1 Samuel 12:21

12:21 You should not turn aside after empty things that can’t profit and can’t deliver, since they are empty. ¹ 

Malachi 3:14

3:14 You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God. How have we been helped ²  by keeping his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord who rules over all? ³ 

Matthew 6:7

6:7 When ⁴  you pray, do not babble repetitiously like the Gentiles, because they think that by their many words they will be heard.

Matthew 15:9

15:9 and they worship me in vain,

teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” ⁵ 

Matthew 15:1

Breaking Human Traditions

15:1 Then Pharisees ⁶  and experts in the law ⁷  came from Jerusalem ⁸  to Jesus and said, ⁹ 

Colossians 1:14

1:14 in whom we have redemption, ¹⁰  the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹¹  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Titus 3:9

3:9 But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, ¹²  quarrels, and fights about the law, ¹³  because they are useless and empty.

James 1:26

1:26 If someone thinks he is religious yet does not bridle his tongue, and so deceives his heart, his religion is futile.

James 2:20

2:20 But would you like evidence, ¹⁴  you empty fellow, ¹⁵  that faith without works is useless? ¹⁶ 

¹ tn Or “useless” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “nothing”; NASB “futile”; TEV “are not real.”

² tn Heb “What [is the] profit”; NIV “What did we gain.”

³ sn The people’s public display of self-effacing piety has gone unrewarded by the Lord. The reason, of course, is that it was blatantly hypocritical.

⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁵ sn A quotation from Isa 29:13.

⁶ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

⁷ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

⁸ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁹ tn The participle λέγοντες (legontes) has been translated as a finite verb so that its telic (i.e., final or conclusive) force can be more easily detected: The Pharisees and legal experts came to Jesus in order to speak with him.

¹⁰ 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.

¹¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

¹² tn Cf. 1 Tim 1:4.

¹³ sn Fights about the law were characteristic of the false teachers in Ephesus as well as in Crete (cf. 1 Tim 1:3-7; Titus 1:10, 14).

¹⁴ tn Grk “do you want to know.”

¹⁵ tn Grk “O empty man.” Here the singular vocative ἄνθρωπε (anqrwpe, “man”) means “person” or even “fellow.” Cf. BDAG 82 s.v. ἄνθρωπος 8 which views this as an instance of rhetorical address in a letter; the pejorative sense is also discussed under the previous heading (7).

¹⁶ tc Most witnesses, including several important ones (א A C² P Ψ 33 Ï sy bo), have νεκρά (nekra, “dead”) here, while Ì⁷⁴ reads κενή (kenh, “empty”). Both variants are most likely secondary, derived from ἀργή (argh, “useless”). The reading of the majority is probably an assimilation to the statements in vv. 17 and 26, while Ì⁷⁴’s reading picks up on κενέ (kene) earlier in the verse. The external evidence (B C* 323 945 1739 sa) for ἀργή is sufficient for authenticity; coupled with the strong internal evidence for the reading (if νεκρά were original, how would ἀργή have arisen here and not in vv. 17 or 26?), it is strongly preferred.