5:24 “I tell you the solemn truth, 21 the one who hears 22 my message 23 and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, 24 but has crossed over from death to life.
3:1 Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
1 tn Or “Therefore pay close attention”; Grk “Take heed therefore how you hear.”
2 tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
3 sn The phrase what he thinks he has is important, because it is not what a person thinks he has that is important but whether he actually has something or not. Jesus describes the person who does not heed his word as having nothing. The person who has nothing loses even that which he thought was something but was not. In other words, he has absolutely nothing at all. Jesus’ teaching must be taken seriously.
4 tn Grk “your soul,” but ψυχή (yuch) is frequently used of one’s physical life. It clearly has that meaning in this context.
5 tn Or “required back.” This term, ἀπαιτέω (apaitew), has an economic feel to it and is often used of a debt being called in for repayment (BDAG 96 s.v. 1).
6 tn Grk “the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” The words “for yourself” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
7 sn The call to sell your possessions is a call to a lack of attachment to the earth and a generosity as a result.
8 tn Grk “give alms,” but this term is not in common use today.
9 tn Grk “in the heavens.”
10 tn Or “an unfailing treasure in heaven,” or “an inexhaustible treasure in heaven.”
11 tn The term σής (shs) refers to moths in general. It is specifically the larvae of moths that destroy clothing by eating holes in it (L&N 4.49; BDAG 922 s.v.). See Jas 5:2, which mentions “moth-eaten” clothing.
12 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the reports the man received about his manager.
13 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the manager) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14 sn Although phrased as a question, the charges were believed by the owner, as his dismissal of the manager implies.
15 tn Or “stewardship”; the Greek word οἰκονομία (oikonomia) is cognate with the noun for the manager (οἰκονόμος, oikonomo").
16 tn The Greek term here is τέκνον (teknon), which could be understood as a term of endearment.
17 tn Or “in terrible pain” (L&N 24.92). Here is the reversal Jesus mentioned in Luke 6:20-26.
18 tn Grk “will never be thirsty forever.” The possibility of a later thirst is emphatically denied.
19 tn Or “well.” “Fountain” is used as the translation for πηγή (phgh) here since the idea is that of an artesian well that flows freely, but the term “artesian well” is not common in contemporary English.
20 tn The verb ἁλλομένου (Jallomenou) is used of quick movement (like jumping) on the part of living beings. This is the only instance of its being applied to the action of water. However, in the LXX it is used to describe the “Spirit of God” as it falls on Samson and Saul. See Judg 14:6, 19; 15:14; 1 Kgdms 10:2, 10 LXX (= 1 Sam 10:6, 10 ET); and Isa 35:6 (note context).
21 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
22 tn Or “obeys.”
23 tn Or “word.”
24 tn Grk “and does not come into judgment.”
25 tn Grk “And I give.”
26 tn Or “will never die” or “will never be lost.”
27 tn Or “no one will seize.”
28 tn Here “sword” is a metonymy that includes both threats of violence and acts of violence, even including death (although death is not necessarily the only thing in view here).
29 sn A quotation from Ps 44:22.
30 tn BDAG 1034 s.v. ὑπερνικάω states, “as a heightened form of νικᾶν prevail completely ὑπερνικῶμεν we are winning a most glorious victory Ro 8:37.”
31 tn Here the referent could be either God or Christ, but in v. 39 it is God’s love that is mentioned.
32 tn BDAG 138 s.v. ἀρχή 6 takes this term as a reference to angelic or transcendent powers (as opposed to merely human rulers). To clarify this, the adjective “heavenly” has been supplied in the translation. Some interpreters see this as a reference to fallen angels or demonic powers, and this view is reflected in some recent translations (NIV, NLT).
33 tc Certain
34 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).
35 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.
36 tn BDAG 113 s.v. ἀπόκειμαι 2 renders ἀποκειμένην (apokeimenhn) with the expression “reserved” in this verse.
37 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.