Numbers 16:15

16:15 Moses was very angry, and he said to the Lord, “Have no respect ¹  for their offering! I have not taken so much as one donkey from them, nor have I harmed any one of them!”

Acts 20:33

20:33 I have desired ²  no one’s silver or gold or clothing.

Acts 20:2

20:2 After he had gone through those regions ³  and spoken many words of encouragement ⁴  to the believers there, ⁵  he came to Greece, ⁶ 

Colossians 1:14

1:14 in whom we have redemption, ⁷  the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁸  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 2:5

2:5 For though ⁹  I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, rejoicing to see ¹⁰  your morale ¹¹  and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Colossians 2:10

2:10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

Colossians 2:1

2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, ¹²  and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. ¹³ 

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ¹⁴  brothers and sisters ¹⁵  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ¹⁶  from God our Father! ¹⁷ 

¹ tn The verb means “to turn toward”; it is a figurative expression that means “to pay attention to” or “to have regard for.” So this is a prayer against Dathan and Abiram.

² tn Traditionally, “coveted.” BDAG 371 s.v. ἐπιθυμέω 1 has “to have a strong desire to do or secure someth., desire, long for w. gen. of the thing desired…silver, gold, clothing Ac 20:33.” The traditional term “covet” is not in common usage and difficult for many modern English readers to understand. The statement affirms Paul’s integrity. He was not doing this for personal financial gain.

³ tn BDAG 633 s.v. μέρος 1.b.γ gives the meanings “the parts (of a geographical area), region, district,” but the use of “district” in this context probably implies too much specificity.

⁴ tn Grk “and encouraging them with many words.” The participle παρακαλέσας (parakalesa", “encouraging”) has been translated by the phrase “spoken…words of encouragement” because the formal equivalent is awkward in contemporary English.

⁵ tn Grk “[to] them”; the referent (the believers there) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn In popular usage the term translated “Greece” here could also refer to the Roman province officially known as Achaia (BDAG 318 s.v. ῾Ελλάς).

⁷ tc διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ (dia tou {aimato" autou, “through his blood”) is read at this juncture by several minuscule mss (614 630 1505 2464 al) as well as a few, mostly secondary, versional and patristic witnesses. But the reading was prompted by the parallel in Eph 1:7 where the wording is solid. If these words had been in the original of Colossians, why would scribes omit them here but not in Eph 1:7? Further, the testimony on behalf of the shorter reading is quite overwhelming: {א A B C D F G Ψ 075 0150 6 33 1739 1881 Ï latt co as well as several other versions and fathers}. The conviction that “through his blood” is not authentic in Col 1:14 is as strong as the conviction that these words are authentic in Eph 1:7.

⁸ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

⁹ tn The conditional particle εἰ (ei) together with καί (kai) here indicates a first class condition in Greek and carries a concessive force, especially when seen in contrast to the following phrase which begins with ἀλλά (alla).

¹⁰ tn Grk “rejoicing and seeing.”

¹¹ tn The Greek word τάξις can mean “order,” “discipline,” or even “unbroken ranks” (REB).

¹² tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”

¹³ tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”

¹⁴ 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.

¹⁵ 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).

¹⁶ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

¹⁷ 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.