1 Peter 4:2

4:2 in that he spends the rest of his time ¹  on earth concerned about the will of God and not human desires.

Luke 21:34

Be Ready!

21:34 “But be on your guard ²  so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day close down upon you suddenly like a trap. ³ 

Acts 15:20

15:20 but that we should write them a letter ⁴  telling them to abstain ⁵  from things defiled ⁶  by idols and from sexual immorality and from what has been strangled ⁷  and from blood.

Acts 15:29

15:29 that you abstain from meat that has been sacrificed to idols ⁸  and from blood and from what has been strangled ⁹  and from sexual immorality. ¹⁰  If you keep yourselves from doing these things, ¹¹  you will do well. Farewell. ¹² 

Romans 8:13

8:13 (for if you live according to the flesh, you will ¹³  die), ¹⁴  but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.

Romans 13:13-14

13:13 Let us live decently as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in discord and jealousy. 13:14 Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to arouse its desires. ¹⁵ 

Romans 13:2

13:2 So the person who resists such authority ¹⁶  resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will incur judgment

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹⁷  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Galatians 5:16-21

5:16 But I say, live ¹⁸  by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. ¹⁹  5:17 For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires ²⁰  that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to ²¹  each other, so that you cannot do what you want. 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 5:19 Now the works of the flesh ²²  are obvious: ²³  sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, 5:20 idolatry, sorcery, ²⁴  hostilities, ²⁵  strife, ²⁶  jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, ²⁷  factions, 5:21 envying, ²⁸  murder, ²⁹  drunkenness, carousing, ³⁰  and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!

Galatians 5:2

5:2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all!

Galatians 2:1

Confirmation from the Jerusalem Apostles

2:1 Then after fourteen years I went up to Jerusalem ³¹  again with Barnabas, taking Titus along too.

Galatians 2:1

Confirmation from the Jerusalem Apostles

2:1 Then after fourteen years I went up to Jerusalem ³²  again with Barnabas, taking Titus along too.

Galatians 2:15-17

Jews and Gentiles are Justified by Faith

2:15 We are Jews by birth ³³  and not Gentile sinners, ³⁴  2:16 yet we know ³⁵  that no one ³⁶  is justified by the works of the law ³⁷  but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. ³⁸  And ³⁹  we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the faithfulness of Christ ⁴⁰  and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one ⁴¹  will be justified. 2:17 But if while seeking to be justified in Christ we ourselves have also been found to be sinners, is Christ then one who encourages ⁴²  sin? Absolutely not!

[4:2]  ¹ tn This verse may give the purpose or result of their “arming” themselves as called for in v. 1b and then the translation would be: “so that you may spend the rest of your time…” But it is better to take it as explanatory of the last phrase in v. 1: what it means to be finished with sin.

[21:34]  ² tn Grk “watch out for yourselves.”

[21:34]  ³ sn Or like a thief, see Luke 12:39-40. The metaphor of a trap is a vivid one. Most modern English translations traditionally place the words “like a trap” at the end of v. 34, completing the metaphor. In the Greek text (and in the NRSV and REB) the words “like a trap” are placed at the beginning of v. 35. This does not affect the meaning.

[15:20]  ⁴ tn The translation “to write a letter, to send a letter to” for ἐπιστέλλω (epistellw) is given in L&N 33.49.

[15:20]  ⁵ tn Three of the four prohibitions deal with food (the first, third and fourth) while one prohibition deals with behavior (the second, refraining from sexual immorality). Since these occur in the order they do, the translation “abstain from” is used to cover both sorts of activity (eating food items, immoral behavior).

[15:20]  ⁶ tn Or “polluted.”

[15:20]  ⁷ sn What has been strangled. That is, to refrain from eating animals that had been killed without having the blood drained from them. According to the Mosaic law (Lev 17:13-14), Jews were forbidden to eat flesh with the blood still in it (note the following provision in Acts 15:20, and from blood).

[15:29]  ⁸ tn There is no specific semantic component in the Greek word εἰδωλόθυτος that means “meat” (see BDAG 280 s.v. εἰδωλόθυτος; L&N 5.15). The stem –θυτος means “sacrifice” (referring to an animal sacrificially killed) and thereby implies meat.

[15:29]  ⁹ tc Codex Bezae (D) and a few other witnesses lack the restriction “and from what has been strangled” (καὶ πνικτῶν, kai pniktwn), though the words are supported by a wide variety of early and important witnesses otherwise and should be considered authentic.

[15:29]  ¹⁰ tc Codex Bezae (D) as well as 323 614 945 1739 1891 sa and other witnesses have after “sexual immorality” the following statement: “And whatever you do not want to happen to yourselves, do not do to another/others.” By adding this negative form of the Golden Rule, these witnesses effectively change the Apostolic Decree from what might be regarded as ceremonial restrictions into more ethical demands. The issues here are quite complicated, and beyond the scope of this brief note. Suffice it to say that D and its allies here are almost surely an expansion and alteration of the original text of Acts. For an excellent discussion of the exegetical and textual issues, see TCGNT 379-83.

[15:29]  ¹¹ tn Grk “from which things keeping yourselves.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (ὧν, |wn) has been replaced by a pronoun (“these things”) and a new English sentence begun. The participle διατηροῦντες (diathrounte") has been translated as a conditional adverbial participle (“if you keep yourselves”). See further L&N 13.153.

[15:29]  ¹² tn The phrase ἔρρωσθε (errwsqe) may be understood as a stock device indicating a letter is complete (“good-bye,” L&N 33.24) or as a sincere wish that the persons involved may fare well (“may you fare well,” L&N 23.133).

[8:13]  ¹³ tn Grk “are about to, are certainly going to.”

[8:13]  ¹⁴ sn This remark is parenthetical to Paul’s argument.

[13:14]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “make no provision for the flesh unto desires.”

[13:2]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “the authority,” referring to the authority just described.

[1:1]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[5:16]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “walk” (a common NT idiom for how one conducts one’s life or how one behaves).

[5:16]  ¹⁹ tn On the term “flesh” (once in this verse and twice in v. 17) see the note on the same word in Gal 5:13.

[5:17]  ²⁰ tn The words “has desires” do not occur in the Greek text a second time, but are repeated in the translation for clarity.

[5:17]  ²¹ tn Or “are hostile toward” (L&N 39.1).

[5:19]  ²² tn See the note on the word “flesh” in Gal 5:13.

[5:19]  ²³ tn Or “clear,” “evident.”

[5:20]  ²⁴ tn Or “witchcraft.”

[5:20]  ²⁵ tn Or “enmities,” “[acts of] hatred.”

[5:20]  ²⁶ tn Or “discord” (L&N 39.22).

[5:20]  ²⁷ tn Or “discord(s)” (L&N 39.13).

[5:21]  ²⁸ tn This term is plural in Greek (as is “murder” and “carousing”), but for clarity these abstract nouns have been translated as singular.

[5:21]  ²⁹ tc ‡ φόνοι (fonoi, “murders”) is absent in such important mss as Ì⁴⁶ א B 33 81 323 945 pc sa, while the majority of mss (A C D F G Ψ 0122 0278 1739 1881 Ï lat) have the word. Although the pedigree of the mss which lack the term is of the highest degree, homoioteleuton may well explain the shorter reading. The preceding word has merely one letter difference, making it quite possible to overlook this term (φθόνοι φόνοι, fqonoi fonoi).

[5:21]  ³⁰ tn Or “revelings,” “orgies” (L&N 88.287).

[2:1]  ³¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:1]  ³² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:15]  ³³ tn Grk “by nature.”

[2:15]  ³⁴ tn Grk “and not sinners from among the Gentiles.”

[2:16]  ³⁵ tn Grk “yet knowing”; the participle εἰδότες (eidotes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[2:16]  ³⁶ tn Grk “no man,” but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women.

[2:16]  ³⁷ sn The law is a reference to the law of Moses.

[2:16]  ³⁸ tn Or “faith in Jesus Christ.” A decision is difficult here. Though traditionally translated “faith in Jesus Christ,” an increasing number of NT scholars are arguing that πίστις Χριστοῦ (pisti" Cristou) and similar phrases in Paul (here and in v. 20; Rom 3:22, 26; Gal 3:22; Eph 3:12; Phil 3:9) involve a subjective genitive and mean “Christ’s faith” or “Christ’s faithfulness” (cf., e.g., G. Howard, “The ‘Faith of Christ’,” ExpTim 85 [1974]: 212-15; R. B. Hays, The Faith of Jesus Christ [SBLDS]; Morna D. Hooker, “Πίστις Χριστοῦ,” NTS 35 [1989]: 321-42). Noteworthy among the arguments for the subjective genitive view is that when πίστις takes a personal genitive it is almost never an objective genitive (cf. Matt 9:2, 22, 29; Mark 2:5; 5:34; 10:52; Luke 5:20; 7:50; 8:25, 48; 17:19; 18:42; 22:32; Rom 1:8; 12; 3:3; 4:5, 12, 16; 1 Cor 2:5; 15:14, 17; 2 Cor 10:15; Phil 2:17; Col 1:4; 2:5; 1 Thess 1:8; 3:2, 5, 10; 2 Thess 1:3; Titus 1:1; Phlm 6; 1 Pet 1:9, 21; 2 Pet 1:5). On the other hand, the objective genitive view has its adherents: A. Hultgren, “The Pistis Christou Formulations in Paul,” NovT 22 (1980): 248-63; J. D. G. Dunn, “Once More, ΠΙΣΤΙΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥ,” SBL Seminar Papers, 1991, 730-44. Most commentaries on Romans and Galatians usually side with the objective view.

[2:16]  ³⁹ tn In Greek this is a continuation of the preceding sentence, but the construction is too long and complex for contemporary English style, so a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[2:16]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “by faith in Christ.” See comment above on “the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.”

[2:16]  ⁴¹ tn Or “no human being”; Grk “flesh.”

[2:17]  ⁴² tn Or “does Christ serve the interests of sin?”; or “is Christ an agent for sin?” See BDAG 230-31 s.v. διάκονος 2.