Exodus 32:3

32:3 So all ¹  the people broke off the gold earrings that were on their ears and brought them to Aaron.

Exodus 32:2

32:2 So Aaron said to them, “Break off the gold earrings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” ² 

Exodus 24:14

24:14 He told the elders, “Wait for us in this place until we return to you. Here are ³  Aaron and Hur with you. Whoever has any matters of dispute ⁴  can approach ⁵  them.”

Exodus 31:6-10

31:6 Moreover, ⁶  I have also given him Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, and I have given ability to all the specially skilled, ⁷  that they may make ⁸  everything I have commanded you: 31:7 the tent of meeting, the ark of the testimony, the atonement lid that is on it, all the furnishings ⁹  of the tent, 31:8 the table with its utensils, the pure lampstand with all its utensils, the altar of incense, 31:9 the altar for the burnt offering with all its utensils, the large basin with its base, 31:10 the woven garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons, to minister as priests,

Exodus 31:2

31:2 “See, I have chosen ¹⁰  Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,

Colossians 1:2-3

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 

Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Church

1:3 We always ¹⁵  give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,

Philippians 2:21

2:21 Others are busy with their own concerns, not those of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 4:17-18

4:17 I do not say this because I am seeking a gift. ¹⁶  Rather, I seek the credit that abounds to your account. 4:18 For I have received everything, and I have plenty. I have all I need because I received from Epaphroditus what you sent – a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, very pleasing to God.

¹ tn This “all” is a natural hyperbole in the narrative, for it means the large majority of the people.

² sn B. Jacob (Exodus, 937-38) argues that Aaron simply did not have the resolution that Moses did, and wanting to keep peace he gave in to the crowd. He also tries to explain that Aaron was wanting to show their folly through the deed. U. Cassuto also says that Aaron’s request for the gold was a form of procrastination, but that the people quickly did it and so he had no alternative but to go through with it (Exodus, 412). These may be right, since Aaron fully understood what was wrong with this, and what the program was all about. The text gives no strong indication to support these ideas, but there are enough hints from the way Aaron does things to warrant such a conclusion.

³ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh) calls attention to the presence of Aaron and Hur to answer the difficult cases that might come up.

⁴ tn Or “issues to resolve.” The term is simply דְּבָרִים (dÿvarim, “words, things, matters”).

⁵ tn The imperfect tense here has the nuance of potential imperfect. In the absence of Moses and Joshua, Aaron and Hur will be available.

⁶ tn The expression uses the independent personal pronoun (“and I”) with the deictic particle (“behold”) to enforce the subject of the verb – “and I, indeed I have given.”

⁷ tn Heb “and in the heart of all that are wise-hearted I have put wisdom.”

⁸ tn The form is a perfect with vav (ו) consecutive. The form at this place shows the purpose or the result of what has gone before, and so it is rendered “that they may make.”

⁹ tn Heb “all the vessels of the tent.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “called by name.” This expression means that the person was specifically chosen for some important task (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 342). See the expression with Cyrus in Isa 45:3-4.

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 The adverb πάντοτε (pantote) is understood to modify the indicative εὐχαριστοῦμεν (eucaristoumen) because it precedes περὶ ὑμῶν (peri Jumwn) which probably modifies the indicative and not the participle προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi). But see 1:9 where the same expression occurs and περὶ ὑμῶν modifies the participle “praying” (προσευχόμενοι).

¹⁶ tn Grk “Not that I am seeking the gift.” The phrase “I do not say this…” has been supplied in the translation to complete the thought for the modern reader.