Proverbs 6:5

6:5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from a snare, ¹ 

and like a bird from the trap ²  of the fowler.

Proverbs 6:1

Admonitions and Warnings against Dangerous and Destructive Acts ³ 

6:1 My child, ⁴  if you have made a pledge ⁵  for your neighbor,

and ⁶  have become a guarantor ⁷  for a stranger, ⁸ 

Colossians 1:18

1:18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn ⁹  from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. ¹⁰ 

Colossians 1:14

1:14 in whom we have redemption, ¹¹  the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹²  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

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 “from the hand.” Most translations supply “of the hunter.” The word “hand” can signify power, control; so the meaning is that of a gazelle freeing itself from a snare or a trap that a hunter set.

² tc Heb “hand” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV). Some mss and versions have it as “trap,” which may very well represent an interpretation too.

³ sn The chapter advises release from foolish indebtedness (1-5), admonishes avoiding laziness (6-11), warns of the danger of poverty (9-11) and deviousness (12-15), lists conduct that the Lord hates (16-19), and warns about immorality (20-35).

⁴ tn Heb “my son” (likewise in vv. 3, 20).

⁵ sn It was fairly common for people to put up some kind of financial security for someone else, that is, to underwrite another’s debts. But the pledge in view here was foolish because the debtor was a neighbor who was not well known (זָר, zar), perhaps a misfit in the community. The one who pledged security for this one was simply gullible.

⁶ tn The conjunction “and” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

⁷ tn Heb “struck your hands”; NIV “have struck hands in pledge”; NASB “have given a pledge.” The guarantee of a pledge was signaled by a handshake (e.g., 11:15; 17:18; 22:26).

⁸ tn Heb “stranger.” The term זוּר (zur, “stranger”) probably refers to a neighbor who was not well-known. Alternatively, it could describe a person who is living outside the norms of convention, a moral misfit in the community. In any case, this “stranger” is a high risk in any financial arrangement.

⁹ tn See the note on the term “firstborn” in 1:15. Here the reference to Jesus as the “firstborn from among the dead” seems to be arguing for a chronological priority, i.e., Jesus was the first to rise from the dead.

¹⁰ tn Grk “in order that he may become in all things, himself, first.”

¹¹ 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.

¹² tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

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.