Romans 6:14

6:14 For sin will have no mastery over you, because you are not under law but under grace.

Romans 6:17

6:17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed ¹  from the heart that pattern ²  of teaching you were entrusted to,

Psalms 107:15-16

107:15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,

and for the amazing things he has done for people! ³ 

107:16 For he shattered the bronze gates,

and hacked through the iron bars. ⁴ 

Psalms 116:16-17

116:16 Yes, Lord! I am indeed your servant;

I am your lowest slave. ⁵ 

You saved me from death. ⁶ 

116:17 I will present a thank offering to you,

and call on the name of the Lord.

Isaiah 12:1

12:1 At that time ⁷  you will say:

“I praise you, O Lord,

for even though you were angry with me,

your anger subsided, and you consoled me.

Isaiah 49:9

49:9 You will say ⁸  to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’

and to those who are in dark dungeons, ⁹  ‘Emerge.’ ¹⁰ 

They will graze beside the roads;

on all the slopes they will find pasture.

Isaiah 49:13

49:13 Shout for joy, O sky! ¹¹ 

Rejoice, O earth!

Let the mountains give a joyful shout!

For the Lord consoles his people

and shows compassion to the ¹²  oppressed.

Matthew 1:21

1:21 She will give birth to a son and you will name him ¹³  Jesus, ¹⁴  because he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:1

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

1:1 This is the record of the genealogy ¹⁵  of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Colossians 1:1-2

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹⁶  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 1:2 to the saints, the faithful ¹⁷  brothers and sisters ¹⁸  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ¹⁹  from God our Father! ²⁰ 

Colossians 1:15

The Supremacy of Christ

1:15 ²¹ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn ²²  over all creation, ²³ 

Colossians 1:9-10

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ²⁴  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ²⁵  to fill ²⁶  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 1:10 so that you may live ²⁷  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ²⁸  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

Ephesians 5:20

5:20 always giving thanks to God the Father for each other ²⁹  in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Philippians 3:3

3:3 For we are the circumcision, ³⁰  the ones who worship by the Spirit of God, ³¹  exult in Christ Jesus, and do not rely on human credentials ³² 

Philippians 4:6

4:6 Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God.

Colossians 3:17

3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:1

Exhortations to Seek the Things Above

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

Colossians 2:5

2:5 For though ³³  I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, rejoicing to see ³⁴  your morale ³⁵  and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Colossians 2:9

2:9 For in him all the fullness of deity lives ³⁶  in bodily form,

[6:17]  ¹ tn Grk “you were slaves of sin but you obeyed.”

[6:17]  ² tn Or “type, form.”

[107:15]  ³ tn Heb “and [for] his amazing deeds for the sons of man.” See v. 8.

[107:16]  ⁴ sn The language of v. 16 recalls Isa 45:2.

[116:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “I am your servant, the son of your female servant.” The phrase “son of a female servant” (see also Ps 86:16) is used of a son born to a secondary wife or concubine (Exod 23:12). In some cases the child’s father is the master of the house (see Gen 21:10, 13; Judg 9:18). The use of the expression here certainly does not imply that the Lord has such a secondary wife or concubine! It is used metaphorically and idiomatically to emphasize the psalmist’s humility before the Lord and his status as the Lord’s servant.

[116:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “you have loosed my bonds.” In this context the imagery refers to deliverance from death (see v. 3).

[12:1]  ⁷ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[49:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “to say.” In the Hebrew text the infinitive construct is subordinated to what precedes.

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

[49:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “show yourselves” (so ASV, NAB, NASB).

[49:13]  ¹¹ tn Or “O heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[49:13]  ¹² tn Heb “his” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[1:21]  ¹³ tn Grk “you will call his name.”

[1:21]  ¹⁴ sn The Greek form of the name Ihsous, which was translated into Latin as Jesus, is the same as the Hebrew Yeshua (Joshua), which means “Yahweh saves” (Yahweh is typically rendered as “Lord” in the OT). It was a fairly common name among Jews in 1st century Palestine, as references to a number of people by this name in the LXX and Josephus indicate.

[1:1]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “the book of the genealogy.” The noun βίβλος (biblo"), though it is without the article, is to be translated as definite due to Apollonius’ corollary and the normal use of anarthrous nouns in titles.

[1:1]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ²⁰ 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.

[1:15]  ²¹ 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]  ²² 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]  ²³ 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.

[1:9]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ 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.”

[5:20]  ²⁹ tn Grk “for all.” The form “all” can be either neuter or masculine.

[3:3]  ³⁰ tn There is a significant wordplay here in the Greek text. In v. 2 a rare, strong word is used to describe those who were pro-circumcision (κατατομή, katatomh, “mutilation”; see BDAG 528 s.v.), while in v. 3 the normal word for circumcision is used (περιτομή, peritomh; see BDAG 807 s.v.). Both have τομή (the feminine form of the adjective τομός [tomo"], meaning “cutting, sharp”) as their root; the direction of the action of the former is down or off (from κατά, kata), hence the implication of mutilation or emasculation, while the direction of the action of the latter is around (from περί, peri). The similarity in sound yet wide divergence of meaning between the two words highlights in no uncertain terms the differences between Paul and his opponents.

[3:3]  ³¹ tc The verb λατρεύω (latreuw; here the participial form, λατρεύοντες [latreuonte"]) either takes a dative direct object or no object at all, bearing virtually a technical nuance of “worshiping God” (see BDAG 587 s.v.). In this text, πνεύματι (pneumati) takes an instrumental force (“by the Spirit”) rather than functioning as object of λατρεύοντες. However, the word after πνεύματι is in question, no doubt because of the collocation with λατρεύοντες. Most witnesses, including some of the earliest and best representatives of the Alexandrian, Western, and Byzantine texts (א* A B C D² F G 0278^vid 33 1739 1881 Ï co Ambr), read θεοῦ (qeou; thus, “worship by the Spirit of God”). But several other important witnesses (א² D* P Ψ 075 365 1175 lat sy Chr) have the dative θεῷ (qew) here (“worship God by the Spirit”). Ì⁴⁶ is virtually alone in its omission of the divine name, probably due to an unintentional oversight. The dative θεῷ was most likely a scribal emendation intended to give the participle its proper object, and thus avoid confusion about the force of πνεύματι. Although the Church came to embrace the full deity of the Spirit, the NT does not seem to speak of worshiping the Spirit explicitly. The reading θεῷ thus appears to be a clarifying reading. On external and internal grounds, then, θεοῦ is the preferred reading.

[3:3]  ³² tn Grk “have no confidence in the flesh.”

[2:5]  ³³ tn The conditional particle εἰ (ei) together with καί (kai) here indicates a first class condition in Greek and carries a concessive force, especially when seen in contrast to the following phrase which begins with ἀλλά (alla).

[2:5]  ³⁴ tn Grk “rejoicing and seeing.”

[2:5]  ³⁵ tn The Greek word τάξις can mean “order,” “discipline,” or even “unbroken ranks” (REB).

[2:9]  ³⁶ sn In him all the fullness of deity lives. The present tense in this verse (“lives”) is significant. Again, as was stated in the note on 1:19, this is not a temporary dwelling, but a permanent one. Paul’s point is polemical against the idea that the fullness of God dwells anywhere else, as the Gnostics believed, except in Christ alone. At the incarnation, the second person of the Trinity assumed humanity, and is forever the God-man.