13:26 They came back 6 to Moses and Aaron and to the whole community of the Israelites in the wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. 7 They reported 8 to the whole community and showed the fruit of the land. 13:27 They told Moses, 9 “We went to the land where you sent us. 10 It is indeed flowing with milk and honey, 11 and this is its fruit.
4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, 21 urge you to live 22 worthily of the calling with which you have been called, 23
3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus 24 for the sake of you Gentiles –
1 tn Or “first installment,” “pledge,” “deposit.”
2 tn The word is related etymologically to the verb for “slip, slide, bend, totter.” This would fit the use very well. A pole that would not bend would be hard to use to carry things, but a pole or stave that was flexible would serve well.
3 tn The verb is rendered as a passive because there is no expressed subject.
4 tn Or “Wadi Eshcol.” The translation “brook” is too generous; the Hebrew term refers to a river bed, a ravine or valley through which torrents of rain would rush in the rainy season; at other times it might be completely dry.
5 tn The word “Eshcol” is drawn from the Hebrew expression concerning the “cluster of grapes.” The word is probably retained in the name Burj Haskeh, two miles north of Damascus.
6 tn The construction literally has “and they went and they entered,” which may be smoothed out as a verbal hendiadys, the one verb modifying the other.
7 sn Kadesh is Ain Qadeis, about 50 miles (83 km) south of Beer Sheba. It is called Kadesh-barnea in Num 32:8.
8 tn Heb “They brought back word”; the verb is the Hiphil preterite of שׁוּב (shuv).
9 tn Heb “told him and said.” The referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 tn The relative clause modifies “the land.” It is constructed with the relative and the verb: “where you sent us.”
11 sn This is the common expression for the material abundance of the land (see further, F. C. Fensham, “An Ancient Tradition of the Fertility of Palestine,” PEQ 98 [1966]: 166-67).
12 tn Or “who have the Spirit as firstfruits.” The genitive πνεύματος (pneumatos) can be understood here as possessive (“the firstfruits belonging to the Spirit”) although it is much more likely that this is a genitive of apposition (“the firstfruits, namely, the Spirit”); cf. TEV, NLT.
13 tn See the note on “adoption” in v. 15.
14 tn Grk “body.”
15 tn Grk “in whom you also, when…” (continuing the sentence from v. 12).
16 tn Grk “in whom also having believed.” The relative pronoun “whom” has been replaced in the translation with its antecedent (“Christ”) to improve the clarity.
17 tn Or “you were sealed.”
18 tn Grk “the Holy Spirit of promise.” Here ἐπαγγελίας (epangelias, “of promise”) has been translated as an attributive genitive.
19 tn Or “first installment,” “pledge,” “deposit.”
20 tn Grk “the possession.”
21 tn Grk “prisoner in the Lord.”
22 tn Grk “walk.” The verb “walk” in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.
23 sn With which you have been called. The calling refers to the Holy Spirit’s prompting that caused them to believe. The author is thus urging his readers to live a life that conforms to their saved status before God.
24 tc Several early and important witnesses, chiefly of the Western text (א* D* F G [365]), lack ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou, “Jesus”) here, while most Alexandrian and Byzantine