Proverbs 15:1

15:1 A gentle response ¹  turns away anger,

but a harsh word ²  stirs up wrath. ³ 

Acts 11:2-4

11:2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, ⁴  the circumcised believers ⁵  took issue with ⁶  him, 11:3 saying, “You went to ⁷  uncircumcised men and shared a meal with ⁸  them.” 11:4 But Peter began and explained it to them point by point, ⁹  saying,

Acts 11:1

Peter Defends His Actions to the Jerusalem Church

11:1 Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles too had accepted ¹⁰  the word of God. ¹¹ 

Colossians 2:15

2:15 Disarming ¹²  the rulers and authorities, he has made a public disgrace of them, triumphing over them by the cross. ¹³ 

Colossians 2:1

2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, ¹⁴  and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. ¹⁵ 

Colossians 3:9

3:9 Do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man with its practices

¹ tn Heb “soft answer.” The adjective רַּךְ (rakh, “soft; tender; gentle”; BDB 940 s.v.) is more than a mild response; it is conciliatory, an answer that restores good temper and reasonableness (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 477). Gideon illustrates this kind of answer (Judg 8:1-3) that brings peace.

² tn Heb “word of harshness”; KJV “grievous words.” The noun עֶצֶב (’etsev, “pain, hurt”) functions as an attributive genitive. The term עֶצֶב refers to something that causes pain (BDB 780 s.v. I עֶצֶב). For example, Jephthah’s harsh answer led to war (Judg 12:1-6).

³ tn Heb “raises anger.” A common response to painful words is to let one’s temper flare up.

⁴ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁵ tn Or “the Jewish Christians”; Grk “those of the circumcision.” Within the larger group of Christians were some whose loyalties ran along ethnic-religious lines.

⁶ tn Or “believers disputed with,” “believers criticized” (BDAG 231 s.v. διακρίνω 5.b).

⁷ tn Or “You were a guest in the home of” (according to L&N 23.12).

⁸ tn Or “and ate with.” It was table fellowship and the possibility of eating unclean food that disturbed them.

⁹ tn Or “to them in logical sequence,” “to them in order.” BDAG 490 s.v. καθεξῆς has “explain to someone point by point” for this phrase. This is the same term used in Luke 1:3.

¹⁰ tn See BDAG 221 s.v. δέχομαι 5 for this translation of ἐδέξαντο (edexanto) here.

¹¹ tn Here the phrase “word of God” is another way to describe the gospel (note the preceding verb ἐδέξαντο, edexanto, “accepted”). The phrase could also be translated “the word [message] from God.”

¹² tn See BDAG 100 s.v. ἀπεκδύομαι 2.

¹³ tn The antecedent of the Greek pronoun αὐτῷ (autw) could either be “Christ” or the “cross.” There are several reasons for choosing “the cross” as the antecedent for αὐτῷ in verse 15: (1) The nearest antecedent is τῷ σταυρῷ (tw staurw) in v. 14; (2) the idea of ἐδειγμάτισεν ἐν παρρησία (edeigmatisen en parrhsia, “made a public disgrace”) seems to be more in keeping with the idea of the cross; (3) a reference to Christ seems to miss the irony involved in the idea of triumph – the whole point is that where one would expect defeat, there came the victory; (4) if Christ is the subject of the participles in v. 15 then almost certainly the cross is the referent for αὐτῷ. Thus the best solution is to see αὐτῷ as a reference to the cross and the preposition ἐν (en) indicating “means” (i.e., by means of the cross) or possibly (though less likely) location (on the cross).

¹⁴ tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”

¹⁵ tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”