The Lover to His Beloved: 1
6:11 I went down to the orchard of walnut trees, 2
to look for the blossoms of the valley, 3
to see if the vines had budded
or if the pomegranates were in bloom.
24:30 I passed by the field of a sluggard,
by the vineyard of one who lacks wisdom. 4
24:31 I saw 5 that thorns had grown up all over it,
the ground 6 was covered with weeds,
and its stone wall was broken down.
15:36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return 7 and visit the brothers in every town where we proclaimed the word of the Lord 8 to see how they are doing.” 9
1:1 From Paul, 18 an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
1 sn It is difficult to determine whether the speaker in 6:11-12 is Solomon or the Beloved.
2 tn The term אֱגוֹז (’egoz, “nut”) probably refers to the “walnut” or “walnut tree” (juglans regia) (DCH 1:116 s.v. אֱגוֹז). The singular form is used collectively here to refer to a grove of walnut trees.
3 sn It is not clear whether the “valley” in 6:12 is a physical valley (Jezreel Valley?), a figurative description of their love relationship, or a double entendre.
4 tn Heb “lacks heart”; KJV “understanding”; NAB, NASB, NLT “sense.”
5 tn The Hebrew term וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, traditionally “and, lo” [KJV, ASV]) is a deictic particle that calls attention to what comes next. “And look” is too abrupt here; “I saw” calls attention to the field that was noticed.
6 tn Heb “its face” (so KJV, ASV).
7 tn Grk “Returning let us visit.” The participle ἐπιστρέψαντες (epistreyante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
8 tn See the note on the phrase “word of the Lord” in v. 35.
9 tn BDAG 422 s.v. ἔχω 10.b has “how they are” for this phrase.
10 tn Grk “no little argument and debate” (an idiom).
11 tn Grk “they”; the referent (the church, or the rest of the believers at Antioch) has been specified to avoid confusion with the Judaizers mentioned in the preceding clause.
12 tn Grk “go up to,” but in this context a meeting is implied.
13 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
14 tn Or “point of controversy.” It is unclear whether this event parallels Gal 2:1-10 or that Gal 2 fits with Acts 11:30. More than likely Gal 2:1-10 is to be related to Acts 11:30.
15 tn Col 1:3-8 form one long sentence in the Greek text and have been divided at the end of v. 4 and v. 6 and within v. 6 for clarity, in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English toward shorter sentences. Thus the phrase “Your faith and love have arisen from the hope” is literally “because of the hope.” The perfect tense “have arisen” was chosen in the English to reflect the fact that the recipients of the letter had acquired this hope at conversion in the past, but that it still remains and motivates them to trust in Christ and to love one another.
16 tn BDAG 113 s.v. ἀπόκειμαι 2 renders ἀποκειμένην (apokeimenhn) with the expression “reserved” in this verse.
17 tn The term “the gospel” (τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, tou euangeliou) is in apposition to “the word of truth” (τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας, tw logw th" alhqeia") as indicated in the translation.
18 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
19 tn Grk “the members which are on the earth.” See BDAG 628 s.v. μέλος 1, “put to death whatever in you is worldly.”
20 tn Or “lust.”
21 tc The words ἐπὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς τῆς ἀπειθείας (epi tou" Juiou" th" apeiqeia", “on the sons of disobedience”) are lacking in Ì46 B b sa, but are found in א A C D F G H I Ψ 075 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï lat sy bo. The words are omitted by several English translations (NASB, NIV, ESV, TNIV). This textual problem is quite difficult to resolve. On the one hand, the parallel account in Eph 5:6 has these words, thus providing scribes a motive for adding them here. On the other hand, the reading without the words may be too hard: The ἐν οἷς (en |oi") of v. 7 seems to have no antecedent without υἱούς already in the text, although it could possibly be construed as neuter referring to the vice list in v. 5. Further, although the witness of B is especially important, there are other places in which B and Ì46 share errant readings of omission. Nevertheless, the strength of the internal evidence against the longer reading is at least sufficient to cause doubt here. The decision to retain the words in the text is less than certain.
22 tn Grk “that there not be any root of bitterness,” but referring figuratively to a person who causes trouble (as in Deut 29:17 [LXX] from which this is quoted).