Genesis 42:38

42:38 But Jacob replied, “My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left. If an accident happens to him on the journey you have to make, then you will bring down my gray hair in sorrow to the grave.”

Matthew 16:22

16:22 So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him: “God forbid, Lord! This must not happen to you!”

Matthew 21:29

21:29 The boy answered, ‘I will not.’ But later he had a change of heart and went.

Matthew 26:33

26:33 Peter said to him, “If they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away!”

Matthew 26:35

26:35 Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will never deny you.” And all the disciples said the same thing.

Colossians 2:18

2:18 Let no one who delights in humility and the worship of angels pass judgment on you. That person goes on at great lengths 10  about what he has supposedly seen, but he is puffed up with empty notions by his fleshly mind. 11 

Colossians 2:23

2:23 Even though they have the appearance of wisdom 12  with their self-imposed worship and false humility 13  achieved by an 14  unsparing treatment of the body – a wisdom with no true value – they in reality result in fleshly indulgence. 15 


tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

sn The expression he alone is left meant that (so far as Jacob knew) Benjamin was the only surviving child of his mother Rachel.

sn The expression bring down my gray hair is figurative, using a part for the whole – they would put Jacob in the grave. But the gray head signifies a long life of worry and trouble.

tn Heb “to Sheol,” the dwelling place of the dead.

tn Grk “began to rebuke him, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

tn Grk “Merciful to you.” A highly elliptical expression: “May God be merciful to you in sparing you from having to undergo [some experience]” (L&N 88.78). A contemporary English equivalent is “God forbid!”

tn Grk “And answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here the referent (“the boy”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

tn The Greek text reads here μεταμέλομαι (metamelomai): “to change one’s mind about something, with the probable implication of regret” (L&N 31.59); cf. also BDAG 639 s.v. The idea in this context involves more than just a change of mind, for the son regrets his initial response. The same verb is used in v. 32.

tn Grk “answering, Peter said to him.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

10 tn For the various views on the translation of ἐμβατεύων (embateuwn), see BDAG 321 s.v. ἐμβατεύω 4. The idea in this context seems to be that the individual in question loves to talk on and on about his spiritual experiences, but in reality they are only coming out of his own sinful flesh.

11 tn Grk “by the mind of his flesh.” In the translation above, σαρκός (sarkos) is taken as an attributive genitive. The phrase could also be translated “by his sinful thoughts,” since it appears that Paul is using σάρξ (sarx, “flesh”) here in a morally negative way.

12 tn Grk “having a word of wisdom.”

13 tn Though the apostle uses the term ταπεινοφροσύνῃ (tapeinofrosunh) elsewhere in a positive sense (cf. 3:12), here the sense is negative and reflects the misguided thinking of Paul’s opponents.

14 tc ‡ The vast bulk of witnesses, including some important ones (א A C D F G H Ψ 075 0278 33 1881 Ï lat sy), have καί (kai) here, but the shorter reading is supported by some early and important witnesses (Ì46 B 1739 b m Hil Ambst Spec). The καί looks to be a motivated reading in that it makes ἀφειδία (afeidia) “the third in a series of datives after ἐν, rather than an instrumental dative qualifying the previous prepositional phrase” (TCGNT 556). At the same time, the omission of καί could possibly have been unintentional. A decision is difficult, but the shorter reading is slightly preferred. NA27 puts καί in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

15 tn The translation understands this verse to contain a concessive subordinate clause within the main clause. The Greek particle μέν (men) is the second word of the embedded subordinate clause. The phrase οὐκ ἐν τιμῇ τινι (ouk en timh tini) modifies the subordinate clause, and the main clause resumes with the preposition πρός (pros). The translation has placed the subordinate clause first in order for clarity instead of retaining its embedded location. For a detailed discussion of this grammatical construction, see B. Hollenbach, “Col 2:23: Which Things Lead to the Fulfillment of the Flesh,” NTS 25 (1979): 254-61.