1 Corinthians 6:9-11

6:9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, passive homosexual partners, ¹  practicing homosexuals, ²  6:10 thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, ³  and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God. 6:11 Some of you once lived this way. ⁴  But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ ⁵  and by the Spirit of our God.

Ephesians 2:1-2

New Life Individually

2:1 And although you were ⁶  dead ⁷  in your transgressions and sins, 2:2 in which ⁸  you formerly lived ⁹  according to this world’s present path, ¹⁰  according to the ruler of the kingdom ¹¹  of the air, the ruler of ¹²  the spirit ¹³  that is now energizing ¹⁴  the sons of disobedience, ¹⁵ 

Ephesians 2:12-13

2:12 that you were at that time without the Messiah, ¹⁶  alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, ¹⁷  having no hope and without God in the world. 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁸ 

Ephesians 2:19-21

2:19 So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, 2:20 because you have been built ¹⁹  on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, ²⁰  with Christ Jesus himself as ²¹  the cornerstone. ²²  2:21 In him ²³  the whole building, ²⁴  being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,

Colossians 3:7

3:7 You also lived your lives ²⁵  in this way at one time, when you used to live among them.

Titus 3:3-7

3:3 For we too were once foolish, disobedient, misled, enslaved to various passions and desires, spending our lives in evil and envy, hateful and hating one another. 3:4 ²⁶  But “when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, 3:5 he saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, 3:6 whom he poured out on us in full measure ²⁷  through Jesus Christ our Savior. 3:7 And so, ²⁸  since we have been justified by his grace, we become heirs with the confident expectation of eternal life.” ²⁹ 

[6:9]  ¹ tn This term is sometimes rendered “effeminate,” although in contemporary English usage such a translation could be taken to refer to demeanor rather than behavior. BDAG 613 s.v. μαλακός 2 has “pert. to being passive in a same-sex relationship, effeminate esp. of catamites, of men and boys who are sodomized by other males in such a relationship.” L&N 88.281 states, “the passive male partner in homosexual intercourse – ‘homosexual.’ …As in Greek, a number of other languages also have entirely distinct terms for the active and passive roles in homosexual intercourse.” See also the discussion in G. D. Fee, First Corinthians (NICNT), 243-44. A number of modern translations have adopted the phrase “male prostitutes” for μαλακοί in 1 Cor 6:9 (NIV, NRSV, NLT) but this could be misunderstood by the modern reader to mean “males who sell their services to women,” while the term in question appears, at least in context, to relate to homosexual activity between males. Furthermore, it is far from certain that prostitution as commonly understood (the selling of sexual favors) is specified here, as opposed to a consensual relationship. Thus the translation “passive homosexual partners” has been used here.

[6:9]  ² tn On this term BDAG 135 s.v. ἀρσενοκοίτης states, “a male who engages in sexual activity w. a pers. of his own sex, pederast 1 Cor 6:9…of one who assumes the dominant role in same-sex activity, opp. μαλακός…1 Ti 1:10; Pol 5:3. Cp. Ro 1:27.” L&N 88.280 states, “a male partner in homosexual intercourse – ‘homosexual.’…It is possible that ἀρσενοκοίτης in certain contexts refers to the active male partner in homosexual intercourse in contrast with μαλακός, the passive male partner.” Since there is a distinction in contemporary usage between sexual orientation and actual behavior, the qualification “practicing” was supplied in the translation, following the emphasis in BDAG.

[6:10]  ³ tn Or “revilers”; BDAG 602 s.v. λοίδορος defines the term as “reviler, abusive person.” Because the term “abusive” without further qualification has become associated in contemporary English with both physical and sexual abuse, the qualifier “verbally” has been supplied in the translation.

[6:11]  ⁴ tn Grk “and some [of you] were these.”

[6:11]  ⁵ tc The external evidence in support of the reading ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (Ihsou Cristou, “Jesus Christ”) is quite impressive: Ì^11vid,46 א B C^vid D* P 33 81 104 365 629 630 1739 1881 2464 al lat bo as well as several fathers, while the reading with merely ᾿Ιησοῦ has significantly poorer support (A D² Ψ Ï sa). Although the wording of the original could certainly have been expanded, it is also possible that Χριστοῦ as a nomen sacrum could have accidentally dropped out. Although the latter is not as likely under normal circumstances, in light of the early and widespread witnesses for the fuller expression, the original wording seems to have been ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ.

[2:1]  ⁶ tn The adverbial participle “being” (ὄντας, ontas) is taken concessively.

[2:1]  ⁷ sn Chapter 2 starts off with a participle, although you were dead, that is left dangling. The syntax in Greek for vv. 1-3 constitutes one incomplete sentence, though it seems to have been done intentionally. The dangling participle leaves the readers in suspense while they wait for the solution (in v. 4) to their spiritual dilemma.

[2:2]  ⁸ sn The relative pronoun which is feminine as is sins, indicating that sins is the antecedent.

[2:2]  ⁹ tn Grk “walked.”

[2:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or possibly “Aeon.”

[2:2]  ¹¹ tn Grk “domain, [place of] authority.”

[2:2]  ¹² tn Grk “of” (but see the note on the word “spirit” later in this verse).

[2:2]  ¹³ sn The ruler of the kingdom of the air is also the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of disobedience. Although several translations regard the ruler to be the same as the spirit, this is unlikely since the cases in Greek are different (ruler is accusative and spirit is genitive). To get around this, some have suggested that the genitive for spirit is a genitive of apposition. However, the semantics of the genitive of apposition are against such an interpretation (cf. ExSyn 100).

[2:2]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “working in.”

[2:2]  ¹⁵ sn Sons of disobedience is a Semitic idiom that means “people characterized by disobedience.” However, it also contains a subtle allusion to vv. 4-10: Some of those sons of disobedience have become sons of God.

[2:12]  ¹⁶ tn Or “without Christ.” Both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.” Because the context refers to ancient Israel’s messianic expectation, “Messiah” was employed in the translation at this point rather than “Christ.”

[2:12]  ¹⁷ tn Or “covenants of the promise.”

[2:13]  ¹⁸ tn Or “have come near in the blood of Christ.”

[2:20]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “having been built.”

[2:20]  ²⁰ sn Apostles and prophets. Because the prophets appear after the mention of the apostles and because they are linked together in 3:5 as recipients of revelation about the church, they are to be regarded not as Old Testament prophets, but as New Testament prophets.

[2:20]  ²¹ tn Grk “while Christ Jesus himself is” or “Christ Jesus himself being.”

[2:20]  ²² tn Or perhaps “capstone” (NAB). The meaning of ἀκρογωνιαῖος (akrogwniaio") is greatly debated. The meaning “capstone” is proposed by J. Jeremias (TDNT 1:792), but the most important text for this meaning (T. Sol. 22:7-23:4) is late and possibly not even an appropriate parallel. The only place ἀκρογωνιαῖος is used in the LXX is Isa 28:16, and there it clearly refers to a cornerstone that is part of a foundation. Furthermore, the imagery in this context has the building growing off the cornerstone upward, whereas if Christ were the capstone, he would not assume his position until the building was finished, which vv. 21-22 argue against.

[2:21]  ²³ tn Grk “in whom” (v. 21 is a relative clause, subordinate to v. 20).

[2:21]  ²⁴ tc Although several important witnesses (א¹ A C P 6 81 326 1739^c 1881) have πᾶσα ἡ οἰκοδομή (pasa Jh oikodomh), instead of πᾶσα οἰκοδομή (the reading of א* B D F G Ψ 33 1739* Ï), the article is almost surely a scribal addition intended to clarify the meaning of the text, for with the article the meaning is unambiguously “the whole building.”

[3:7]  ²⁵ tn Grk “you also walked.” The verb περιπατέω (peripatew) is commonly used in the NT to refer to behavior or conduct of one’s life (L&N 41.11).

[3:4]  ²⁶ tn Verses 4-7 are set as poetry in NA²⁶/NA²⁷. These verses probably constitute the referent of the expression “this saying” in v. 8.

[3:6]  ²⁷ tn Or “on us richly.”

[3:7]  ²⁸ tn This is the conclusion of a single, skillfully composed sentence in Greek encompassing Titus 3:4-7. Showing the goal of God’s merciful salvation, v. 7 begins literally, “in order that, being justified…we might become heirs…”

[3:7]  ²⁹ tn Grk “heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”