1 Thessalonians 4:10

4:10 And indeed you are practicing it toward all the brothers and sisters ¹  in all of Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, ² 

Job 17:9

17:9 But the righteous man holds to his way,

and the one with clean hands grows stronger. ³ 

Psalms 92:14

92:14 They bear fruit even when they are old;

they are filled with vitality and have many leaves. ⁴ 

Proverbs 4:18

4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the bright morning light, ⁵ 

growing brighter and brighter ⁶  until full day. ⁷ 

John 15:2

15:2 He takes away ⁸  every branch that does not bear ⁹  fruit in me. He ¹⁰  prunes ¹¹  every branch that bears ¹²  fruit so that it will bear more fruit.

John 15:1

The Vine and the Branches

15:1 “I am the true vine ¹³  and my Father is the gardener. ¹⁴ 

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹⁵  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Philippians 1:9

1:9 And I pray this, that your love may abound even more and more in knowledge and every kind of insight

Philippians 3:14

3:14 with this goal in mind, ¹⁶  I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God ¹⁷  in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:2

3:2 Beware of the dogs, ¹⁸  beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! ¹⁹ 

Philippians 1:3

Prayer for the Church

1:3 I thank my God every time I remember you. ²⁰ 

Philippians 1:2

1:2 Grace and peace to you ²¹  from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Philippians 1:5-10

1:5 because of your participation ²²  in the gospel from the first day until now. ²³  1:6 For I am sure of this very thing, ²⁴  that the one ²⁵  who began a good work in ²⁶  you will perfect it ²⁷  until the day of Christ Jesus. 1:7 For ²⁸  it is right for me to think this about all of you, because I have you in my heart, ²⁹  since both in my imprisonment ³⁰  and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel all of you became partners in God’s grace ³¹  together with me. 1:8 For God is my witness that I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. 1:9 And I pray this, that your love may abound even more and more in knowledge and every kind of insight 1:10 so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ,

Philippians 3:18

3:18 For many live, about whom I have often told you, and now, with tears, I tell you that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ.

[4:10]  ¹ tn Grk “brothers”; this applies to the second occurrence as well. See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.

[4:10]  ² sn To do so more and more. See 1 Thess 4:1.

[17:9]  ³ tn The last two words are the imperfect verb יֹסִיף (yosif) which means “he adds,” and the abstract noun “energy, strength.” This noun is not found elsewhere; its Piel verb occurs in Job 4:4 and 16:5. “he increases strength.”

[92:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “they are juicy and fresh.”

[4:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “like light of brightness.” This construction is an attributive genitive: “bright light.” The word “light” (אוֹר, ’or) refers to the early morning light or the dawn (BDB 21 s.v.). The point of the simile is that the course of life that the righteous follow is like the clear, bright morning light. It is illumined, clear, easy to follow, and healthy and safe – the opposite of what darkness represents.

[4:18]  ⁶ tn The construction uses the Qal active participle of הָלַךְ (halakh) in a metaphorical sense to add the idea of continuance or continually to the participle הוֹלֵךְ (holekh). Here the path was growing light, but the added participle signifies continually.

[4:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “until the day is established.” This expression refers to the coming of the full day or the time of high noon.

[15:2]  ⁸ tn Or “He cuts off.”

[15:2]  ⁹ tn Or “does not yield.”

[15:2]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “And he”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been omitted in the translation in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[15:2]  ¹¹ tn Or “trims”; Grk “cleanses” (a wordplay with “clean” in v. 3). Καθαίρει (kaqairei) is not the word one would have expected here, but it provides the transition from the vine imagery to the disciples – there is a wordplay (not reproducible in English) between αἴρει (airei) and καθαίρει in this verse. While the purpose of the Father in cleansing his people is clear, the precise means by which he does so is not immediately obvious. This will become clearer, however, in the following verse.

[15:2]  ¹² tn Or “that yields.”

[15:1]  ¹³ sn I am the true vine. There are numerous OT passages which refer to Israel as a vine: Ps 80:8-16, Isa 5:1-7, Jer 2:21, Ezek 15:1-8, 17:5-10, 19:10-14, and Hos 10:1. The vine became symbolic of Israel, and even appeared on some coins issued by the Maccabees. The OT passages which use this symbol appear to regard Israel as faithless to Yahweh (typically rendered as “Lord” in the OT) and/or the object of severe punishment. Ezek 15:1-8 in particular talks about the worthlessness of wood from a vine (in relation to disobedient Judah). A branch cut from a vine is worthless except to be burned as fuel. This fits more with the statements about the disciples (John 15:6) than with Jesus’ description of himself as the vine. Ezek 17:5-10 contains vine imagery which refers to a king of the house of David, Zedekiah, who was set up as king in Judah by Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah allied himself to Egypt and broke his covenant with Nebuchadnezzar (and therefore also with God), which would ultimately result in his downfall (17:20-21). Ezek 17:22-24 then describes the planting of a cedar sprig which grows into a lofty tree, a figurative description of Messiah. But it is significant that Messiah himself is not described in Ezek 17 as a vine, but as a cedar tree. The vine imagery here applies to Zedekiah’s disobedience. Jesus’ description of himself as the true vine in John 15:1 ff. is to be seen against this background, but it differs significantly from the imagery surveyed above. It represents new imagery which differs significantly from OT concepts; it appears to be original with Jesus. The imagery of the vine underscores the importance of fruitfulness in the Christian life and the truth that this results not from human achievement, but from one’s position in Christ. Jesus is not just giving some comforting advice, but portraying to the disciples the difficult path of faithful service. To some degree the figure is similar to the head-body metaphor used by Paul, with Christ as head and believers as members of the body. Both metaphors bring out the vital and necessary connection which exists between Christ and believers.

[15:1]  ¹⁴ tn Or “the farmer.”

[1:1]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[3:14]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “according to the goal.”

[3:14]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “prize, namely, the heavenly calling of God.”

[3:2]  ¹⁸ sn Dogs is a figurative reference to false teachers whom Paul regards as just as filthy as dogs.

[3:2]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “beware of the mutilation.”

[1:3]  ²⁰ tn This could also be translated “for your every remembrance of me.” See discussion below.

[1:2]  ²¹ tn Grk “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:5]  ²² sn Your participation (Grk “fellowship”) could refer to Paul rejoicing because of the Philippian converts’ “fellowship” in the gospel along with him, but it is more likely that this refers to their active “participation” with him in the gospel by means of the financial support they sent to Paul on more than one occasion, discussed later in this letter (4:10-19, esp. 4:15-16).

[1:5]  ²³ tn Several alternatives for translating vv. 3-5 are possible: (1) “I thank my God every time I remember you, yes, always in my every prayer for all of you. I pray with joy because of your participation…” (see NAB; also M. Silva, Philippians [BECNT], 43-44; G. D. Fee, Philippians [NICNT], 76-80); (2) “I thank my God because of your every remembrance of me. Always in my every prayer for all of you I pray with joy. [I am grateful] for your participation…” (see Moffatt; also P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 58-61). Option (1) is quite similar to the translation above, but sees v. 4a as more or less parenthetical. Option (2) is significantly different in that Paul thanks God because the Philippians remember him rather than when he remembers them.

[1:6]  ²⁴ tn Grk “since I am sure of this very thing.” The verse begins with an adverbial participle that is dependent on the main verb in v. 3 (“I thank”). Paul here gives one reason for his thankfulness.

[1:6]  ²⁵ tn The referent is clearly God from the overall context of the paragraph and the mention of “the day of Christ Jesus” at the end, which would be redundant if Christ were referred to here.

[1:6]  ²⁶ tn Or “among.”

[1:6]  ²⁷ tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[1:7]  ²⁸ tn Grk “Just as.” The sense here is probably, “So I give thanks (v. 3) just as it is right for me…”

[1:7]  ²⁹ tn Or possibly “because you have me in your heart.”

[1:7]  ³⁰ tn Grk “in my bonds.” The meaning “imprisonment” derives from a figurative extension of the literal meaning (“bonds,” “fetters,” “chains”), L&N 37.115.

[1:7]  ³¹ tn The word “God’s” is supplied from the context (v. 2) to clarify the meaning.