Psalms 119:4

119:4 You demand that your precepts

be carefully kept. ¹ 

Colossians 1:10

1:10 so that you may live ²  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ³  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ⁴  brothers and sisters ⁵  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ⁶  from God our Father! ⁷ 

Colossians 2:21

2:21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”

Titus 2:14

2:14 He ⁸  gave himself for us to set us free from every kind of lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are truly his, ⁹  who are eager to do good. ¹⁰ 

Titus 3:1

Conduct Toward Those Outside the Church

3:1 Remind them to be subject to rulers and ¹¹  authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work.

Titus 3:8

Summary of the Letter

3:8 This saying ¹²  is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on such truths, ¹³  so that those who have placed their faith in God may be intent on engaging in good works. These things are good and beneficial for all people.

¹ tn Heb “you, you commanded your precepts, to keep, very much.”

² tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”

³ tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”

⁴ 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.

⁵ 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).

⁶ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

⁷ 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.

⁸ tn Grk “who” (as a continuation of the previous clause).

⁹ tn Or “a people who are his very own.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “for good works.”

¹¹ tc Most later witnesses (D² 0278 Ï lat sy) have καί (kai, “and”) after ἀρχαῖς (arcai", “rulers”), though the earliest and best witnesses (א A C D* F G Ψ 33 104 1739 1881) lack the conjunction. Although the καί is most likely not authentic, it has been added in translation due to the requirements of English style. For more discussion, see TCGNT 586.

¹² sn This saying (Grk “the saying”) refers to the preceding citation (Titus 3:4-7). See 1 Tim 1:15; 3:1; 4:9; 2 Tim 2:11 for other occurrences of this phrase.

¹³ tn Grk “concerning these things.”