1 Thessalonians 5:9

5:9 For God did not destine us for wrath ¹  but for gaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 10:16-18

Persecution of Disciples

10:16 “I ²  am sending you out like sheep surrounded by wolves, ³  so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 10:17 Beware ⁴  of people, because they will hand you over to councils ⁵  and flog ⁶  you in their synagogues. ⁷  10:18 And you will be brought before governors and kings ⁸  because of me, as a witness to them and the Gentiles.

Matthew 24:9-10

Persecution of Disciples

24:9 “Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. You will be hated by all the nations ⁹  because of my name. ¹⁰  24:10 Then many will be led into sin, ¹¹  and they will betray one another and hate one another.

Luke 21:12

21:12 But before all this, ¹²  they will seize ¹³  you and persecute you, handing you over to the synagogues ¹⁴  and prisons. You ¹⁵  will be brought before kings and governors because of my name.

John 15:19-21

15:19 If you belonged to the world, ¹⁶  the world would love you as its own. ¹⁷  However, because you do not belong to the world, ¹⁸  but I chose you out of the world, for this reason ¹⁹  the world hates you. ²⁰  15:20 Remember what ²¹  I told you, ‘A slave ²²  is not greater than his master.’ ²³  If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they obeyed ²⁴  my word, they will obey ²⁵  yours too. 15:21 But they will do all these things to you on account of ²⁶  my name, because they do not know the one who sent me. ²⁷ 

John 16:2

16:2 They will put you out of ²⁸  the synagogue, ²⁹  yet a time ³⁰  is coming when the one who kills you will think he is offering service to God. ³¹ 

John 16:33

16:33 I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble and suffering, ³²  but take courage ³³  – I have conquered the world.” ³⁴ 

Acts 9:16

9:16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” ³⁵ 

Acts 14:22

14:22 They strengthened ³⁶  the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue ³⁷  in the faith, saying, “We must enter the kingdom ³⁸  of God through many persecutions.” ³⁹ 

Acts 20:23

20:23 except ⁴⁰  that the Holy Spirit warns ⁴¹  me in town after town ⁴²  that ⁴³  imprisonment ⁴⁴  and persecutions ⁴⁵  are waiting for me.

Acts 21:11

21:11 He came ⁴⁶  to us, took ⁴⁷  Paul’s belt, ⁴⁸  tied ⁴⁹  his own hands and feet with it, ⁵⁰  and said, “The Holy Spirit says this: ‘This is the way the Jews in Jerusalem will tie up the man whose belt this is, and will hand him over ⁵¹  to the Gentiles.’”

Acts 21:13

21:13 Then Paul replied, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking ⁵²  my heart? For I am ready not only to be tied up, ⁵³  but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Romans 8:35-37

8:35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ⁵⁴  8:36 As it is written, “For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” ⁵⁵  8:37 No, in all these things we have complete victory ⁵⁶  through him ⁵⁷  who loved us!

Romans 8:1

The Believer’s Relationship to the Holy Spirit

8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ⁵⁸ 

Colossians 4:9

4:9 I sent him ⁵⁹  with Onesimus, the faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. ⁶⁰  They will tell ⁶¹  you about everything here.

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 3:11-12

3:11 Here there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave ⁶²  or free, but Christ is all and in all.

Exhortation to Unity and Love

3:12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, ⁶³  kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,

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.

Colossians 2:21

2:21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”

Colossians 4:12

4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a slave ⁶⁴  of Christ, ⁶⁵  greets you. He is always struggling in prayer on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured ⁶⁶  in all the will of God.

[5:9]  ¹ sn God did not destine us for wrath. In context this refers to the outpouring of God’s wrath on the earth in the day of the Lord (1 Thess 5:2-4).

[10:16]  ² tn Grk “Behold I.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[10:16]  ³ sn This imagery of wolves is found in intertestamental Judaism; see Pss. Sol. 8:23, 30.

[10:17]  ⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:17]  ⁵ sn Councils in this context refers to local judicial bodies attached to the Jewish synagogue. This group would be responsible for meting out justice and discipline within the Jewish community.

[10:17]  ⁶ tn BDAG 620 s.v. μαστιγόω 1.a states, “of flogging as a punishment decreed by the synagogue (Dt 25:2f; s. the Mishna Tractate Sanhedrin-Makkoth, edited w. notes by SKrauss ’33) w. acc. of pers. Mt 10:17; 23:34.”

[10:17]  ⁷ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.

[10:18]  ⁸ sn These statements look at persecution both from a Jewish context as the mention of courts and synagogues suggests, and from a Gentile one as the reference to governors and kings suggests. Some fulfillment of Jewish persecution can be seen in Acts.

[24:9]  ⁹ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “nations” or “Gentiles”).

[24:9]  ¹⁰ sn See Matt 5:10-12; 1 Cor 1:25-31.

[24:10]  ¹¹ tn Or “many will fall away.” This could also refer to apostasy.

[21:12]  ¹² sn But before all this. Another note of timing is present, this one especially important in understanding the sequence in the discourse. Before the things noted in vv. 8-11 are the events of vv. 12-19.

[21:12]  ¹³ tn Grk “will lay their hands on you.”

[21:12]  ¹⁴ sn Some of the persecution is of Jewish origin (the synagogues). Some fulfillment of this can be seen in Acts. See the note on synagogues in 4:15.

[21:12]  ¹⁵ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[15:19]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “if you were of the world.”

[15:19]  ¹⁷ tn The words “you as” are not in the original but are supplied for clarity.

[15:19]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “because you are not of the world.”

[15:19]  ¹⁹ tn Or “world, therefore.”

[15:19]  ²⁰ sn I chose you out of the world…the world hates you. Two themes are brought together here. In 8:23 Jesus had distinguished himself from the world in addressing his Jewish opponents: “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.” In 15:16 Jesus told the disciples “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you.” Now Jesus has united these two ideas as he informs the disciples that he has chosen them out of the world. While the disciples will still be “in” the world after Jesus has departed, they will not belong to it, and Jesus prays later in John 17:15-16 to the Father, “I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” The same theme also occurs in 1 John 4:5-6: “They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us.” Thus the basic reason why the world hates the disciples (as it hated Jesus before them) is because they are not of the world. They are born from above, and are not of the world. For this reason the world hates them.

[15:20]  ²¹ tn Grk “Remember the word that I said to you.”

[15:20]  ²² tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.

[15:20]  ²³ sn A slave is not greater than his master. Jesus now recalled a statement he had made to the disciples before, in John 13:16. As the master has been treated, so will the slaves be treated also. If the world had persecuted Jesus, then it would also persecute the disciples. If the world had kept Jesus’ word, it would likewise keep the word of the disciples. In this statement there is the implication that the disciples would carry on the ministry of Jesus after his departure; they would in their preaching and teaching continue to spread the message which Jesus himself had taught while he was with them. And they would meet with the same response, by and large, that he encountered.

[15:20]  ²⁴ tn Or “if they kept.”

[15:20]  ²⁵ tn Or “they will keep.”

[15:21]  ²⁶ tn Or “because of.”

[15:21]  ²⁷ tn Jesus is referring to God as “the one who sent me.”

[16:2]  ²⁸ tn Or “expel you from.”

[16:2]  ²⁹ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:59.

[16:2]  ³⁰ tn Grk “an hour.”

[16:2]  ³¹ sn Jesus now refers not to the time of his return to the Father, as he has frequently done up to this point, but to the disciples’ time of persecution. They will be excommunicated from Jewish synagogues. There will even be a time when those who kill Jesus’ disciples will think that they are offering service to God by putting the disciples to death. Because of the reference to service offered to God, it is almost certain that Jewish opposition is intended here in both cases rather than Jewish opposition in the first instance (putting the disciples out of synagogues) and Roman opposition in the second (putting the disciples to death). Such opposition materializes later and is recorded in Acts: The stoning of Stephen in 7:58-60 and the slaying of James the brother of John by Herod Agrippa I in Acts 12:2-3 are notable examples.

[16:33]  ³² tn The one Greek term θλῖψις (qliyis) has been translated by an English hendiadys (two terms that combine for one meaning) “trouble and suffering.” For modern English readers “tribulation” is no longer clearly understandable.

[16:33]  ³³ tn Or “but be courageous.”

[16:33]  ³⁴ tn Or “I am victorious over the world,” or “I have overcome the world.”

[9:16]  ³⁵ tn Or “because of my name.” BDAG 1031 s.v. ὑπέρ 2 lists Acts 9:16 as an example of ὑπέρ (Juper) used to indicate “the moving cause or reason, because of, for the sake of, for.”

[14:22]  ³⁶ tn Grk “to Antioch, strengthening.” Due to the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was started here. This participle (ἐπιστηρίζοντες, episthrizonte") and the following one (παρακαλοῦντες, parakalounte") have been translated as finite verbs connected by the coordinating conjunction “and.”

[14:22]  ³⁷ sn And encouraged them to continue. The exhortations are like those noted in Acts 11:23; 13:43. An example of such a speech is found in Acts 20:18-35. Christianity is now characterized as “the faith.”

[14:22]  ³⁸ sn This reference to the kingdom of God clearly refers to its future arrival.

[14:22]  ³⁹ tn Or “sufferings.”

[20:23]  ⁴⁰ tn BDAG 826 s.v. πλήν 1.d has “πλὴν ὅτι except that…Ac 20:23.”

[20:23]  ⁴¹ tn The verb διαμαρτύρομαι (diamarturomai) can mean “warn” (BDAG 233 s.v. διαμαρτύρομαι 2 has “solemnly urge, exhort, warn…w. dat. of pers. addressed”), and this meaning better fits the context here, although BDAG categorizes Acts 20:23 under the meaning “testify of, bear witness to” (s.v. 1).

[20:23]  ⁴² tn The Greek text here reads κατὰ πόλιν (kata polin).

[20:23]  ⁴³ tn Grk “saying that,” but the participle λέγον (legon) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[20:23]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “bonds.”

[20:23]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “troubles,” “suffering.” See Acts 19:21; 21:4, 11.

[21:11]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “And coming.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here. The participle ἐλθών (elqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:11]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “and taking.” This καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more. The participle ἄρας (aras) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:11]  ⁴⁸ sn The belt was a band or sash used to keep money as well as to gird up the tunic (BDAG 431 s.v. ζώνη).

[21:11]  ⁴⁹ tn The participle δήσας (dhsas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:11]  ⁵⁰ tn The words “with it” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[21:11]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “and will deliver him over into the hands of” (a Semitic idiom).

[21:13]  ⁵² tn The term translated “breaking” as used by Josephus (Ant. 10.10.4 [10.207]) means to break something into pieces, but in its only NT use (it is a hapax legomenon) it is used figuratively (BDAG 972 s.v. συνθρύπτω).

[21:13]  ⁵³ tn L&N 18.13 has “to tie objects together – ‘to tie, to tie together, to tie up.’” The verb δέω (dew) is sometimes figurative for imprisonment (L&N 37.114), but it is preferable to translate it literally here in light of v. 11 where Agabus tied himself up with Paul’s belt.

[8:35]  ⁵⁴ tn Here “sword” is a metonymy that includes both threats of violence and acts of violence, even including death (although death is not necessarily the only thing in view here).

[8:36]  ⁵⁵ sn A quotation from Ps 44:22.

[8:37]  ⁵⁶ tn BDAG 1034 s.v. ὑπερνικάω states, “as a heightened form of νικᾶν prevail completely ὑπερνικῶμεν we are winning a most glorious victory Ro 8:37.”

[8:37]  ⁵⁷ tn Here the referent could be either God or Christ, but in v. 39 it is God’s love that is mentioned.

[8:1]  ⁵⁸ tc The earliest and best witnesses of the Alexandrian and Western texts, as well as a few others (א* B D* F G 6 1506 1739 1881 pc co), have no additional words for v. 1. Later scribes (A D¹ Ψ 81 365 629 pc vg) added the words μὴ κατὰ σάρκα περιπατοῦσιν (mh kata sarka peripatousin, “who do not walk according to the flesh”), while even later ones (א² D² 33^vid Ï) added ἀλλὰ κατὰ πνεῦμα (alla kata pneuma, “but [who do walk] according to the Spirit”). Both the external evidence and the internal evidence are compelling for the shortest reading. The scribes were evidently motivated to add such qualifications (interpolated from v. 4) to insulate Paul’s gospel from charges that it was characterized too much by grace. The KJV follows the longest reading found in Ï.

[4:9]  ⁵⁹ tn The Greek sentence continues v. 9 with the phrase “with Onesimus,” but this is awkward in English, so the verb “I sent” was inserted and a new sentence started at the beginning of v. 9 in the translation.

[4:9]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “is of you.”

[4:9]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “will make known to you.” This has been simplified in the translation to “will tell.”

[3:11]  ⁶² tn See the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.

[3:12]  ⁶³ tn If the genitive construct σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμοῦ (splancna oiktirmou) is a hendiadys then it would be “compassion” or “tenderheartedness.” See M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 161.

[4:12]  ⁶⁴ tn See the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.

[4:12]  ⁶⁵ tc ‡ Strong Alexandrian testimony, along with some other witnesses, suggests that ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou, “Jesus”) follows Χριστοῦ (Cristou, “Christ”; so א A B C I L 0278 33 81 365 629 1175 2464 al lat), but the evidence for the shorter reading is diverse (Ì⁴⁶ D F G Ψ 075 1739 1881 Ï it sy Hier), cutting across all major texttypes. There can be little motivation for omitting the name of Jesus; hence, the shorter reading is judged to be original. NA²⁷ has ᾿Ιησοῦ in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[4:12]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “filled.”