2 Corinthians 12:9-10

12:9 But ¹  he said to me, “My grace is enough ²  for you, for my ³  power is made perfect ⁴  in weakness.” So then, I will boast most gladly ⁵  about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in ⁶  me. 12:10 Therefore I am content with ⁷  weaknesses, with insults, with troubles, with persecutions and difficulties ⁸  for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

Ephesians 3:16

3:16 I pray that ⁹  according to the wealth of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person,

Philippians 4:13

4:13 I am able to do all things ¹⁰  through the one ¹¹  who strengthens me.

Colossians 1:11

1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of ¹²  all patience and steadfastness, joyfully

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ¹³  brothers and sisters ¹⁴  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ¹⁵  from God our Father! ¹⁶ 

Colossians 4:17-18

4:17 And tell Archippus, “See to it that you complete the ministry you received in the Lord.”

4:18 I, Paul, write this greeting by my own hand. ¹⁷  Remember my chains. ¹⁸  Grace be with you. ¹⁹ 

Zechariah 10:6

10:6 “I (says the Lord) will strengthen the kingdom ²⁰  of Judah and deliver the people of Joseph ²¹  and will bring them back ²²  because of my compassion for them. They will be as though I had never rejected them, for I am the Lord their God and therefore I will hear them.

Zechariah 10:12

10:12 Thus I will strengthen them by my power, ²³  and they will walk about ²⁴  in my name,” says the Lord.

[12:9]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” because of the contrast implicit in the context.

[12:9]  ² tn Or “is sufficient.”

[12:9]  ³ tc The majority of later mss (א² A^c D¹ Ψ 0243 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï) as well as some versional witnesses include the pronoun “my” here, but the omission of the pronoun has excellent external support (Ì^46vid א* A* B D* F G latt). Scribes probably added the pronoun for clarity, making the obvious referent explicit. This would also make “power” more parallel with “my grace.” Though the original text probably did not include “my,” scribes who added the word were following the sense of Paul’s statement.

[12:9]  ⁴ tn Or “my power comes to full strength.”

[12:9]  ⁵ tn “Most gladly,” a comparative form used with superlative meaning and translated as such.

[12:9]  ⁶ tn Or “may rest on.”

[12:10]  ⁷ tn Or “I take delight in.”

[12:10]  ⁸ tn Or “calamities.”

[3:16]  ⁹ tn Grk “that.” In Greek v. 16 is a subordinate clause to vv. 14-15.

[4:13]  ¹⁰ tn The Greek word translated “all things” is in emphatic position at the beginning of the Greek sentence.

[4:13]  ¹¹ tc Although some excellent witnesses lack explicit reference to the one strengthening Paul (so א* A B D* I 33 1739 lat co Cl), the majority of witnesses (א² D² [F G] Ψ 075 1881 Ï sy) add Χριστῷ (Cristw) here (thus, “through Christ who strengthens me”). But this kind of reading is patently secondary, and is a predictable variant. Further, the shorter reading is much harder, for it leaves the agent unspecified.

[1:11]  ¹² tn The expression “for the display of” is an attempt to convey in English the force of the Greek preposition εἰς (eis) in this context.

[1:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ¹⁶ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.

[4:18]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “the greeting by my hand, of Paul.”

[4:18]  ¹⁸ tn Or “my imprisonment.”

[4:18]  ¹⁹ tc Most witnesses, including a few important ones (א² D Ψ 075 0278 Ï lat sy), conclude this letter with ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”). Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Further, the external evidence for the omission is quite compelling (א* A B C F G 048 6 33 81 1739* 1881 sa). The strongly preferred reading is therefore the omission of ἀμήν.

[10:6]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the house.”

[10:6]  ²¹ tn Or “the kingdom of Israel”; Heb “the house of Joseph.”

[10:6]  ²² tc The anomalous MT reading וְחוֹשְׁבוֹתִים (vÿkhoshÿvotim) should probably be וַהֲשִׁי בוֹתִם (vahashi votim), the Hiphil perfect consecutive of שׁוּב (shuv), “return” (cf. Jer 12:15).

[10:12]  ²³ tc Heb “I will strengthen them in the Lord.” Because of the perceived problem of the Lord saying he will strengthen the people “in the Lord,” both BHK and BHS suggest emending גִּבַּרְתִּים (gibbartim, “I will strengthen them”) to גְּבֻרָתָם (gevuratam, “their strength”). This is unnecessary, however, for the Lord frequently refers to himself in that manner (see Zech 2:11).

[10:12]  ²⁴ tc The LXX and Syriac presuppose יִתְהַלָּלוּ (yithallalu, “they will glory”) for יִתְהַלְּכוּ (yithallÿkhu, “they will walk about”). Since walking about is a common idiom in Zechariah (cf. 1:10, 11; 6:7 [3x]) to speak of dominion, and dominion is a major theme of the present passage, there is no reason to reject the MT reading, which is followed by most modern English versions.