2 Chronicles 31:20-21

31:20 This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah. He did what the Lord his God considered good and right and faithful. 31:21 He wholeheartedly and successfully reinstituted service in God’s temple and obedience to the law, in order to follow his God. ¹ 

Psalms 32:2

32:2 How blessed is the one ²  whose wrongdoing the Lord does not punish, ³ 

in whose spirit there is no deceit. ⁴ 

Psalms 145:18

145:18 The Lord is near all who cry out to him,

all who cry out to him sincerely. ⁵ 

Jeremiah 4:2

4:2 You must be truthful, honest and upright

when you take an oath saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’ ⁶ 

If you do, ⁷  the nations will pray to be as blessed by him as you are

and will make him the object of their boasting.” ⁸ 

John 1:47

1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and exclaimed, ⁹  “Look, a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” ¹⁰ 

John 1:2

1:2 The Word ¹¹  was with God in the beginning.

Colossians 1:12

1:12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share ¹²  in the saints’ ¹³  inheritance in the light.

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹⁴  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 3:21-22

3:21 Fathers, ¹⁵  do not provoke ¹⁶  your children, so they will not become disheartened. 3:22 Slaves, ¹⁷  obey your earthly ¹⁸  masters in every respect, not only when they are watching – like those who are strictly people-pleasers – but with a sincere heart, fearing the Lord.

[31:21]  ¹ tn Heb “and in all the work which he began with regard to the service of the house of God and with respect to the law and with respect to the commandment, to seek his God; with all his heart he acted and he succeeded.”

[32:2]  ² tn Heb “man.” The word choice reflects the perspective of the psalmist, who is male. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, the gender and age specific “man” has been translated with the more neutral “one.”

[32:2]  ³ tn Heb “blessed [is] the man to whom the Lord does not impute wrongdoing.”

[32:2]  ⁴ sn In whose spirit there is no deceit. The point is not that the individual is sinless and pure. In this context, which focuses on confession and forgiveness of sin, the psalmist refers to one who refuses to deny or hide his sin, but instead honestly confesses it to God.

[145:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “in truth.”

[4:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “If you [= you must, see the translator’s note on the word “do” later in this verse] swear/take an oath, ‘As the Lord lives,’ in truth, justice, and righteousness…”

[4:2]  ⁷ tn 4:1-2a consists of a number of “if” clauses, two of which are formally introduced by the Hebrew particle אִם (’im) while the others are introduced by the conjunction “and,” followed by a conjunction (“and” = “then”) with a perfect in 4:2b which introduces the consequence. The translation “You must…. If you do,” was chosen to avoid a long and complicated sentence.

[4:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “bless themselves in him and make their boasts in him.”

[1:47]  ⁹ tn Grk “said about him.”

[1:47]  ¹⁰ tn Or “treachery.”

[1:2]  ¹¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the Word) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:12]  ¹² tn BDAG 473 s.v. ἱκανόω states, “τινὰ εἴς τι someone for someth. Col 1:12.” The point of the text is that God has qualified the saints for a “share” or “portion” in the inheritance of the saints.

[1:12]  ¹³ tn Grk “the inheritance of the saints.” The genitive noun τῶν ἁγίων (twn Jagiwn) is a possessive genitive: “the saints’ inheritance.”

[1:1]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[3:21]  ¹⁵ tn Or perhaps “Parents.” The plural οἱ πατέρες (Joi patere", “fathers”) can be used to refer to both the male and female parent (BDAG 786 s.v. πατήρ 1.a).

[3:21]  ¹⁶ tn Or “do not cause your children to become resentful” (L&N 88.168). BDAG 391 s.v. ἐρεθίζω states, “to cause someone to react in a way that suggests acceptance of a challenge, arouse, provoke mostly in bad sense irritate, embitter.”

[3:22]  ¹⁷ tn On this word here and in 4:1, see the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.

[3:22]  ¹⁸ tn The prepositional phrase κατὰ σάρκα (kata sarka) does not necessarily qualify the masters as earthly or human (as opposed to the Master in heaven, the Lord), but could also refer to the sphere in which “the service-relation holds true.” See BDAG 577 s.v. κύριος 1.b.