2 Corinthians 5:5

5:5 Now the one who prepared us for this very purpose ¹  is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment. ² 

Psalms 37:23-24

37:23 The Lord grants success to the one

whose behavior he finds commendable. ³ 

37:24 Even if ⁴  he trips, he will not fall headlong, ⁵ 

for the Lord holds ⁶  his hand.

Psalms 87:5

87:5 But it is said of Zion’s residents, ⁷ 

“Each one of these ⁸  was born in her,

and the sovereign One ⁹  makes her secure.” ¹⁰ 

Psalms 89:4

89:4 ‘I will give you an eternal dynasty ¹¹ 

and establish your throne throughout future generations.’” ¹²  (Selah)

Isaiah 9:7

9:7 His dominion will be vast ¹³ 

and he will bring immeasurable prosperity. ¹⁴ 

He will rule on David’s throne

and over David’s kingdom, ¹⁵ 

establishing it ¹⁶  and strengthening it

by promoting justice and fairness, ¹⁷ 

from this time forward and forevermore.

The Lord’s intense devotion to his people ¹⁸  will accomplish this.

Isaiah 49:8

49:8 This is what the Lord says:

“At the time I decide to show my favor, I will respond to you;

in the day of deliverance I will help you;

I will protect you ¹⁹  and make you a covenant mediator for people, ²⁰ 

to rebuild ²¹  the land ²² 

and to reassign the desolate property.

Isaiah 62:7

62:7 Don’t allow him to rest until he reestablishes Jerusalem, ²³ 

until he makes Jerusalem the pride ²⁴  of the earth.

Romans 16:25

16:25 ²⁵ Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that had been kept secret for long ages,

Colossians 2:7

2:7 rooted ²⁶  and built up in him and firm ²⁷  in your ²⁸  faith just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Colossians 2:1

2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, ²⁹  and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. ³⁰ 

Colossians 3:13

3:13 bearing with one another and forgiving ³¹  one another, if someone happens to have ³²  a complaint against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others. ³³ 

Colossians 3:2

3:2 Keep thinking about things above, not things on the earth,

Colossians 2:8

2:8 Be careful not to allow anyone to captivate you ³⁴  through an empty, deceitful philosophy ³⁵  that is according to human traditions and the elemental spirits ³⁶  of the world, and not according to Christ.

Colossians 2:17

2:17 these are only ³⁷  the shadow of the things to come, but the reality ³⁸  is Christ! ³⁹ 

Colossians 3:3

3:3 for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

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 1:10

1:10 so that you may live ⁴⁰  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ⁴¹  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

[5:5]  ¹ tn Grk “for this very thing.”

[5:5]  ² tn Or “first installment,” “pledge,” “deposit” (see the note on the phrase “down payment” in 1:22).

[37:23]  ³ tn Heb “from the Lord the steps of a man are established, and in his way he delights.” The second line qualifies the first. The man whose behavior is commendable in God’s sight is the one whose ways are established by God. Another option is that the second line refers to the godly man delighting in God’s “way,” namely the lifestyle which he prescribes for men. In this case one might translate, “The Lord grants success to the one who desires to obey his commands.”

[37:24]  ⁴ tn Other translation options for כִּי in this context are “when” (so NASB) or “though” (so NEB, NIV, NRSV).

[37:24]  ⁵ tn Heb “be hurled down.”

[37:24]  ⁶ tn The active participle indicates this is characteristically true. See v. 17.

[87:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “and of Zion it is said.” Another option is to translate, “and to Zion it is said.” In collocation with the Niphal of אָמַר (’amar), the preposition lamed (-לְ) can introduce the recipient of the statement (see Josh 2:2; Jer 4:11; Hos 1:10; Zeph 3:16), carry the nuance “concerning, of” (see Num 23:23), or mean “be named” (see Isa 4:3; 62:4).

[87:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “a man and a man.” The idiom also appears in Esth 1:8. The translation assumes that the phrase refers to each of Zion’s residents, in contrast to the foreigners mentioned in v. 4. Those advocating the universalistic interpretation understand this as a reference to each of the nations, including those mentioned in v. 4.

[87:5]  ⁹ tn Traditionally “Most High.”

[87:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he makes her secure, the Most High.”

[89:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “forever I will establish your offspring.”

[89:4]  ¹² tn Heb “and I will build to a generation and a generation your throne.”

[9:7]  ¹³ tc The Hebrew text has לְםַרְבֵּה (lÿmarbeh), which is a corrupt reading. לם is dittographic; note the preceding word, שָׁלוֹם (shalom). The corrected text reads literally, “great is the dominion.”

[9:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and to peace there will be no end” (KJV and ASV both similar). On the political and socio-economic sense of שָׁלוֹם (shalom) in this context, see the note at v. 6 on “Prince of Peace.”

[9:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “over the throne of David, and over his kingdom.” The referent of the pronoun “his” (i.e., David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:7]  ¹⁶ tn The feminine singular pronominal suffix on this form and the following one (translated “it” both times) refers back to the grammatically feminine noun “kingdom.”

[9:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “with/by justice and fairness”; ASV “with justice and with righteousness.”

[9:7]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the zeal of the Lord.” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people which prompts him to vindicate them and to fulfill his promises to David and the nation.

[49:8]  ¹⁹ tn The translation assumes the verb is derived from the root נָצָר (natsar, “protect”). Some prefer to derive it from the root יָצָר (yatsar, “form”).

[49:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “a covenant of people.” A person cannot literally be a covenant; בְּרִית (bÿrit) is probably metonymic here, indicating a covenant mediator. Here עָם (’am, “people”) appears to refer to Israel. See the note at 42:6.

[49:8]  ²¹ tn The Hiphil of קוּם (qum, “arise”) is probably used here in the sense of “rebuild.”

[49:8]  ²² tn The “land” probably stands by metonymy for the ruins within it.

[62:7]  ²³ tn “Jerusalem” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons; note the following line.

[62:7]  ²⁴ tn Heb “[the object of] praise.”

[16:25]  ²⁵ tc There is a considerable degree of difference among the mss regarding the presence and position of the doxology of 16:25-27. Five situations present themselves from the ms tradition. The doxology is found in the ancient witnesses in three separate locations: (1) here after 16:23 (Ì⁶¹ א B C D 81 365 630 1739 2464 al co), (2) after 14:23 (Ψ 0209^vid Ï), or (3) after 15:33 (Ì⁴⁶). The situation is further complicated in that some of the mss have these verses in two places: (4) after 14:23 and after 16:23 (A P 33 104 2805 pc); or (5) after 14:23 and after 15:33 (1506). The uncertain position of the doxology might suggest that it was added by later scribes. But since the mss containing the doxology are so early and widespread, it almost certainly belongs in Romans; it is only a question of where. Further, the witnesses that omit the doxology are few: F G 629 Hier^mss. (And of these, G has a blank space of several lines large enough for the doxology to belong there.) Only two positions (after chapter 14 only and at the end of the letter only) deserve particular notice because the situation of the mss showing the doxology in two places dates back to the 5th century. Later copyists, faced with the doxology in two different places in the mss they knew, may have decided to copy the doxology in both places, since they were unwilling to consciously omit any text. Because the textual disruption of the doxology is so early, TCGNT 472 suggests two possibilities: either (1) that Paul may have sent two different copies of Romans – a copy lacking chapter 16 and a copy with the full text of the epistle as we now have it, or (2) Marcion or some of his followers circulated a shortened form of the epistle that lacked chapters 15 and 16. Those mss that lacked chapters 15-16 would naturally conclude with some kind of doxology after chapter 14. On the other hand, H. Gamble (The Textual History of the Letter to the Romans [SD], 123-32) argues for the position of the doxology at 14:23, since to put the doxology at 16:25 would violate Paul’s normal pattern of a grace-benediction at the close of the letter. Gamble further argues for the inclusion of 16:24, since the mss that put the doxology after chapter 14 almost always present 16:24 as the letter’s closing, whereas most of the mss that put the doxology at its traditional position drop 16:24, perhaps because it would be redundant before 16:25-27. A decision is difficult, but the weight of external evidence, since it is both early and geographically widespread, suggests that the doxology belongs here after 16:23. For a full discussion, see TCGNT 470-73.

[2:7]  ²⁶ tn Or “having been rooted.”

[2:7]  ²⁷ sn The three participles rooted, built up, and firm belong together and reflect three different metaphors. The first participle “rooted” (perfect tense) indicates a settled condition on the part of the Colossian believers and refers to horticulture. The second participle “built up” (present passive) comes from the world of architecture. The third participle “firm [established]” (present passive) comes from the law courts. With these three metaphors (as well as the following comment on thankfulness) Paul explains what he means when he commands them to continue to live their lives in Christ. The use of the passive probably reflects God’s activity among them. It was he who had rooted them, had been building them up, and had established them in the faith (cf. 1 Cor 3:5-15 for the use of mixed metaphors).

[2:7]  ²⁸ tn The Greek text has the article τῇ (th), not the possessive pronoun ὑμῶν (Jumwn), but the article often functions as a possessive pronoun and was translated as such here (ExSyn 215).

[2:1]  ²⁹ tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”

[2:1]  ³⁰ tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”

[3:13]  ³¹ tn For the translation of χαριζόμενοι (carizomenoi) as “forgiving,” see BDAG 1078 s.v. χαρίζομαι 3. The two participles “bearing” (ἀνεχόμενοι, anecomenoi) and “forgiving” (χαριζόμενοι) express the means by which the action of the finite verb “clothe yourselves” is to be carried out.

[3:13]  ³² tn Grk “if someone has”; the term “happens,” though not in the Greek text, is inserted to bring out the force of the third class condition.

[3:13]  ³³ tn The expression “forgive others” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. It is included in the translation to make the sentence complete and more comprehensible to the English reader.

[2:8]  ³⁴ tn The Greek construction here is somewhat difficult and can be literally rendered “Be careful, lest someone shall be the one who takes you captive.”

[2:8]  ³⁵ tn The Greek reads τῆς φιλοσοφίας καὶ κενῆς ἀπάτης (th" filosofia" kai kenh" apath"). The two nouns φιλοσοφίας and κενῆς are joined by one article and probably form a hendiadys. Thus the second noun was taken as modifying the first, as the translation shows.

[2:8]  ³⁶ tn The phrase κατὰ τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου (kata ta stoiceia tou kosmou) is difficult to translate because of problems surrounding the precise meaning of στοιχεῖα in this context. Originally it referred to the letters of the alphabet, with the idea at its root of “things in a row”; see C. Vaughn, “Colossians,” EBC 11:198. M. J. Harris (Colossians and Philemon [EGGNT], 93) outlines three probable options: (1) the material elements which comprise the physical world; (2) the elementary teachings of the world (so NEB, NASB, NIV); (3) the elemental spirits of the world (so NEB, RSV). The first option is highly unlikely because Paul is not concerned here with the physical elements, e.g., carbon or nitrogen. The last two options are both possible. Though the Gnostic-like heresy at Colossae would undoubtedly have been regarded by Paul as an “elementary teaching” at best, because the idea of “spirits” played such a role in Gnostic thought, he may very well have had in mind elemental spirits that operated in the world or controlled the world (i.e., under God’s authority and permission).

[2:17]  ³⁷ tn The word “only,” though not in the Greek text, is supplied in the English translation to bring out the force of the Greek phrase.

[2:17]  ³⁸ tn Grk “but the body of Christ.” The term body here, when used in contrast to shadow (σκιά, skia) indicates the opposite meaning, i.e., the reality or substance itself.

[2:17]  ³⁹ tn The genitive τοῦ Χριστοῦ (tou Cristou) is appositional and translated as such: “the reality is Christ.”

[1:10]  ⁴⁰ 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]  ⁴¹ 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.”