40:30 Even youths get tired and weary;
even strong young men clumsily stumble. 1
40:31 But those who wait for the Lord’s help 2 find renewed strength;
they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings, 3
they run without growing weary,
they walk without getting tired.
2:1 5 Therefore 6 you are without excuse, 7 whoever you are, 8 when you judge someone else. 9 For on whatever grounds 10 you judge another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge practice the same things.
1:1 From Paul 19 and Timothy, slaves 20 of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, 21 with the overseers 22 and deacons.
4:1 So then, my brothers and sisters, 23 dear friends whom I long to see, my joy and crown, stand in the Lord in this way, my dear friends!
1 tn Heb “stumbling they stumble.” The verbal idea is emphasized by the infinitive absolute.
2 tn The words “for the Lord’s help” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
3 tn Heb “they rise up [on] wings like eagles” (TEV similar).
4 tn Heb “from your hand,” a metonymy of part (the hand) for whole (the person).
5 sn Rom 2:1-29 presents unusual difficulties for the interpreter. There have been several major approaches to the chapter and the group(s) it refers to: (1) Rom 2:14 refers to Gentile Christians, not Gentiles who obey the Jewish law. (2) Paul in Rom 2 is presenting a hypothetical viewpoint: If anyone could obey the law, that person would be justified, but no one can. (3) The reference to “the ones who do the law” in 2:13 are those who “do” the law in the right way, on the basis of faith, not according to Jewish legalism. (4) Rom 2:13 only speaks about Christians being judged in the future, along with such texts as Rom 14:10 and 2 Cor 5:10. (5) Paul’s material in Rom 2 is drawn heavily from Diaspora Judaism, so that the treatment of the law presented here cannot be harmonized with other things Paul says about the law elsewhere (E. P. Sanders, Paul, the Law, and the Jewish People, 123); another who sees Rom 2 as an example of Paul’s inconsistency in his treatment of the law is H. Räisänen, Paul and the Law [WUNT], 101-9. (6) The list of blessings and curses in Deut 27–30 provide the background for Rom 2; the Gentiles of 2:14 are Gentile Christians, but the condemnation of Jews in 2:17-24 addresses the failure of Jews as a nation to keep the law as a whole (A. Ito, “Romans 2: A Deuteronomistic Reading,” JSNT 59 [1995]: 21-37).
6 tn Some interpreters (e.g., C. K. Barrett, Romans [HNTC], 43) connect the inferential Διό (dio, “therefore”) with 1:32a, treating 1:32b as a parenthetical comment by Paul.
7 tn That is, “you have nothing to say in your own defense” (so translated by TCNT).
8 tn Grk “O man.”
9 tn Grk “Therefore, you are without excuse, O man, everyone [of you] who judges.”
10 tn Grk “in/by (that) which.”
11 tn Or “admonishing,” or “warning.” BDAG 679 s.v. νουθετέω states, “to counsel about avoidance or cessation of an improper course of conduct,, admonish, warn, instruct.” After the participle νουθετοῦντες (nouqetounte", “instructing”) the words πάντα ἄνθρωπον (panta anqrwpon, “all men”) occur in the Greek text, but since the same phrase appears again after διδάσκοντες (didaskontes) it was omitted in translation to avoid redundancy in English.
12 tn The two participles “instructing” (νουθετοῦντες, nouqetounte") and “teaching” (διδάσκοντες, didaskonte") are translated as participles of means (“by”) related to the finite verb “we proclaim” (καταγγέλλομεν, katangellomen).
13 tn Here ἄνθρωπον (anqrwpon) is twice translated as a generic (“people” and “person”) since both men and women are clearly intended in this context.
14 tn Since Paul’s focus is on the present experience of the Colossians, “mature” is a better translation of τέλειον (teleion) than “perfect,” since the latter implies a future, eschatological focus.
15 tn Or “not become discouraged,” “not lose heart” (L&N 25.288).
16 tn Or “if we do not become extremely weary,” “if we do not give out,” “if we do not faint from exhaustion” (L&N 23.79).
17 tn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what Paul has been arguing.
18 tn Grk “to those who are members of the family of [the] faith.”
19 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
20 tn Traditionally, “servants” or “bondservants.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.
21 map For location see JP1-C1; JP2-C1; JP3-C1; JP4-C1.
22 sn The overseers (or “church leaders,” L&N 53.71) is another term for the same official position of leadership as the “elder.” This is seen in the interchange of the two terms in Titus 1:6-7 and in Acts 20:17, 28, as well as in the parallels between Titus 1:6-7 and 1 Tim 3:1-7.
23 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.