4:1 So then, my brothers and sisters, 3 dear friends whom I long to see, my joy and crown, stand in the Lord in this way, my dear friends!
2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, 11 and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. 12
2:20 If you have died with Christ to the elemental spirits 16 of the world, why do you submit to them as though you lived in the world?
1:4 I always thank my God 23 as I remember you in my prayers, 24
1 tn Or “and feel the same way,” “and think the same thoughts.” The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated “and be of the same mind” to reflect its epexegetical force to the imperative “complete my joy.”
2 tn The Greek word here is σύμψυχοι (sumyucoi, literally “fellow souled”).
3 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.
4 sn There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. The pursuit of the sinner is a priority in spite of the presence of others who are doing well (see also Luke 5:32; 19:10). The theme of repentance, a major Lukan theme, is again emphasized.
5 tn Here δικαίοις (dikaioi") is an adjective functioning substantivally and has been translated “righteous people.”
6 tn Or “who do not need to repent”; Grk “who do not have need of repentance.”
7 sn The whole of heaven is said to rejoice. Joy in the presence of God’s angels is a way of referring to God’s joy as well without having to name him explicitly. Contemporary Judaism tended to refer to God indirectly where possible out of reverence or respect for the divine name.
8 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).
9 tn Grk “rejoicing and seeing.”
10 tn The Greek word τάξις can mean “order,” “discipline,” or even “unbroken ranks” (REB).
11 tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”
12 tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”
13 tn The Greek participle κρατῶν (kratwn) was translated as a finite verb to avoid an unusually long and pedantic sentence structure in English.
14 tn See BDAG 387 s.v. ἐπιχορηγέω 3.
15 tn The genitive τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou) has been translated as a genitive of source, “from God.”
16 tn See the note on the phrase “elemental spirits” in 2:8.
17 tn Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and contemporary English style.
18 tn The Greek preposition ἐπί (epi) is understood here in a causal sense, i.e., “because.”
19 tn The word translated “hearts” here is σπλάγχνα (splancna). Literally the term refers to one’s “inward parts,” but it is commonly used figuratively for “heart” as the seat of the emotions. See BDAG 938 s.v. σπλάγχνον 2 (cf. Col 3:12, Phil 2:1).
20 sn Apphia is thought to be the wife of Philemon.
21 tc Most witnesses (D2 Ψ Ï) here read τῇ ἀγαπητῇ (th agaphth, “beloved, dear”), a reading that appears to have been motivated by the masculine form of the same adjective in v. 1. Further, the earliest and best witnesses, along with a few others (א A D* F G I P 048 0278 33 81 104 1739 1881 pc), have ἀδελφῇ (adelfh, “sister”). Thus on internal and external grounds, ἀδελφῇ is the strongly preferred reading.
22 tn Though the term “our” does not appear in the Greek text it is inserted to bring out the sense of the passage.
23 sn I always thank my God. An offer of thanksgiving (εὐχαριστῶ, eucaristw) to God is a customary formula for Paul in many of his epistles (cf. Rom 1:8, 1 Cor 1:4, Eph 1:16, Col 1:3, 1 Thess 1:2, 2 Thess 1:3). The content of the thanksgiving typically points to the work of God in the salvation of the believers to whom he [Paul] writes.
24 tn Grk “making remembrance (or “mention”) of you in my prayers.”