Psalms 66:10-12

66:10 For ¹  you, O God, tested us;

you purified us like refined silver.

66:11 You led us into a trap; ² 

you caused us to suffer. ³ 

66:12 You allowed men to ride over our heads;

we passed through fire and water,

but you brought us out into a wide open place. ⁴ 

John 16:33

16:33 I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble and suffering, ⁵  but take courage ⁶  – I have conquered the world.” ⁷ 

Acts 14:22

14:22 They strengthened ⁸  the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue ⁹  in the faith, saying, “We must enter the kingdom ¹⁰  of God through many persecutions.” ¹¹ 

Romans 5:3-5

5:3 Not ¹²  only this, but we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 5:4 and endurance, character, and character, hope. 5:5 And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God ¹³  has been poured out ¹⁴  in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Romans 8:37

8:37 No, in all these things we have complete victory ¹⁵  through him ¹⁶  who loved us!

Romans 8:2

8:2 For the law of the life-giving Spirit ¹⁷  in Christ Jesus has set you ¹⁸  free from the law of sin and death.

Colossians 4:17

4:17 And tell Archippus, “See to it that you complete the ministry you received in the Lord.”

Revelation 7:14

7:14 So ¹⁹  I said to him, “My lord, you know the answer.” ²⁰  Then ²¹  he said to me, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation. They ²²  have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb!

¹ tn Or “indeed.”

² tn Heb “you brought us into a net.” This rare word for “net” also occurs in Ezek 12:13; 13:21; 17:20.

³ tn Heb “you placed suffering on our hips.” The noun מוּעָקָה (mu’aqah, “suffering”) occurs only here in the OT.

⁴ tc The MT reads רְוָיָה (“saturation”) but this should be emended to רְוָחָה (rÿvakhah, “wide open place”; i.e., “relief”), a reading supported by several ancient versions (LXX, Syriac, Jerome, Targum).

⁵ tn The one Greek term θλῖψις (qliyis) has been translated by an English hendiadys (two terms that combine for one meaning) “trouble and suffering.” For modern English readers “tribulation” is no longer clearly understandable.

⁶ tn Or “but be courageous.”

⁷ tn Or “I am victorious over the world,” or “I have overcome the world.”

⁸ tn Grk “to Antioch, strengthening.” Due to the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was started here. This participle (ἐπιστηρίζοντες, episthrizonte") and the following one (παρακαλοῦντες, parakalounte") have been translated as finite verbs connected by the coordinating conjunction “and.”

⁹ sn And encouraged them to continue. The exhortations are like those noted in Acts 11:23; 13:43. An example of such a speech is found in Acts 20:18-35. Christianity is now characterized as “the faith.”

¹⁰ sn This reference to the kingdom of God clearly refers to its future arrival.

¹¹ tn Or “sufferings.”

¹² tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹³ tn The phrase ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ (Jh agaph tou qeou, “the love of God”) could be interpreted as either an objective genitive (“our love for God”), subjective genitive (“God’s love for us”), or both (M. Zerwick’s “general” genitive [Biblical Greek, §§36-39]; D. B. Wallace’s “plenary” genitive [ExSyn 119-21]). The immediate context, which discusses what God has done for believers, favors a subjective genitive, but the fact that this love is poured out within the hearts of believers implies that it may be the source for believers’ love for God; consequently an objective genitive cannot be ruled out. It is possible that both these ideas are meant in the text and that this is a plenary genitive: “The love that comes from God and that produces our love for God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (ExSyn 121).

¹⁴ sn On the OT background of the Spirit being poured out, see Isa 32:15; Joel 2:28-29.

¹⁵ tn BDAG 1034 s.v. ὑπερνικάω states, “as a heightened form of νικᾶν prevail completely ὑπερνικῶμεν we are winning a most glorious victory Ro 8:37.”

¹⁶ tn Here the referent could be either God or Christ, but in v. 39 it is God’s love that is mentioned.

¹⁷ tn Grk “for the law of the Spirit of life.”

¹⁸ tc Most mss read the first person singular pronoun με (me) here (A D 1739^c 1881 Ï lat sa). The second person singular pronoun σε (se) is superior because of external support (א B {F which reads σαι} G 1506* 1739*) and internal support (it is the harder reading since ch. 7 was narrated in the first person). At the same time, it could have arisen via dittography from the final syllable of the verb preceding it (ἠλευθέρωσεν, hleuqerwsen; “has set free”). But for this to happen in such early and diverse witnesses is unlikely, especially as it depends on various scribes repeatedly overlooking either the nu or the nu-bar at the end of the verb.

¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the previous question.

²⁰ tn Though the expression “the answer” is not in the Greek text, it is clearly implied. Direct objects in Greek were frequently omitted when clear from the context.

²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

²² tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.