2 Corinthians 9:6-7

9:6 My point is this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously ¹  will also reap generously. 9:7 Each one of you should give ²  just as he has decided in his heart, ³  not reluctantly ⁴  or under compulsion, ⁵  because God loves a cheerful giver.

Mark 14:8

14:8 She did what she could. She anointed my body beforehand for burial.

Acts 11:29

11:29 So the disciples, each in accordance with his financial ability, ⁶  decided ⁷  to send relief ⁸  to the brothers living in Judea.

Acts 11:1

Peter Defends His Actions to the Jerusalem Church

11:1 Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles too had accepted ⁹  the word of God. ¹⁰ 

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ¹¹  brothers and sisters ¹²  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ¹³  from God our Father! ¹⁴ 

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹⁵  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 4:11

4:11 And Jesus who is called Justus also sends greetings. In terms of Jewish converts, ¹⁶  these are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me.

¹ tn Or “bountifully”; so also in the next occurrence in the verse.

² tn Or “must do.” The words “of you” and “should give” are not in the Greek text, which literally reads, “Each one just as he has decided in his heart.” The missing words are an ellipsis; these or similar phrases must be supplied for the English reader.

³ tn Or “in his mind.”

⁴ tn Or “not from regret”; Grk “not out of grief.”

⁵ tn Or “not out of a sense of duty”; Grk “from necessity.”

⁶ tn So BDAG 410 s.v. εὐπορέω.

⁷ tn Or “determined,” “resolved.”

⁸ tn Grk “to send [something] for a ministry,” but today it is common to speak of sending relief for victims of natural disasters.

⁹ tn See BDAG 221 s.v. δέχομαι 5 for this translation of ἐδέξαντο (edexanto) here.

¹⁰ tn Here the phrase “word of God” is another way to describe the gospel (note the preceding verb ἐδέξαντο, edexanto, “accepted”). The phrase could also be translated “the word [message] from God.”

¹¹ 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.

¹² 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).

¹³ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

¹⁴ 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.

¹⁵ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

¹⁶ tn Grk “those of the circumcision.” The verse as a whole is difficult to translate because it is unclear whether Paul is saying (1) that the only people working with him are Jewish converts at the time the letter is being written or previously, or (2) that Aristarchus, Mark, and Jesus Justus were the only Jewish Christians who ever worked with him. Verses 12-14 appear to indicate that Luke and Demas, who were Gentiles, were also working currently with Paul. This is the view adopted in the translation. See M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 207-8.