1 Thessalonians 4:10

4:10 And indeed you are practicing it toward all the brothers and sisters¹ in all of Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more,²

Psalms 115:4

115:4 Their³ idols are made of silver and gold –

they are man-made.⁴

Luke 17:5

17:5 The⁵ apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”⁶

Luke 17:2

17:2 It would be better for him to have a millstone⁷ tied around his neck and be thrown into the sea⁸ than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.⁹

Colossians 1:10

1:10 so that you may live¹⁰ worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects¹¹ – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

James 1:17

1:17 All generous giving and every perfect gift¹² is from above, coming down¹³ from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change.¹⁴

James 1:2

Joy in Trials

1:2 My brothers and sisters,¹⁵ consider it nothing but joy¹⁶ when you fall into all sorts of trials,

James 3:18

3:18 And the fruit that consists of righteousness¹⁷ is planted¹⁸ in peace among¹⁹ those who make peace.

¹tn Grk “brothers”; this applies to the second occurrence as well. See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.

²sn To do so more and more. See 1 Thess 4:1.

³tn The referent of the pronominal suffix is “the nations” (v. 2).

⁴tn Heb “the work of the hands of man.”

⁵tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁶sn The request of the apostles, “Increase our faith,” is not a request for a gift of faith, but a request to increase the depth of their faith.

⁷tn This term refers to the heavy upper stone of a grinding mill (L&N 7.70; BDAG 660 s.v. μυλικός).

⁸tn Grk “if a millstone were tied…and he were thrown.” The conditional construction in Greek has been translated by English infinitives: “to have… and be thrown.”

⁹tn Or “to stumble.” This verb, σκανδαλίσῃ (skandalish), has the same root as the noun σκάνδαλον (skandalon) in 17:1, translated “stumbling blocks”; this wordplay is difficult to reproduce in English. It is possible that the primary cause of offense here would be leading disciples (“little ones”) astray in a similar fashion.

¹⁰tn 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.”

¹¹tn 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.”

¹²tn The first phrase refers to the action of giving and the second to what is given.

¹³tn Or “All generous giving and every perfect gift from above is coming down.”

¹⁴tn Grk “variation or shadow of turning” (referring to the motions of heavenly bodies causing variations of light and darkness).

¹⁵tn 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). Where the plural term is used in direct address, as here, “brothers and sisters” is used; where the term is singular and not direct address (as in v. 9), “believer” is preferred.

¹⁶tn Grk “all joy,” “full joy,” or “greatest joy.”

¹⁷tn Grk “the fruit of righteousness,” meaning righteous living as a fruit, as the thing produced.

¹⁸tn Grk “is sown.”

¹⁹tn Or “for,” or possibly “by.”