1 Thessalonians 3:13

3:13 so that your hearts are strengthened in holiness to be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. ¹ 

Isaiah 63:16

63:16 For you are our father,

though Abraham does not know us

and Israel does not recognize us.

You, Lord, are our father;

you have been called our protector from ancient times. ² 

Jeremiah 31:9

31:9 They will come back shedding tears of contrition.

I will bring them back praying prayers of repentance. ³ 

I will lead them besides streams of water,

along smooth paths where they will never stumble. ⁴ 

I will do this because I am Israel’s father;

Ephraim ⁵  is my firstborn son.’”

Malachi 1:6

The Sacrilege of Priestly Service

1:6 “A son naturally honors his father and a slave respects ⁶  his master. If I am your ⁷  father, where is my honor? If I am your master, where is my respect? The Lord who rules over all asks you this, you priests who make light of my name! But you reply, ‘How have we made light of your name?’

Matthew 6:4

6:4 so that your gift may be in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. ⁸ 

Matthew 6:6

6:6 But whenever you pray, go into your room, ⁹  close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. ¹⁰ 

Matthew 6:8-9

6:8 Do ¹¹  not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 6:9 So pray this way: ¹² 

Our Father ¹³  in heaven, may your name be honored, ¹⁴ 

Matthew 6:14

6:14 “For if you forgive others ¹⁵  their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

Matthew 6:18

6:18 so that it will not be obvious to others when you are fasting, but only to your Father who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 6:26

6:26 Look at the birds in the sky: ¹⁶  They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds ¹⁷  them. Aren’t you more valuable ¹⁸  than they are?

Matthew 6:32

6:32 For the unconverted ¹⁹  pursue these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

Luke 12:30

12:30 For all the nations of the world pursue ²⁰  these things, and your Father knows that you need them.

Luke 12:32

12:32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is well pleased ²¹  to give you the kingdom.

John 20:17

20:17 Jesus replied, ²²  “Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

John 20:2

20:2 So she went running ²³  to Simon Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

Colossians 1:18

1:18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn ²⁴  from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. ²⁵ 

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ²⁶  brothers and sisters ²⁷  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ²⁸  from God our Father! ²⁹ 

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

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

Colossians 3:1

Exhortations to Seek the Things Above

3:1 Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

[3:13]  ¹ tc ‡ Important and early witnesses (א* A D* 81 629 lat) have ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”) at the end of this benediction, while the majority of mss, including several excellent witnesses (א² B D² F G Ψ 0278 1739 1881 Ï it sy sa), lack the particle. A decision is difficult, but in light of Paul’s habit of adding the ἀμήν to his notes of praise, even in the middle of his letters (cf. Rom 9:5; 11:36; 15:33; Gal 1:5), one might expect scribes to emulate this practice. Although a decision is difficult, it is probably best to follow the shorter reading. NA²⁷ has the particle in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[63:16]  ² tn Heb “our protector [or “redeemer”] from antiquity [is] your name.”

[31:9]  ³ tn Heb “They will come with weeping; I will bring them with supplication.” The ideas of contrition and repentance are implicit from the context (cf. vv. 18-19) and are supplied for clarity.

[31:9]  ⁴ sn Jer 31:8-9 are reminiscent of the “New Exodus” motif of Isa 40-66 which has already been referred to in Jer 16:14-15; 23:7-8. See especially Isa 35:3-10; 40:3-5, 11; 41:17-20; 42:14-17; 43:16-21; 49:9-13. As there, the New Exodus will so outstrip the old that the old will pale in comparison and be almost forgotten (see Jer 23:7-8).

[31:9]  ⁵ sn Ephraim was the second son of Joseph who was elevated to a place of prominence in the family of Jacob by the patriarch’s special blessing. It was the strongest tribe in northern Israel and Samaria lay in its territory. It is often used as a poetic parallel for Israel as here. The poetry is not speaking of two separate entities here; it is a way of repeating an idea for emphasis. Moreover, there is no intent to show special preference for northern Israel over Judah. All Israel is metaphorically God’s son and the object of his special care and concern (Exod 4:22; Deut 32:6).

[1:6]  ⁶ tn The verb “respects” is not in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. It is understood by ellipsis (see “honors” in the preceding line).

[1:6]  ⁷ tn The pronoun “your” is supplied in the translation for clarification (also a second time before “master” later in this verse).

[6:4]  ⁸ tc L W Θ 0250 Ï it read ἐν τῷ φανερῷ (en tw fanerw, “openly”) at the end of this verse, giving a counterweight to what is done in secret. But this reading is suspect because of the obvious literary balance, because of detouring the point of the passage (the focus of vv. 1-4 is not on two kinds of public rewards but on human vs. divine approbation), and because of superior external testimony that lacks this reading (א B D Z Ë^1,13 33 al).

[6:6]  ⁹ sn The term translated room refers to the inner room of a house, normally without any windows opening outside, the most private location possible (BDAG 988 s.v. ταμεῖον 2).

[6:6]  ¹⁰ tc See the tc note on “will reward you” in 6:4: The problem is the same and the ms support differs only slightly.

[6:8]  ¹¹ tn Grk “So do not.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated.

[6:9]  ¹² sn Pray this way. What follows, although traditionally known as the Lord’s prayer, is really the disciples’ prayer. It represents how they are to approach God, by acknowledging his uniqueness and their need for his provision and protection.

[6:9]  ¹³ sn God is addressed in terms of intimacy (Father). The original Semitic term here was probably Abba. The term is a little unusual in a personal prayer, especially as it lacks qualification. It is not the exact equivalent of “daddy” (as is sometimes popularly suggested), but it does suggest a close, familial relationship.

[6:9]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “hallowed be your name.”

[6:14]  ¹⁵ tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense: “people, others.”

[6:26]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).

[6:26]  ¹⁷ tn Or “God gives them food to eat.” L&N 23.6 has both “to provide food for” and “to give food to someone to eat.”

[6:26]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “of more value.”

[6:32]  ¹⁹ tn Or “unbelievers”; Grk “Gentiles.”

[12:30]  ²⁰ tn Grk “seek.”

[12:32]  ²¹ tn Or perhaps, “your Father chooses.”

[20:17]  ²² tn Grk “Jesus said to her.”

[20:2]  ²³ tn Grk “So she ran and came.”

[1:18]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ tn Grk “in order that he may become in all things, himself, first.”

[1:2]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ²⁹ 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.

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