Psalms 29:11

29:11 The Lord gives ¹  his people strength; ² 

the Lord grants his people security. ³ 

Deuteronomy 33:25

33:25 The bars of your gates ⁴  will be made of iron and bronze,

and may you have lifelong strength.

Isaiah 40:31

40:31 But those who wait for the Lord’s help ⁵  find renewed strength;

they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings, ⁶ 

they run without growing weary,

they walk without getting tired.

Isaiah 45:21

45:21 Tell me! Present the evidence! ⁷ 

Let them consult with one another!

Who predicted this in the past?

Who announced it beforehand?

Was it not I, the Lord?

I have no peer, there is no God but me,

a God who vindicates and delivers; ⁸ 

there is none but me.

Zechariah 10:12

10:12 Thus I will strengthen them by my power, ⁹  and they will walk about ¹⁰  in my name,” says the Lord.

Ephesians 3:16

3:16 I pray that ¹¹  according to the wealth of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person,

Philippians 4:13

4:13 I am able to do all things ¹²  through the one ¹³  who strengthens me.

Colossians 1:11

1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of ¹⁴  all patience and steadfastness, joyfully

¹ tn The imperfect verbal forms in v. 11 are either descriptive or generalizing.

² sn Strength. This probably refers to military power; see the use of the noun in 1 Sam 2:10 and Ps 86:16.

³ tn Heb “blesses his people with peace.” The Hebrew term שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”) probably refers here to the protection and prosperity experienced by God’s people after the Lord intervenes in battle on their behalf.

⁴ tn The words “of your gates” have been supplied in the translation to clarify the referent of “bars.”

⁵ tn The words “for the Lord’s help” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁶ tn Heb “they rise up [on] wings like eagles” (TEV similar).

⁷ tn Heb “Declare! Bring near!”; NASB “Declare and set forth your case.” See 41:21.

⁸ tn Or “a righteous God and deliverer”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “a righteous God and a Savior.”

⁹ tc Heb “I will strengthen them in the Lord.” Because of the perceived problem of the Lord saying he will strengthen the people “in the Lord,” both BHK and BHS suggest emending גִּבַּרְתִּים (gibbartim, “I will strengthen them”) to גְּבֻרָתָם (gevuratam, “their strength”). This is unnecessary, however, for the Lord frequently refers to himself in that manner (see Zech 2:11).

¹⁰ tc The LXX and Syriac presuppose יִתְהַלָּלוּ (yithallalu, “they will glory”) for יִתְהַלְּכוּ (yithallÿkhu, “they will walk about”). Since walking about is a common idiom in Zechariah (cf. 1:10, 11; 6:7 [3x]) to speak of dominion, and dominion is a major theme of the present passage, there is no reason to reject the MT reading, which is followed by most modern English versions.

¹¹ tn Grk “that.” In Greek v. 16 is a subordinate clause to vv. 14-15.

¹² tn The Greek word translated “all things” is in emphatic position at the beginning of the Greek sentence.

¹³ tc Although some excellent witnesses lack explicit reference to the one strengthening Paul (so א* A B D* I 33 1739 lat co Cl), the majority of witnesses (א² D² [F G] Ψ 075 1881 Ï sy) add Χριστῷ (Cristw) here (thus, “through Christ who strengthens me”). But this kind of reading is patently secondary, and is a predictable variant. Further, the shorter reading is much harder, for it leaves the agent unspecified.

¹⁴ 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.