Isaiah 41:24

41:24 Look, you are nothing, and your accomplishments are nonexistent;

the one who chooses to worship you is disgusting. ¹ 

Isaiah 41:1

The Lord Challenges the Nations

41:1 “Listen to me in silence, you coastlands! ² 

Let the nations find renewed strength!

Let them approach and then speak;

let us come together for debate! ³ 

Colossians 1:4

1:4 since ⁴  we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints.

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ⁵  brothers and sisters ⁶  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ⁷  from God our Father! ⁸ 

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ⁹  brothers and sisters ¹⁰  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ¹¹  from God our Father! ¹² 

Colossians 1:11

1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of ¹³  all patience and steadfastness, joyfully

¹ tn Heb “an object of disgust [is he who] chooses you.”

² tn Or “islands” (KJV, NIV, CEV); TEV “distant lands”; NLT “lands beyond the sea.”

³ tn The Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) could be translated “judgment,” but here it seems to refer to the dispute or debate between the Lord and the nations.

⁴ tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).

⁵ 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.

⁶ 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).

⁷ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

⁸ 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.

⁹ 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.

¹⁰ 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).

¹¹ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

¹² 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.

¹³ tn The expression “for the display of” is an attempt to convey in English the force of the Greek preposition εἰς (eis) in this context.