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.

Psalms 115:1

Psalm 115 ¹ 

115:1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us!

But to your name bring honor, ² 

for the sake of your loyal love and faithfulness. ³ 

Isaiah 40:17

40:17 All the nations are insignificant before him;

they are regarded as absolutely nothing. ⁴ 

Isaiah 41:29

41:29 Look, all of them are nothing, ⁵ 

their accomplishments are nonexistent;

their metal images lack any real substance. ⁶ 

Daniel 4:35

4:35 All the inhabitants of the earth are regarded as nothing. ⁷ 

He does as he wishes with the army of heaven

and with those who inhabit the earth.

No one slaps ⁸  his hand

and says to him, ‘What have you done?’

John 15:5

15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains ⁹  in me – and I in him – bears ¹⁰  much fruit, ¹¹  because apart from me you can accomplish ¹²  nothing.

John 15:2

15:2 He takes away ¹³  every branch that does not bear ¹⁴  fruit in me. He ¹⁵  prunes ¹⁶  every branch that bears ¹⁷  fruit so that it will bear more fruit.

Colossians 1:9

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ¹⁸  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ¹⁹  to fill ²⁰  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

Galatians 6:3

6:3 For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

[115:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 115. The psalmist affirms that Israel’s God is superior to pagan idols and urges Israel to place their confidence in him.

[115:1]  ² tn Or “give glory.”

[115:1]  ³ sn The psalmist asks the Lord to demonstrate his loyal love and faithfulness, not simply so Israel may benefit, but primarily so that the Lord will receive honor among the nations, who will recognize, contrary to their present view (see v. 2), that Israel’s God is committed to his people.

[40:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “[as derived] from nothing and unformed.”

[41:29]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “their statues are wind and nothing”; NASB “wind and emptiness”; NIV “wind and confusion.”

[4:35]  ⁷ tc The present translation reads כְּלָא (kÿla’), with many medieval Hebrew MSS, rather than כְּלָה (kÿlah) of BHS.

[4:35]  ⁸ tn Aram “strikes against.”

[15:5]  ⁹ tn Or “resides.”

[15:5]  ¹⁰ tn Or “yields.”

[15:5]  ¹¹ tn Grk “in him, this one bears much fruit.” The pronoun “this one” has been omitted from the translation because it is redundant according to contemporary English style.

[15:5]  ¹² tn Or “do.”

[15:2]  ¹³ tn Or “He cuts off.”

[15:2]  ¹⁴ tn Or “does not yield.”

[15:2]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “And he”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been omitted in the translation in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[15:2]  ¹⁶ tn Or “trims”; Grk “cleanses” (a wordplay with “clean” in v. 3). Καθαίρει (kaqairei) is not the word one would have expected here, but it provides the transition from the vine imagery to the disciples – there is a wordplay (not reproducible in English) between αἴρει (airei) and καθαίρει in this verse. While the purpose of the Father in cleansing his people is clear, the precise means by which he does so is not immediately obvious. This will become clearer, however, in the following verse.

[15:2]  ¹⁷ tn Or “that yields.”

[1:9]  ¹⁸ tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.

[1:9]  ¹⁹ tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ²⁰ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.