1 Thessalonians 1:5

1:5 in that ¹  our gospel did not come to you merely in words, ²  but in power and in the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction (surely you recall the character we displayed when we came among you to help you). ³ 

1 Thessalonians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul ⁴  and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians ⁵  in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and peace to you! ⁶ 

1 Thessalonians 1:3-5

1:3 because we recall ⁷  in the presence of our God and Father ⁸  your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope ⁹  in our Lord Jesus Christ. 1:4 We know, ¹⁰  brothers and sisters ¹¹  loved by God, that he has chosen you, ¹²  1:5 in that ¹³  our gospel did not come to you merely in words, ¹⁴  but in power and in the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction (surely you recall the character we displayed when we came among you to help you). ¹⁵ 

Acts 20:18

20:18 When they arrived, he said to them, “You yourselves know how I lived ¹⁶  the whole time I was with you, from the first day I set foot ¹⁷  in the province of Asia, ¹⁸ 

Acts 20:26

20:26 Therefore I declare ¹⁹  to you today that I am innocent ²⁰  of the blood of you all. ²¹ 

Acts 20:33-34

20:33 I have desired ²²  no one’s silver or gold or clothing. 20:34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine ²³  provided for my needs and the needs of those who were with me.

Acts 20:2

20:2 After he had gone through those regions ²⁴  and spoken many words of encouragement ²⁵  to the believers there, ²⁶  he came to Greece, ²⁷ 

Colossians 4:2

Exhortation to Pray for the Success of Paul’s Mission

4:2 Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving.

Colossians 1:11

1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of ²⁸  all patience and steadfastness, joyfully

Colossians 1:11

1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of ²⁹  all patience and steadfastness, joyfully

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ³⁰  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

[1:5]  ¹ tn Or “because.”

[1:5]  ² tn Or “speech,” or “an act of speaking.”

[1:5]  ³ tn Grk “just as you know what sort of people we were among you for your sakes.” Verse 5 reflects on the experience of Paul and his fellow preachers; v. 6 begins to describe the Thessalonians’ response.

[1:1]  ⁴ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ⁵ map For the location of Thessalonica see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.

[1:1]  ⁶ tc The majority of witnesses, including several early and important ones (א A [D] I 33 Ï bo), have ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ κυριοῦ Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (apo qeou patro" Jhmwn kai kuriou Ihsou Cristou, “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”) at the end of v. 1. The more abrupt reading (“Grace and peace to you”) without this addition is supported by B F G Ψ 0278 629 1739 1881 pc lat sa. Apart from a desire to omit the redundancy of the mention of God and Christ in this verse, there is no good reason why scribes would have omitted the characteristically Pauline greeting. (Further, if this were the case, why did these same scribes overlook such an opportunity in 2 Thess 1:1-2?) On the other hand, since 1 Thessalonians is one of Paul’s earliest letters, what would become characteristic of his greetings seems to have been still in embryonic form (e.g., he does not yet call his audience “saints” [which will first be used in his address to the Corinthians], nor does he use ἐν (en) plus the dative to refer to the location of the church). Thus, the internal evidence is overwhelming in support of the shorter reading, for scribes would have been strongly motivated to rework this salutation in light of Paul’s style elsewhere. And the external evidence, though not overwhelming, is supportive of this shorter reading, found as it is in some of the best witnesses of the Alexandrian and Western texttypes.

[1:3]  ⁷ tn Grk “making mention…recalling.” The participle ποιούμενοι (poioumenoi) in v. 2 has been translated as temporal, and μνημονεύοντες (mnhmoneuonte") in v. 3 has been translated as causal.

[1:3]  ⁸ tn Or the phrase may connect at the end of the verse: “hope…in the presence of our God and Father.”

[1:3]  ⁹ tn These phrases denote Christian virtues in action: the work produced by faith, labor motivated by love, and endurance that stems from hope in Christ.

[1:4]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “knowing.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the participle εἰδότες (eidotes) has been translated as a finite verb and a new sentence started here in the translation.

[1:4]  ¹¹ 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).

[1:4]  ¹² tn Grk “your election.”

[1:5]  ¹³ tn Or “because.”

[1:5]  ¹⁴ tn Or “speech,” or “an act of speaking.”

[1:5]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “just as you know what sort of people we were among you for your sakes.” Verse 5 reflects on the experience of Paul and his fellow preachers; v. 6 begins to describe the Thessalonians’ response.

[20:18]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “You yourselves know, from the first day I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time.” This could be understood to mean “how I stayed with you the whole time,” but the following verses make it clear that Paul’s lifestyle while with the Ephesians is in view here. Thus the translation “how I lived the whole time I was with you” makes this clear.

[20:18]  ¹⁷ tn Or “I arrived.” BDAG 367 s.v. ἐπιβαίνω 2, “set foot in…εἰς τ. ᾿Ασίαν set foot in Asia Ac 20:18.” However, L&N 15.83 removes the idiom: “you know that since the first day that I came to Asia.”

[20:18]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “Asia”; see the note on this word in v. 16.

[20:26]  ¹⁹ tn Or “testify.”

[20:26]  ²⁰ tn Grk “clean, pure,” thus “guiltless” (BDAG 489 s.v. καθαρός 3.a).

[20:26]  ²¹ tn That is, “that if any of you should be lost, I am not responsible” (an idiom). According to L&N 33.223, the meaning of the phrase “that I am innocent of the blood of all of you” is “that if any of you should be lost, I am not responsible.” However, due to the length of this phrase and its familiarity to many modern English readers, the translation was kept closer to formal equivalence in this case. The word “you” is not in the Greek text, but is implied; Paul is addressing the Ephesian congregation (in the person of its elders) in both v. 25 and 27.

[20:33]  ²² tn Traditionally, “coveted.” BDAG 371 s.v. ἐπιθυμέω 1 has “to have a strong desire to do or secure someth., desire, long for w. gen. of the thing desired…silver, gold, clothing Ac 20:33.” The traditional term “covet” is not in common usage and difficult for many modern English readers to understand. The statement affirms Paul’s integrity. He was not doing this for personal financial gain.

[20:34]  ²³ tn The words “of mine” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to clarify whose hands Paul is referring to.

[20:2]  ²⁴ tn BDAG 633 s.v. μέρος 1.b.γ gives the meanings “the parts (of a geographical area), region, district,” but the use of “district” in this context probably implies too much specificity.

[20:2]  ²⁵ tn Grk “and encouraging them with many words.” The participle παρακαλέσας (parakalesa", “encouraging”) has been translated by the phrase “spoken…words of encouragement” because the formal equivalent is awkward in contemporary English.

[20:2]  ²⁶ tn Grk “[to] them”; the referent (the believers there) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:2]  ²⁷ tn In popular usage the term translated “Greece” here could also refer to the Roman province officially known as Achaia (BDAG 318 s.v. ῾Ελλάς).

[1:11]  ²⁸ 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.

[1:11]  ²⁹ 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.

[1:1]  ³⁰ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.