1 Thessalonians 2:9

2:9 For you recall, brothers and sisters, ¹  our toil and drudgery: By working night and day so as not to impose a burden on any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God.

Matthew 9:37-38

9:37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 9:38 Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest ²  to send out ³  workers into his harvest.”

Luke 10:1-2

The Mission of the Seventy-Two

10:1 After this ⁴  the Lord appointed seventy-two ⁵  others and sent them on ahead of him two by two into every town ⁶  and place where he himself was about to go. 10:2 He ⁷  said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest ⁸  to send out ⁹  workers into his harvest.

Luke 10:7

10:7 Stay ¹⁰  in that same house, eating and drinking what they give you, ¹¹  for the worker deserves his pay. ¹²  Do not move around from house to house.

John 4:38

4:38 I sent you to reap what you did not work for; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”

Acts 20:35

20:35 By all these things, ¹³  I have shown you that by working in this way we must help ¹⁴  the weak, ¹⁵  and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” ¹⁶ 

Acts 20:1

Paul Travels Through Macedonia and Greece

20:1 After the disturbance had ended, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging ¹⁷  them and saying farewell, ¹⁸  he left to go to Macedonia. ¹⁹ 

Colossians 3:9

3:9 Do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man with its practices

Colossians 1:10

1:10 so that you may live ²⁰  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ²¹  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ²²  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:16

1:16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him – all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, ²³  whether principalities or powers – all things were created through him and for him.

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ²⁴  brothers and sisters ²⁵  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ²⁶  from God our Father! ²⁷ 

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, ²⁸  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ²⁹  to fill ³⁰  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ³¹  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:23

1:23 if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, ³²  without shifting ³³  from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant.

Galatians 4:11

4:11 I fear for you that my work for you may have been in vain.

Philippians 2:16

2:16 by holding on to ³⁴  the word of life so that on the day of Christ I will have a reason to boast that I did not run in vain nor labor in vain.

Colossians 1:29

1:29 Toward this goal ³⁵  I also labor, struggling according to his power that powerfully ³⁶  works in me.

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ³⁷  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:17-18

1:17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together ³⁸  in him.

1:18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn ³⁹  from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. ⁴⁰ 

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ⁴¹  brothers and sisters ⁴²  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ⁴³  from God our Father! ⁴⁴ 

Colossians 2:6

Warnings Against the Adoption of False Philosophies

2:6 Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, ⁴⁵  continue to live your lives ⁴⁶  in him,

Revelation 2:3

2:3 I am also aware ⁴⁷  that you have persisted steadfastly, ⁴⁸  endured much for the sake of my name, and have not grown weary.

[2:9]  ¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.

[9:38]  ² sn The phrase Lord of the harvest recognizes God’s sovereignty over the harvest process.

[9:38]  ³ tn Grk “to thrust out.”

[10:1]  ⁴ tn Grk “And after these things.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:1]  ⁵ tc There is a difficult textual problem here and in v. 17, where the number is either “seventy” (א A C L W Θ Ξ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï and several church fathers and early versions) or “seventy-two” (Ì⁷⁵ B D 0181 pc lat as well as other versions and fathers). The more difficult reading is “seventy-two,” since scribes would be prone to assimilate this passage to several OT passages that refer to groups of seventy people (Num 11:13-17; Deut 10:22; Judg 8:30; 2 Kgs 10:1 et al.); this reading also has slightly better ms support. “Seventy” could be the preferred reading if scribes drew from the tradition of the number of translators of the LXX, which the Letter of Aristeas puts at seventy-two (TCGNT 127), although this is far less likely. All things considered, “seventy-two” is a much more difficult reading and accounts for the rise of the other. Only Luke notes a second larger mission like the one in 9:1-6.

[10:1]  ⁶ tn Or “city.”

[10:2]  ⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:2]  ⁸ sn The phrase Lord of the harvest recognizes God’s sovereignty over the harvest process.

[10:2]  ⁹ tn Grk “to thrust out.”

[10:7]  ¹⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:7]  ¹¹ tn Grk “eating and drinking the things from them” (an idiom for what the people in the house provide the guests).

[10:7]  ¹² sn On the phrase the worker deserves his pay see 1 Tim 5:18 and 1 Cor 9:14.

[20:35]  ¹³ sn The expression By all these things means “In everything I did.”

[20:35]  ¹⁴ tn Or “must assist.”

[20:35]  ¹⁵ tn Or “the sick.” See Eph 4:28.

[20:35]  ¹⁶ sn The saying is similar to Matt 10:8. Service and generosity should be abundant. Interestingly, these exact words are not found in the gospels. Paul must have known of this saying from some other source.

[20:1]  ¹⁷ tn Or “exhorting.”

[20:1]  ¹⁸ tn Or “and taking leave of them.”

[20:1]  ¹⁹ sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.

[1:10]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ 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.”

[1:1]  ²² tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:16]  ²³ tn BDAG 579 s.v. κυριότης 3 suggests “bearers of the ruling powers, dominions” here.

[1:2]  ²⁴ tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ²⁵ 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).

[1:2]  ²⁶ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ²⁷ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.

[1:9]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ 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.

[1:1]  ³¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:23]  ³² tn BDAG 276 s.v. ἑδραῖος suggests “firm, steadfast.”

[1:23]  ³³ tn BDAG 639 s.v. μετακινέω suggests “without shifting from the hope” here.

[2:16]  ³⁴ tn Or “holding out, holding forth.”

[1:29]  ³⁵ tn The Greek phrase εἴς ὅ (eis Jo, “toward which”) implies “movement toward a goal” and has been rendered by the English phrase “Toward this goal.”

[1:29]  ³⁶ tn The prepositional phrase ἐν δυνάμει (en dunamei) seems to be functioning adverbially, related to the participle, and has therefore been translated “powerfully.”

[1:1]  ³⁷ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:17]  ³⁸ tn BDAG 973 s.v. συνίστημι B.3 suggests “continue, endure, exist, hold together” here.

[1:18]  ³⁹ tn See the note on the term “firstborn” in 1:15. Here the reference to Jesus as the “firstborn from among the dead” seems to be arguing for a chronological priority, i.e., Jesus was the first to rise from the dead.

[1:18]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “in order that he may become in all things, himself, first.”

[1:2]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ⁴² 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).

[1:2]  ⁴³ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ⁴⁴ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.

[2:6]  ⁴⁵ tn Though the verb παρελάβετε (parelabete) does not often take a double accusative, here it seems to do so. Both τὸν Χριστὸν ᾿Ιησοῦν (ton Criston Ihsoun) and τὸν κύριον (ton kurion) are equally definite insofar as they both have an article, but both the word order and the use of “Christ Jesus” as a proper name suggest that it is the object (cf. Rom 10:9, 10). Thus Paul is affirming that the tradition that was delivered to the Colossians by Epaphras was Christ-centered and focused on him as Lord.

[2:6]  ⁴⁶ tn The present imperative περιπατεῖτε (peripateite) implies, in this context, a continuation of something already begun. This is evidenced by the fact that Paul has already referred to their faith as “orderly” and “firm” (2:5), despite the struggles of some of them with this deceptive heresy (cf. 2:16-23). The verb is used literally to refer to a person “walking” and is thus used metaphorically (i.e., ethically) to refer to the way a person lives his or her life.

[2:3]  ⁴⁷ tn Because of the length and complexity of this Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the phrase “I am also aware” to link this English sentence back to “I know” at the beginning of v. 2.

[2:3]  ⁴⁸ tn The Greek word translated “persisted steadfastly” (ὑπομονή, Jupomonh) is the same one translated “steadfast endurance” in v. 2.