Haggai 1:14

1:14 So the Lord energized and encouraged ¹  Zerubbabel ²  son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, ³  and the whole remnant of the people. ⁴  They came and worked on the temple of their God, the Lord who rules over all.

Ezra 5:2

5:2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak began ⁵  to rebuild the temple of God in Jerusalem. The prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

Isaiah 55:10-11

55:10 ⁶ The rain and snow fall from the sky

and do not return,

but instead water the earth

and make it produce and yield crops,

and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat.

55:11 In the same way, the promise that I make

does not return to me, having accomplished nothing. ⁷ 

No, it is realized as I desire

and is fulfilled as I intend.” ⁸ 

Colossians 1:6

1:6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel ⁹  is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing ¹⁰  among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹¹  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:5-6

1:5 Your faith and love have arisen ¹²  from the hope laid up ¹³  for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel ¹⁴  1:6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel ¹⁵  is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing ¹⁶  among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.

Colossians 2:13-14

2:13 And even though you were dead in your ¹⁷  transgressions and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he nevertheless ¹⁸  made you alive with him, having forgiven all your transgressions. 2:14 He has destroyed ¹⁹  what was against us, a certificate of indebtedness ²⁰  expressed in decrees opposed to us. He has taken it away by nailing it to the cross.

¹ tn Heb “stirred up” (as in many English versions). Only one verb appears in the Hebrew text, but the translation “energized and encouraged” brings out its sense in this context. Cf. TEV “inspired”; NLT “sparked the enthusiasm of”; CEV “made everyone eager to work.”

² tn Heb “the spirit of Zerubbabel” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

³ tn Heb “the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest” (as in many English versions), but this is subject to misunderstanding. See the note on the name “Jehozadak” at the end of v. 1.

⁴ tn Heb “and the spirit of all the remnant of the people.” The Hebrew phrase שְׁאֵרִית הָעָם (shÿ’erit ha’am) in this postexilic context is used as a technical term to refer to the returned remnant; see the note on the phrase “the whole remnant of the people” in v. 12.

⁵ tn Aram “arose and began.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a single concept.

⁶ tn This verse begins in the Hebrew text with כִּי כַּאֲשֶׁר (ki ka’asher, “for, just as”), which is completed by כֵּן (ken, “so, in the same way”) at the beginning of v. 11. For stylistic reasons, this lengthy sentence is divided up into separate sentences in the translation.

⁷ tn Heb “so is the word which goes out from my mouth, it does not return to empty.” “Word” refers here to divine promises, like the ones made just prior to and after this (see vv. 7b, 12-13).

⁸ tn Heb “but it accomplishes what I desire, and succeeds [on the mission] which I send it.”

⁹ tn Grk “just as in the entire world it is bearing fruit.” The antecedent (“the gospel”) of the implied subject (“it”) of ἐστιν (estin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ tn Though the participles are periphrastic with the present tense verb ἐστίν (estin), the presence of the temporal indicator “from the day” in the next clause indicates that this is a present tense that reaches into the past and should be translated as “has been bearing fruit and growing.” For a discussion of this use of the present tense, see ExSyn 519-20.

¹¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

¹² tn Col 1:3-8 form one long sentence in the Greek text and have been divided at the end of v. 4 and v. 6 and within v. 6 for clarity, in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English toward shorter sentences. Thus the phrase “Your faith and love have arisen from the hope” is literally “because of the hope.” The perfect tense “have arisen” was chosen in the English to reflect the fact that the recipients of the letter had acquired this hope at conversion in the past, but that it still remains and motivates them to trust in Christ and to love one another.

¹³ tn BDAG 113 s.v. ἀπόκειμαι 2 renders ἀποκειμένην (apokeimenhn) with the expression “reserved” in this verse.

¹⁴ tn The term “the gospel” (τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, tou euangeliou) is in apposition to “the word of truth” (τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας, tw logw th" alhqeia") as indicated in the translation.

¹⁵ tn Grk “just as in the entire world it is bearing fruit.” The antecedent (“the gospel”) of the implied subject (“it”) of ἐστιν (estin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁶ tn Though the participles are periphrastic with the present tense verb ἐστίν (estin), the presence of the temporal indicator “from the day” in the next clause indicates that this is a present tense that reaches into the past and should be translated as “has been bearing fruit and growing.” For a discussion of this use of the present tense, see ExSyn 519-20.

¹⁷ tn The article τοῖς (tois) with παραπτώμασιν (paraptwmasin) is functioning as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

¹⁸ tn The word “nevertheless,” though not in the Greek text, was supplied in the translation to bring out the force of the concessive participle ὄντας (ontas).

¹⁹ tn The participle ἐξαλείψας (exaleiyas) is a temporal adverbial participle of contemporaneous time related to the previous verb συνεζωοποίησεν (sunezwopoihsen), but has been translated as a finite verb because of the complexity of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences. For the meaning “destroy” see BDAG 344-45 s.v. ἐξαλείφω 2.

²⁰ tn On the translation of χειρόγραφον (ceirografon), see BDAG 1083 s.v. which refers to it as “a certificate of indebtedness.”