1 Peter 1:6

1:6 This brings you great joy, ¹  although you may have to suffer ²  for a short time in various trials.

Matthew 5:12

5:12 Rejoice and be glad because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.

Luke 6:22-23

6:22 “Blessed are you when people ³  hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject you as evil ⁴  on account of the Son of Man! 6:23 Rejoice in that day, and jump for joy, because ⁵  your reward is great in heaven. For their ancestors ⁶  did the same things to the prophets. ⁷ 

Acts 5:41

5:41 So they left the council rejoicing because they had been considered worthy ⁸  to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name. ⁹ 

Acts 16:25

16:25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying ¹⁰  and singing hymns to God, ¹¹  and the rest of ¹²  the prisoners were listening to them.

Romans 5:3

5:3 Not ¹³  only this, but we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,

Romans 5:2

5:2 through whom we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice ¹⁴  in the hope of God’s glory.

Colossians 4:17

4:17 And tell Archippus, “See to it that you complete the ministry you received in the Lord.”

Colossians 1:9-10

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ¹⁵  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ¹⁶  to fill ¹⁷  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 1:10 so that you may live ¹⁸  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ¹⁹  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

James 1:2-3

Joy in Trials

1:2 My brothers and sisters, ²⁰  consider it nothing but joy ²¹  when you fall into all sorts of trials, 1:3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

[1:6]  ¹ tn Grk “in which you exult.”

[1:6]  ² tc ‡ The oldest and best witnesses lack the verb (א* B, along with 1505 pc), but most mss (Ì⁷² א² A C P Ψ 048 33 1739 Ï) have ἐστίν here (estin, “[if] it is [necessary]”). The verb looks to be an explanatory gloss. But if no verb is present, this opens up the time frame in the author’s mind even more, since the conditional particle for both the first class condition and the fourth class condition is εἰ (ei). That may well be what was on the author’s mind, as evidenced by some of his other allusions to suffering in this little letter (3:14, 17). NA²⁷ has the verb in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[6:22]  ³ tn This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females.

[6:22]  ⁴ tn Or “disdain you”; Grk “cast out your name as evil.” The word “name” is used here as a figure of speech to refer to the person as a whole.

[6:23]  ⁵ tn Grk “because behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this clause has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[6:23]  ⁶ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[6:23]  ⁷ sn Mistreatment of the prophets is something Luke often notes (Luke 11:47-51; Acts 7:51-52).

[5:41]  ⁸ sn That is, considered worthy by God. They “gloried in their shame” of honoring Jesus with their testimony (Luke 6:22-23; 2 Macc 6:30).

[5:41]  ⁹ sn The name refers to the name of Jesus (cf. 3 John 7).

[16:25]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “praying, were singing.” The participle προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:25]  ¹¹ sn Praying and singing hymns to God. Tertullian said, “The legs feel nothing in the stocks when the heart is in heaven” (To the Martyrs 2; cf. Rom 5:3; Jas 1:2; 1 Pet 5:6). The presence of God means the potential to be free (cf. v. 26).

[16:25]  ¹² tn The words “the rest of” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[5:3]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[5:2]  ¹⁴ tn Or “exult, boast.”

[1:9]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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.

[1:10]  ¹⁸ tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”

[1:10]  ¹⁹ tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”

[1:2]  ²⁰ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). Where the plural term is used in direct address, as here, “brothers and sisters” is used; where the term is singular and not direct address (as in v. 9), “believer” is preferred.

[1:2]  ²¹ tn Grk “all joy,” “full joy,” or “greatest joy.”