53:9 They intended to bury him with criminals, 1
but he ended up in a rich man’s tomb, 2
because 3 he had committed no violent deeds,
nor had he spoken deceitfully.
1:21 And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your 8 minds 9 as expressed through 10 your evil deeds,
1:1 From Paul, 11 an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, 14 and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. 15
1 tn Heb “one assigned his grave with criminals.” The subject of the singular is impersonal; English typically uses “they” in such constructions.
2 tn This line reads literally, “and with the rich in his death.” בְּמֹתָיו (bÿmotayv) combines a preposition, a plural form of the noun מוֹת (mot), and a third masculine singular suffix. The plural of the noun is problematic and the יו may be the result of virtual dittography. The form should probably be emended to בָּמָתוֹ (bamato, singular noun). The relationship between this line and the preceding one is uncertain. The parallelism appears to be synonymous (note “his grave” and “in his death”), but “criminals” and “the rich” hardly make a compatible pair in this context, for they would not be buried in the same kind of tomb. Some emend עָשִׁיר (’ashir, “rich”) to עָשֵׂי רָע (’ase ra’, “doers of evil”) but the absence of the ayin (ע) is not readily explained in this graphic environment. Others suggest an emendation to שְׂעִירִים (sÿ’irim, “he-goats, demons”), but the meaning in this case is not entirely transparent and the proposal assumes that the form suffered from both transposition and the inexplicable loss of a final mem. Still others relate עָשִׁיר (’ashir) to an alleged Arabic cognate meaning “mob.” See HALOT 896 s.v. עָשִׁיר. Perhaps the parallelism is antithetical, rather than synonymous. In this case, the point is made that the servant’s burial in a rich man’s tomb, in contrast to a criminal’s burial, was appropriate, for he had done nothing wrong.
3 tn If the second line is antithetical, then עַל (’al) is probably causal here, explaining why the servant was buried in a rich man’s tomb, rather than that of criminal. If the first two lines are synonymous, then עַל is probably concessive: “even though….”
4 tn Or “can convict me.”
5 tn Or “of having sinned”; Grk “of sin.”
6 tn Or “if I tell you.”
7 tn An ingressive sense for the imperfect fits well here following the aorist participle.
8 tn The article τῇ (th) has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
9 tn Although διανοία (dianoia) is singular in Greek, the previous plural noun ἐχθρούς (ecqrous) indicates that all those from Colossae are in view here.
10 tn The dative ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τοῖς πονηροῖς (en toi" ergoi" toi" ponhroi") is taken as means, indicating the avenue through which hostility in the mind is revealed and made known.
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 The expression “founded as they are” brings out the force of the Greek preposition κατά (kata).
13 tn Grk “The commands and teachings of men.”
14 tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”
15 tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”
16 tn Grk “the members which are on the earth.” See BDAG 628 s.v. μέλος 1, “put to death whatever in you is worldly.”
17 tn Or “lust.”