2 Peter 3:17

3:17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, ¹  be on your guard that you do not get led astray by the error of these unprincipled men ²  and fall from your firm grasp on the truth. ³ 

Acts 16:5

16:5 So the churches were being strengthened in the faith and were increasing in number every day. ⁴ 

Colossians 2:7

2:7 rooted ⁵  and built up in him and firm ⁶  in your ⁷  faith just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Hebrews 13:9

13:9 Do not be carried away by all sorts of strange teachings. ⁸  For it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not ritual meals, ⁹  which have never benefited those who participated in them.

Hebrews 13:1

Final Exhortations

13:1 Brotherly love must continue.

Hebrews 5:10

5:10 and he was designated ¹⁰  by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek. ¹¹ 

Hebrews 5:12

5:12 For though you should in fact be teachers by this time, ¹²  you need someone to teach you the beginning elements of God’s utterances. ¹³  You have gone back to needing ¹⁴  milk, not ¹⁵  solid food.

¹ tn Grk “knowing beforehand.”

² tn Or “lawless ones.”

³ tn Grk “fall from your firmness.”

⁴ tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase.

⁵ tn Or “having been rooted.”

⁶ sn The three participles rooted, built up, and firm belong together and reflect three different metaphors. The first participle “rooted” (perfect tense) indicates a settled condition on the part of the Colossian believers and refers to horticulture. The second participle “built up” (present passive) comes from the world of architecture. The third participle “firm [established]” (present passive) comes from the law courts. With these three metaphors (as well as the following comment on thankfulness) Paul explains what he means when he commands them to continue to live their lives in Christ. The use of the passive probably reflects God’s activity among them. It was he who had rooted them, had been building them up, and had established them in the faith (cf. 1 Cor 3:5-15 for the use of mixed metaphors).

⁷ tn The Greek text has the article τῇ (th), not the possessive pronoun ὑμῶν (Jumwn), but the article often functions as a possessive pronoun and was translated as such here (ExSyn 215).

⁸ tn Grk “by diverse and strange teachings.”

⁹ tn Grk “foods,” referring to the meals associated with the OT sacrifices (see the contrast with the next verse; also 9:9-10; 10:1, 4, 11).

¹⁰ tn Grk “having been designated,” continuing the thought of Heb 5:9.

¹¹ sn The phrase in the order of Melchizedek picks up the quotation from Ps 110:4 in Heb 5:6.

¹² tn Grk “because of the time.”

¹³ tn Grk “the elements of the beginning of the oracles of God.”

¹⁴ tn Grk “you have come to have a need for.”

¹⁵ tc ‡ Most texts, including some early and important ones (א² A B* D Ψ 0122 0278 1881 Ï sy Cl), have καί (kai, “and”) immediately preceding οὐ (ou, “not”), but other equally significant witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ א* B² C 33 81 1739 lat Or Did) lack the conjunction. As it was a natural tendency for scribes to add a coordinating conjunction, the καί appears to be a motivated reading. On balance, it is probably best to regard the shorter reading as authentic. NA²⁷ has καί in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.