45:7 You love 1 justice and hate evil. 2
For this reason God, your God 3 has anointed you 4
with the oil of joy, 5 elevating you above your companions. 6
92:10 You exalt my horn like that of a wild ox. 7
I am covered 8 with fresh oil.
6:6 They drink wine from sacrificial bowls, 9
and pour the very best oils on themselves. 10
Yet they are not concerned over 11 the ruin 12 of Joseph.
1:21 And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your 17 minds 18 as expressed through 19 your evil deeds,
1:1 From Paul, 20 an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2:20 If you have died with Christ to the elemental spirits 21 of the world, why do you submit to them as though you lived in the world?
2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, 22 and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. 23
1 sn To love justice means to actively promote it.
2 sn To hate evil means to actively oppose it.
3 tn For other examples of the repetition of Elohim, “God,” see Pss 43:4; 48:8, 14; 50:7; 51:14; 67:7. Because the name Yahweh (“
4 sn Anointed you. When read in the light of the preceding context, the anointing is most naturally taken as referring to the king’s coronation. However, the following context (vv. 8-9) focuses on the wedding ceremony, so some prefer to see this anointing as part of the king’s preparations for the wedding celebration. Perhaps the reference to his anointing at his coronation facilitates the transition to the description of the wedding, for the king was also anointed on this occasion.
5 sn The phrase oil of joy alludes to the fact that the coronation of the king, which was ritually accomplished by anointing his head with olive oil, was a time of great celebration and renewed hope. (If one understands the anointing in conjunction with the wedding ceremony, the “joy” would be that associated with the marriage.) The phrase “oil of joy” also appears in Isa 61:3, where mourners are granted “oil of joy” in conjunction with their deliverance from oppression.
6 tn Heb “from your companions.” The “companions” are most naturally understood as others in the royal family or, more generally, as the king’s countrymen.
7 sn The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “to exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 89:24; Lam 2:17).
8 tn The Hebrew verb בָּלַל (balal) usually has the nuance “to mix.” Here it seems to mean “to smear” or “to anoint.” Some emend the form to בַּלֹּתַנִי (ballotaniy; a second person form of the verb with a first person suffix) and read, “you anoint me.”
9 sn Perhaps some religious rite is in view, or the size of the bowls is emphasized (i.e., bowls as large as sacrificial bowls).
10 tn Heb “with the best of oils they anoint [themselves].”
11 tn Or “not sickened by.”
12 sn The ruin of Joseph may refer to the societal disintegration in Israel, or to the effects of the impending judgment.
13 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
14 tn Grk “give alms,” but this term is not in common use today. The giving of alms was highly regarded in the ancient world (Deut 15:7-11).
15 sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.
16 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
17 tn The article τῇ (th) has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
18 tn Although διανοία (dianoia) is singular in Greek, the previous plural noun ἐχθρούς (ecqrous) indicates that all those from Colossae are in view here.
19 tn The dative ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τοῖς πονηροῖς (en toi" ergoi" toi" ponhroi") is taken as means, indicating the avenue through which hostility in the mind is revealed and made known.
20 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
21 tn See the note on the phrase “elemental spirits” in 2:8.
22 tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”
23 tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”