result in fleshly indulgence. ⁶⁸ 

Colossians 3:9

3:9 Do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man with its practices

[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.

[23:2]  ⁶ tn The word רָבִּים (rabbim), here rendered “crowd,” is also used infrequently to refer to the “mighty,” people of importance in society (Job 35:9; cf. Lev 19:15).

[23:2]  ⁷ tn For any individual to join a group that is bent on acting wickedly would be a violation of the Law and would incur personal responsibility.

[23:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “you will not answer in a lawsuit to turn after the crowd to turn.” The form translated “agrees with” (Heb “to turn after”) is a Qal infinitive construct from נָטָה (natah); the same root is used at the end of the verse but as a Hiphil infinitive construct, “to pervert [justice].”

[6:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “And God spoke.”

[6:2]  ¹⁰ sn The announcement “I am the Lord” (Heb “Yahweh”) draws in the preceding revelation in Exod 3:15. In that place God called Moses to this task and explained the significance of the name “Yahweh” by the enigmatic expression “I am that I am.” “I am” (אֶהְיֶה, ’ehyeh) is not a name; “Yahweh” is. But the explanation of the name with this sentence indicates that Yahweh is the one who is always there, and that guarantees the future, for everything he does is consistent with his nature. He is eternal, never changing; he remains. Now, in Exodus 6, the meaning of the name “Yahweh” will be more fully unfolded.

[28:9]  ¹¹ tn Although this is normally translated “Israelites,” here a more literal translation is clearer because it refers to the names of the twelve tribes – the actual sons of Israel.

[28:10]  ¹² tn This is in apposition to the direct object of the verb “engrave.” It further defines how the names were to be engraved – six on one and the other six on the other.

[28:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “according to their begettings” (the major word in the book of Genesis). What is meant is that the names would be listed in the order of their ages.

[28:11]  ¹⁴ sn Expert stone or gem engravers were used to engrave designs and names in identification seals of various sizes. It was work that skilled artisans did.

[28:11]  ¹⁵ tn Or “you will mount them” (NRSV similar).

[28:11]  ¹⁶ tn Or “rosettes,” shield-like frames for the stones. The Hebrew word means “to plait, checker.”

[28:12]  ¹⁷ sn This was to be a perpetual reminder that the priest ministers on behalf of the twelve tribes of Israel. Their names would always be borne by the priests.

[28:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “a breastpiece of decision” (חֹשֶׁן מִשְׁפָּט, khoshen mishpat; so NAB). The first word, rendered “breastpiece,” is of uncertain etymology. This item was made of material similar to the ephod. It had four rows of three gems on it, bearing the names of the tribes. In it were the urim and thummim. J. P. Hyatt refers to a similar object found in the Egyptian reliefs, including even the twisted gold chains used to hang it from the priest (Exodus [NCBC], 282).

[7:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “if I have repaid the one at peace with me evil.” The form שׁוֹלְמִי (sholÿmi, “the one at peace with me”) probably refers to a close friend or ally, i.e., one with whom the psalmist has made a formal agreement. See BDB 1023 s.v. שָׁלוֹם 4.a.

[7:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “or rescued my enemy in vain.” The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive (the verb form is pseudo-cohortative; see IBHS 576-77 §34.5.3) carries on the hypothetical nuance of the perfect in the preceding line. Some regard the statement as a parenthetical assertion that the psalmist is kind to his enemies. Others define חָלַץ (khalats) as “despoil” (cf. NASB, NRSV “plundered”; NIV “robbed”), an otherwise unattested nuance for this verb. Still others emend the verb to לָחַץ (lakhats, “oppress”). Most construe the adverb רֵיקָם (reqam, “emptily, vainly”) with “my enemy,” i.e., the one who is my enemy in vain.” The present translation (1) assumes an emendation of צוֹרְרִי (tsorÿriy, “my enemy”) to צוֹרְרוֹ (tsorÿro, “his [i.e., the psalmist’s ally’s] enemy”) following J. Tigay, “Psalm 7:5 and Ancient Near Eastern Treaties,” JBL 89 (1970): 178-86, (2) understands the final mem (ם) on רֵיקָם as enclitic, and (3) takes רִיק (riq) as an adjective modifying “his enemy.” (For other examples of a suffixed noun followed by an attributive adjective without the article, see Pss 18:17 (“my strong enemy”), 99:3 (“your great and awesome name”) and 143:10 (“your good spirit”). The adjective רִיק occurs with the sense “lawless” in Judg 9:4; 11:3; 2 Chr 13:7. In this case the psalmist affirms that he has not wronged his ally, nor has he given aid to his ally’s enemies. Ancient Near Eastern treaties typically included such clauses, with one or both parties agreeing not to lend aid to the treaty partner’s enemies.

[35:13]  ²¹ tn Heb “as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth.” Sackcloth was worn by mourners. When the psalmist’s enemies were sick, he was sorry for their misfortune and mourned for them.

[35:13]  ²² sn Fasting was also a practice of mourners. By refraining from normal activities, such as eating food, the mourner demonstrated the sincerity of his sorrow.

[35:13]  ²³ tn Heb “and my prayer upon my chest will return.” One could translate, “but my prayer was returning upon my chest,” but the use of the imperfect verbal form sets this line apart from the preceding and following lines (vv. 13a, 14), which use the perfect to describe the psalmist’s past actions.

[35:14]  ²⁴ tn Heb “like a friend, like a brother to me I walked about.”

[35:14]  ²⁵ sn I bowed down. Bowing down was a posture for mourning. See Ps 38:6.

[35:14]  ²⁶ tn Heb “like mourning for a mother [in] sorrow I bowed down.”

[25:22]  ²⁷ sn The imagery of the “burning coals” represents pangs of conscience, more readily effected by kindness than by violence. These coals produce the sharp pain of contrition through regret (e.g., 18:19; 20:22; 24:17; Gen 42-45; 1 Sam 24:18-20; Rom 12:20). The coals then would be an implied comparison with a searing conscience.

[25:22]  ²⁸ sn The second consequence of treating enemies with kindness is that the Lord will reward the act. The fact that this is promised shows that the instruction here belongs to the religious traditions of Israel.

[6:27]  ²⁹ sn Love your enemies is the first of four short exhortations that call for an unusual response to those who are persecuting disciples. Disciples are to relate to hostility in a completely unprecedented manner.

[6:28]  ³⁰ tn The substantival participle ἐπηρεαζόντων (ephreazontwn), sometimes translated “those who abuse” (NRSV), is better rendered “those who mistreat,” a more general term (see L&N 88.129).

[6:34]  ³¹ tn Grk “to receive”; but in context the repayment of the amount lent is implied. Jesus was noting that utilitarian motives are the way of the world.

[6:34]  ³² sn See the note on the word sinners in v. 32.

[6:34]  ³³ tn Grk “to receive as much again.”

[6:35]  ³⁴ tn Or “in return.”

[6:35]  ³⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the outcome or result. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started in the translation at this point.

[6:35]  ³⁶ sn The character of these actions reflects the grace and kindness of God, bearing witness to a “line of descent” or relationship of the individual to God (sons of the Most High). There is to be a unique kind of ethic at work with disciples. Jesus refers specifically to sons here because in the ancient world sons had special privileges which were rarely accorded to daughters. However, Jesus is most likely addressing both men and women in this context, so women too would receive these same privileges.

[6:35]  ³⁷ sn That is, “sons of God.”

[6:35]  ³⁸ tn Or “to the ungrateful and immoral.” The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[23:34]  ³⁹ tc Many important mss (Ì⁷⁵ א¹ B D* W Θ 070 579 1241 pc sy^s sa) lack v. 34a. It is included in א*^,2 (A) C D² L Ψ 0250 Ë^1,(13) 33 Ï lat sy^c,p,h. It also fits a major Lukan theme of forgiving the enemies (6:27-36), and it has a parallel in Stephen’s response in Acts 7:60. The lack of parallels in the other Gospels argues also for inclusion here. On the other hand, the fact of the parallel in Acts 7:60 may well have prompted early scribes to insert the saying in Luke’s Gospel alone. Further, there is the great difficulty of explaining why early and diverse witnesses lack the saying. A decision is difficult, but even those who regard the verse as inauthentic literarily often consider it to be authentic historically. For this reason it has been placed in single brackets in the translation.

[23:34]  ⁴⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[23:34]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “cast lots” (probably by using marked pebbles or broken pieces of pottery). A modern equivalent “threw dice” was chosen here because of its association with gambling.

[23:34]  ⁴² sn An allusion to Ps 22:18, which identifies Jesus as the suffering innocent one.

[7:60]  ⁴³ tn Grk “Then falling to his knees he cried out.” The participle θείς (qeis) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[7:60]  ⁴⁴ sn The remarks Lord Jesus, receive my spirit and Lord, do not hold this sin against them recall statements Jesus made on the cross (Luke 23:34, 46).

[7:60]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “And when.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, καί (kai) has not been translated here; a new sentence is begun instead.

[7:60]  ⁴⁶ tn The verb κοιμάω (koimaw) literally means “sleep,” but it is often used in the Bible as a euphemism for the death of a believer.

[12:20]  ⁴⁷ sn A quotation from Prov 25:21-22.

[12:1]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[12:1]  ⁴⁹ tn The participle and two adjectives “alive, holy, and pleasing to God” are taken as predicates in relation to “sacrifice,” making the exhortation more emphatic. See ExSyn 618-19.

[4:12]  ⁵⁰ tn See the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.

[4:12]  ⁵¹ tc ‡ Strong Alexandrian testimony, along with some other witnesses, suggests that ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou, “Jesus”) follows Χριστοῦ (Cristou, “Christ”; so א A B C I L 0278 33 81 365 629 1175 2464 al lat), but the evidence for the shorter reading is diverse (Ì⁴⁶ D F G Ψ 075 1739 1881 Ï it sy Hier), cutting across all major texttypes. There can be little motivation for omitting the name of Jesus; hence, the shorter reading is judged to be original. NA²⁷ has ᾿Ιησοῦ in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[4:12]  ⁵² tn Or “filled.”

[4:13]  ⁵³ tn Grk “pain.” This word appears only three times in the NT outside of this verse (Rev 16:10, 11; 21:4) where the translation “pain” makes sense. For the present verse it has been translated “worked hard.” See BDAG 852 s.v. πόνος 1.

[1:4]  ⁵⁴ 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]  ⁵⁵ 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]  ⁵⁶ tn BDAG 113 s.v. ἀπόκειμαι 2 renders ἀποκειμένην (apokeimenhn) with the expression “reserved” in this verse.

[1:5]  ⁵⁷ 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]  ⁵⁸ 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]  ⁵⁹ 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]  ⁶⁰ 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]  ⁶¹ 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]  ⁶² 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]  ⁶³ 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]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[2:23]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “having a word of wisdom.”

[2:23]  ⁶⁶ tn Though the apostle uses the term ταπεινοφροσύνῃ (tapeinofrosunh) elsewhere in a positive sense (cf. 3:12), here the sense is negative and reflects the misguided thinking of Paul’s opponents.

[2:23]  ⁶⁷ tc ‡ The vast bulk of witnesses, including some important ones (א A C D F G H Ψ 075 0278 33 1881 Ï lat sy), have καί (kai) here, but the shorter reading is supported by some early and important witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ B 1739 b m Hil Ambst Spec). The καί looks to be a motivated reading in that it makes ἀφειδία (afeidia) “the third in a series of datives after ἐν, rather than an instrumental dative qualifying the previous prepositional phrase” (TCGNT 556). At the same time, the omission of καί could possibly have been unintentional. A decision is difficult, but the shorter reading is slightly preferred. NA²⁷ puts καί in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[2:23]  ⁶⁸ tn The translation understands this verse to contain a concessive subordinate clause within the main clause. The Greek particle μέν (men) is the second word of the embedded subordinate clause. The phrase οὐκ ἐν τιμῇ τινι (ouk en timh tini) modifies the subordinate clause, and the main clause resumes with the preposition πρός (pros). The translation has placed the subordinate clause first in order for clarity instead of retaining its embedded location. For a detailed discussion of this grammatical construction, see B. Hollenbach, “Col 2:23: Which Things Lead to the Fulfillment of the Flesh,” NTS 25 (1979): 254-61.