1 Corinthians 1:28

1:28 God chose ¹  what is low and despised in the world, what is regarded as nothing, to set aside what is regarded as something,

1 Corinthians 3:7

3:7 So neither the one who plants counts for anything, ²  nor the one who waters, but God who causes the growth.

1 Corinthians 8:4

8:4 With regard then to eating food sacrificed to idols, we know that “an idol in this world is nothing,” and that “there is no God but one.” ³ 

1 Corinthians 13:2

13:2 And if I have prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

Deuteronomy 32:21

32:21 They have made me jealous ⁴  with false gods, ⁵ 

enraging me with their worthless gods; ⁶ 

so I will make them jealous with a people they do not recognize, ⁷ 

with a nation slow to learn ⁸  I will enrage them.

Isaiah 40:17

40:17 All the nations are insignificant before him;

they are regarded as absolutely nothing. ⁹ 

Isaiah 41:29

41:29 Look, all of them are nothing, ¹⁰ 

their accomplishments are nonexistent;

their metal images lack any real substance. ¹¹ 

Isaiah 41:2

41:2 Who stirs up this one from the east? ¹² 

Who ¹³  officially commissions him for service? ¹⁴ 

He hands nations over to him, ¹⁵ 

and enables him to subdue ¹⁶  kings.

He makes them like dust with his sword,

like windblown straw with his bow. ¹⁷ 

Colossians 1:11

1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of ¹⁸  all patience and steadfastness, joyfully

[1:28]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[3:7]  ² tn Grk “is anything.”

[8:4]  ³ sn “An idol in this world is nothing” and “There is no God but one.” Here and in v. 1 Paul cites certain slogans the Corinthians apparently used to justify their behavior (cf. 6:12-13; 7:1; 10:23). Paul agrees with the slogans in part, but corrects them to show how the Corinthians have misused these ideas.

[32:21]  ⁴ sn They have made me jealous. The “jealousy” of God is not a spirit of pettiness prompted by his insecurity, but righteous indignation caused by the disloyalty of his people to his covenant grace (see note on the word “God” in Deut 4:24). The jealousy of Israel, however (see next line), will be envy because of God’s lavish attention to another nation. This is an ironic wordplay. See H. Peels, NIDOTTE 3:938-39.

[32:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “what is not a god,” or a “nondeity.”

[32:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “their empty (things).” The Hebrew term used here to refer pejoratively to the false gods is הֶבֶל (hevel, “futile” or “futility”), used frequently in Ecclesiastes (e.g., Eccl 1:1, “Futile! Futile!” laments the Teacher, “Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!”).

[32:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “what is not a people,” or a “nonpeople.” The “nonpeople” (לֹא־עָם, lo’-’am) referred to here are Gentiles who someday would become God’s people in the fullest sense (cf. Hos 1:9; 2:23).

[32:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “a foolish nation” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV); NIV “a nation that has no understanding”; NLT “I will provoke their fury by blessing the foolish Gentiles.”

[40:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “[as derived] from nothing and unformed.”

[41:29]  ¹⁰ tc The Hebrew text has אָוֶן (’aven, “deception,” i.e., “false”), but the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has אין (“nothing”), which forms a better parallel with אֶפֶס (’efes, “nothing”) in the next line. See also 40:17 and 41:12.

[41:29]  ¹¹ tn Heb “their statues are wind and nothing”; NASB “wind and emptiness”; NIV “wind and confusion.”

[41:2]  ¹² sn The expression this one from the east refers to the Persian conqueror Cyrus, as later texts indicate (see 44:28-45:6; 46:11; 48:14-16).

[41:2]  ¹³ tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis.

[41:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “[in] righteousness called him to his foot.”

[41:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he [the Lord] places before him [Cyrus] nations.”

[41:2]  ¹⁶ tn The verb יַרְדְּ (yardÿ) is an otherwise unattested Hiphil form from רָדָה (radah, “rule”). But the Hiphil makes no sense with “kings” as object; one must understand an ellipsis and supply “him” (Cyrus) as the object. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has יוֹרִד (yorid), which appears to be a Hiphil form from יָרַד (yarad, “go down”). Others suggest reading יָרֹד (yarod), a Qal form from רָדַד (radad, “beat down”).

[41:2]  ¹⁷ sn The point is that they are powerless before Cyrus’ military power and scatter before him.

[1:11]  ¹⁸ 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.