Romans 2:4

2:4 Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know ¹  that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?

Romans 9:23

9:23 And what if he is willing to make known the wealth of his glory on the objects ²  of mercy that he has prepared beforehand for glory –

Ephesians 1:7

1:7 In him ³  we have redemption through his blood, ⁴  the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace

Ephesians 2:7

2:7 to demonstrate in the coming ages ⁵  the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward ⁶  us in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 3:8

3:8 To me – less than the least of all the saints ⁷  – this grace was given, ⁸  to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ

Ephesians 3:10

3:10 The purpose of this enlightenment is that ⁹  through the church the multifaceted wisdom ¹⁰  of God should now be disclosed to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly realms.

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,

Colossians 1:27

1:27 God wanted to make known to them the glorious ¹²  riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Colossians 2:2-3

2:2 My goal is that ¹³  their hearts, having been knit together ¹⁴  in love, may be encouraged, and that ¹⁵  they may have all the riches that assurance brings in their understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely, Christ, ¹⁶  2:3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

¹ tn Grk “being unaware.”

² tn Grk “vessels.” This is the same Greek word used in v. 21.

³ tn Grk “in whom” (the relative clause of v. 7 is subordinate to v. 6). The “him” refers to Christ.

⁴ sn In this context his blood, the blood of Jesus Christ, refers to the price paid for believers’ redemption, which is the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross.

⁵ tn Or possibly “to the Aeons who are about to come.”

⁶ tn Or “upon.”

⁷ sn In Pauline writings saints means any true believer. Thus for Paul to view himself as less than the least of all the saints is to view himself as the most unworthy object of Christ’s redemption.

⁸ sn The parallel phrases to proclaim and to enlighten which follow indicate why God’s grace was manifested to Paul. Grace was not something just to be received, but to be shared with others (cf. Acts 13:47).

⁹ tn Grk “that.” Verse 10 is a subordinate clause to the verb “enlighten” in v. 9.

¹⁰ tn Or “manifold wisdom,” “wisdom in its rich variety.”

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

¹² tn The genitive noun τῆς δόξης (ths doxhs) is an attributive genitive and has therefore been translated as “glorious riches.”

¹³ tn Verse two begins a subordinate ἵνα (Jina) clause which was divided up into two sentences for the sake of clarity in English. Thus the phrase “My goal is that” is an attempt to reflect in the translation the purpose expressed through the ἵνα clauses.

¹⁴ tn BDAG 956 s.v. συμβιβάζω 1.b reads “unite, knit together.” Some commentators take the verb as a reference to instruction, “instructed in love.” See P. T. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon (WBC), 93.

¹⁵ tn The phrase “and that” translates the first εἰς (eis) clause of v. 2 and reflects the second goal of Paul’s striving and struggle for the Colossians – the first is “encouragement” and the second is “full assurance.”

¹⁶ tc There are at least a dozen variants here, almost surely generated by the unusual wording τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ (tou qeou, Cristou, “of God, Christ”; so Ì⁴⁶ B Hil). Scribes would be prone to conform this to more common Pauline expressions such as “of God, who is in Christ” (33), “of God, the Father of Christ” (א* A C 048^vid 1175 bo), and “of the God and Father of Christ” (א² Ψ 075 0278 365 1505 pc). Even though the external support for the wording τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ is hardly overwhelming, it clearly best explains the rise of the other readings and should thus be regarded as authentic.