9:1 Now when these things had been completed, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the local residents 7 who practice detestable things similar to those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 9:2 Indeed, they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race 8 has become intermingled with the local residents. Worse still, the leaders and the officials have been at the forefront of all of this!”
9:3 When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and my robe and ripped out some of the hair from my head and beard. Then I sat down, quite devastated.
15:1 But we who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not just please ourselves. 9
15:1 But we who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not just please ourselves. 10
6:1 Brothers and sisters, 13 if a person 14 is discovered in some sin, 15 you who are spiritual 16 restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness. 17 Pay close attention 18 to yourselves, so that you are not tempted too.
3:6 Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, 22 3:7 so then, understand 23 that those who believe are the sons of Abraham. 24 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the gospel to Abraham ahead of time, 25 saying, “All the nations 26 will be blessed in you.” 27
1 tn Or “the love that I have in great measure for you.”
2 tn Or “(not to say too much)”; Grk “(not to burden you [with words]).”
3 tn Grk “our flesh.”
4 tn Or “comforts,” “consoles.”
5 tn Or “comforted,” “consoled.”
6 tn Or “fully equipped.”
7 tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.” So also in v. 2.
8 tn Heb “the holy seed,” referring to the Israelites as God’s holy people.
9 tn Grk “and not please ourselves.” NT Greek negatives used in contrast like this are often not absolute, but relative: “not so much one as the other.”
10 tn Grk “and not please ourselves.” NT Greek negatives used in contrast like this are often not absolute, but relative: “not so much one as the other.”
11 tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).
12 tc Some of the better representatives of the Alexandrian and Western texts have a passive verb here instead of the active ἀποκατήλλαξεν (apokathllaxen, “he has reconciled”): ἀποκατηλλάγητε (apokathllaghte) in (Ì46) B, ἀποκατήλλακται [sic] (apokathllaktai) in 33, and ἀποκαταλλαγέντες (apokatallagente") in D* F G. Yet the active verb is strongly supported by א A C D2 Ψ 048 075 [0278] 1739 1881 Ï lat sy. Internally, the passive creates an anacoluthon in that it looks back to the accusative ὑμᾶς (Juma", “you”) of v. 21 and leaves the following παραστῆσαι (parasthsai) dangling (“you were reconciled…to present you”). The passive reading is certainly the harder reading. As such, it may well explain the rise of the other readings. At the same time, it is possible that the passive was produced by scribes who wanted some symmetry between the ποτε (pote, “at one time”) of v. 21 and the νυνὶ δέ (nuni de, “but now”) of v. 22: Since a passive periphrastic participle is used in v. 21, there may have a temptation to produce a corresponding passive form in v. 22, handling the ὑμᾶς of v. 21 by way of constructio ad sensum. Since παραστῆσαι occurs ten words later, it may not have been considered in this scribal modification. Further, the Western reading (ἀποκαταλλαγέντες) hardly seems to have arisen from ἀποκατηλλάγητε (contra TCGNT 555). As difficult as this decision is, the preferred reading is the active form because it is superior externally and seems to explain the rise of all forms of the passive readings.
13 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:11.
14 tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense, referring to both men and women.
15 tn Or “some transgression” (L&N 88.297).
16 sn Who are spiritual refers to people who are controlled and directed by God’s Spirit.
17 tn Or “with a gentle spirit” or “gently.”
18 tn Grk “taking careful notice.”
19 tn Or “provide.”
20 tn Grk “by [the] works of [the] law” (the same phrase as in v. 2).
21 tn Grk “by [the] hearing of faith” (the same phrase as in v. 2).
22 sn A quotation from Gen 15:6.
23 tn Grk “know.”
24 tn The phrase “sons of Abraham” is used here in a figurative sense to describe people who are connected to a personality, Abraham, by close nonmaterial ties. It is this personality that has defined the relationship and its characteristics (BDAG 1024-25 s.v. υἱός 2.c.α).
25 tn For the Greek verb προευαγγελίζομαι (proeuangelizomai) translated as “proclaim the gospel ahead of time,” compare L&N 33.216.
26 tn The same plural Greek word, τὰ ἔθνη (ta eqnh), can be translated as “nations” or “Gentiles.”
27 sn A quotation from Gen 12:3; 18:18.