2 Corinthians 11:1

Paul and His Opponents

11:1 I wish that you would be patient with me in a little foolishness, but indeed you are being patient with me!

2 Corinthians 11:16-17

Paul’s Sufferings for Christ

11:16 I say again, let no one think that I am a fool. ¹  But if you do, then at least accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little. 11:17 What I am saying with this boastful confidence ²  I do not say the way the Lord would. ³  Instead it is, as it were, foolishness.

2 Corinthians 12:6

12:6 For even if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I would be telling ⁴  the truth, but I refrain from this so that no one may regard ⁵  me beyond what he sees in me or what he hears from me,

2 Corinthians 12:11

The Signs of an Apostle

12:11 I have become a fool. You yourselves forced me to do it, for I should have been commended by you. For I lack nothing in comparison ⁶  to those “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing.

Acts 26:24-25

26:24 As Paul ⁷  was saying these things in his defense, Festus ⁸  exclaimed loudly, “You have lost your mind, ⁹  Paul! Your great learning is driving you insane!” 26:25 But Paul replied, ¹⁰  “I have not lost my mind, most excellent Festus, ¹¹  but am speaking ¹²  true and rational ¹³  words.

Acts 26:1

Paul Offers His Defense

26:1 So Agrippa ¹⁴  said to Paul, “You have permission ¹⁵  to speak for yourself.” Then Paul held out his hand ¹⁶  and began his defense: ¹⁷ 

Colossians 4:10-13

4:10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions; if he comes to you, welcome him). 4:11 And Jesus who is called Justus also sends greetings. In terms of Jewish converts, ¹⁸  these are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a slave ¹⁹  of Christ, ²⁰  greets you. He is always struggling in prayer on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured ²¹  in all the will of God. 4:13 For I can testify that he has worked hard ²²  for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis.

Colossians 4:1

4:1 Masters, treat your slaves with justice and fairness, because you know that you also have a master in heaven.

Colossians 2:3-11

2:3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 2:4 I say this so that no one will deceive you through arguments ²³  that sound reasonable. ²⁴  2:5 For though ²⁵  I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, rejoicing to see ²⁶  your morale ²⁷  and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Warnings Against the Adoption of False Philosophies

2:6 Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, ²⁸  continue to live your lives ²⁹  in him, 2:7 rooted ³⁰  and built up in him and firm ³¹  in your ³²  faith just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. 2:8 Be careful not to allow anyone to captivate you ³³  through an empty, deceitful philosophy ³⁴  that is according to human traditions and the elemental spirits ³⁵  of the world, and not according to Christ. 2:9 For in him all the fullness of deity lives ³⁶  in bodily form, 2:10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head over every ruler and authority. 2:11 In him you also were circumcised – not, however, ³⁷  with a circumcision performed by human hands, but by the removal ³⁸  of the fleshly body, ³⁹  that is, ⁴⁰  through the circumcision done by Christ.

[11:16]  ¹ tn Or “am foolish.”

[11:17]  ² tn Grk “with this confidence of boasting.” The genitive καυχήσεως (kauchsew") has been translated as an attributed genitive (the noun in the genitive gives an attribute of the noun modified).

[11:17]  ³ tn Or “say with the Lord’s authority.”

[12:6]  ⁴ tn Or “speaking.”

[12:6]  ⁵ tn Or “may think of.”

[12:11]  ⁶ tn Or “I am in no way inferior.”

[26:24]  ⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:24]  ⁸ sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.

[26:24]  ⁹ tn On the term translated “lost your mind” see BDAG 610 s.v. μαίνομαι, which has “you’re out of your mind, you’re raving, said to one whose enthusiasm seems to have outrun better judgment 26:24.”

[26:25]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “said.”

[26:25]  ¹¹ sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.

[26:25]  ¹² tn Or “declaring.” BDAG 125 s.v. ἀποφθέγγομαι states, “speak out, declare boldly or loudly…τὶ: σωφροσύνης ῥήματα Ac 26:25.”

[26:25]  ¹³ tn BDAG 987 s.v. σωφροσύνη 1 has “gener. soundness of mind, reasonableness, rationality…ἀληθείας καὶ σωφροσύνης ῥήματα true and rational words (opp. μαίνομαι) Ac 26:25.”

[26:1]  ¹⁴ sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.

[26:1]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “It is permitted for you.”

[26:1]  ¹⁶ tn Or “extended his hand” (a speaker’s gesture).

[26:1]  ¹⁷ tn Or “and began to speak in his own defense.”

[4:11]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “those of the circumcision.” The verse as a whole is difficult to translate because it is unclear whether Paul is saying (1) that the only people working with him are Jewish converts at the time the letter is being written or previously, or (2) that Aristarchus, Mark, and Jesus Justus were the only Jewish Christians who ever worked with him. Verses 12-14 appear to indicate that Luke and Demas, who were Gentiles, were also working currently with Paul. This is the view adopted in the translation. See M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 207-8.

[4:12]  ¹⁹ tn See the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.

[4:12]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn Or “filled.”

[4:13]  ²² tn Grk “pain.” This word appears only three times in the NT outside of this verse (Rev 16:10, 11; 21:4) where the translation “pain” makes sense. For the present verse it has been translated “worked hard.” See BDAG 852 s.v. πόνος 1.

[2:4]  ²³ tn BDAG 812 s.v. πιθανολογία states, “persuasive speech, art of persuasion (so Pla., Theaet. 162e) in an unfavorable sense in its only occurrence in our lit. ἐν πιθανολογίᾳ by specious arguments Col 2:4 (cp. PLips 40 III, 7 διὰ πιθανολογίας).”

[2:4]  ²⁴ sn Paul’s point is that even though the arguments seem to make sense (sound reasonable), they are in the end false. Paul is not here arguing against the study of philosophy or serious thinking per se, but is arguing against the uncritical adoption of a philosophy that is at odds with a proper view of Christ and the ethics of the Christian life.

[2:5]  ²⁵ tn The conditional particle εἰ (ei) together with καί (kai) here indicates a first class condition in Greek and carries a concessive force, especially when seen in contrast to the following phrase which begins with ἀλλά (alla).

[2:5]  ²⁶ tn Grk “rejoicing and seeing.”

[2:5]  ²⁷ tn The Greek word τάξις can mean “order,” “discipline,” or even “unbroken ranks” (REB).

[2:6]  ²⁸ tn Though the verb παρελάβετε (parelabete) does not often take a double accusative, here it seems to do so. Both τὸν Χριστὸν ᾿Ιησοῦν (ton Criston Ihsoun) and τὸν κύριον (ton kurion) are equally definite insofar as they both have an article, but both the word order and the use of “Christ Jesus” as a proper name suggest that it is the object (cf. Rom 10:9, 10). Thus Paul is affirming that the tradition that was delivered to the Colossians by Epaphras was Christ-centered and focused on him as Lord.

[2:6]  ²⁹ tn The present imperative περιπατεῖτε (peripateite) implies, in this context, a continuation of something already begun. This is evidenced by the fact that Paul has already referred to their faith as “orderly” and “firm” (2:5), despite the struggles of some of them with this deceptive heresy (cf. 2:16-23). The verb is used literally to refer to a person “walking” and is thus used metaphorically (i.e., ethically) to refer to the way a person lives his or her life.

[2:7]  ³⁰ tn Or “having been rooted.”

[2:7]  ³¹ 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]  ³² 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).

[2:8]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ 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).

[2:9]  ³⁶ sn In him all the fullness of deity lives. The present tense in this verse (“lives”) is significant. Again, as was stated in the note on 1:19, this is not a temporary dwelling, but a permanent one. Paul’s point is polemical against the idea that the fullness of God dwells anywhere else, as the Gnostics believed, except in Christ alone. At the incarnation, the second person of the Trinity assumed humanity, and is forever the God-man.

[2:11]  ³⁷ tn The terms “however” and “but” in this sentence were supplied in order to emphasize the contrast.

[2:11]  ³⁸ tn The articular noun τῇ ἀπεκδύσει (th apekdusei) is a noun which ends in -σις (-sis) and therefore denotes action, i.e., “removal.” Since the head noun is a verbal noun, the following genitive τοῦ σώματος (tou swmatos) is understood as an objective genitive, receiving the action of the head noun.

[2:11]  ³⁹ tn Grk “in the removal of the body of flesh.” The genitive τῆς σαρκός (th" sarko") has been translated as an attributive genitive, “fleshly body.”

[2:11]  ⁴⁰ tn The second prepositional phrase beginning with ἐν τῇ περιτομῇ (en th peritomh) is parallel to the prepositional phrase ἐν τῇ ἀπεκδύσει (en th apekdusei) and gives a further explanation of it. The words “that is” were supplied to bring out this force in the translation.