2 Corinthians 13:2

13:2 I said before when I was present the second time and now, though absent, I say again to those who sinned previously and to all the rest, that if I come again, I will not spare anyone, ¹ 

2 Corinthians 13:10

13:10 Because of this I am writing these things while absent, so that when I arrive ²  I may not have to deal harshly with you ³  by using my authority – the Lord gave it to me for building up, not for tearing down!

Numbers 16:26-30

16:26 And he said to the community, “Move away from the tents of these wicked ⁴  men, and do not touch anything they have, lest you be destroyed because ⁵  of all their sins.” ⁶  16:27 So they got away from the homes of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram on every side, and Dathan and Abiram came out and stationed themselves ⁷  in the entrances of their tents with their wives, their children, and their toddlers. 16:28 Then Moses said, “This is how ⁸  you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them of my own will. ⁹  16:29 If these men die a natural death, ¹⁰  or if they share the fate ¹¹  of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. 16:30 But if the Lord does something entirely new, ¹²  and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up ¹³  along with all that they have, and they ¹⁴  go down alive to the grave, ¹⁵  then you will know that these men have despised the Lord!”

Acts 5:3-11

5:3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled ¹⁶  your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back for yourself part of the proceeds from the sale of ¹⁷  the land? 5:4 Before it was sold, ¹⁸  did it not ¹⁹  belong to you? And when it was sold, was the money ²⁰  not at your disposal? How have you thought up this deed in your heart? ²¹  You have not lied to people ²²  but to God!”

5:5 When Ananias heard these words he collapsed and died, and great fear gripped ²³  all who heard about it. 5:6 So the young men came, ²⁴  wrapped him up, ²⁵  carried him out, and buried ²⁶  him. 5:7 After an interval of about three hours, ²⁷  his wife came in, but she did not know ²⁸  what had happened. 5:8 Peter said to her, “Tell me, were the two of you ²⁹  paid this amount ³⁰  for the land?” Sapphira ³¹  said, “Yes, that much.” 5:9 Peter then told her, “Why have you agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out!” 5:10 At once ³²  she collapsed at his feet and died. So when the young men came in, they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 5:11 Great ³³  fear gripped ³⁴  the whole church ³⁵  and all who heard about these things.

Acts 13:10-11

13:10 and said, “You who are full of all deceit and all wrongdoing, ³⁶  you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness – will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? ³⁷  13:11 Now ³⁸  look, the hand of the Lord is against ³⁹  you, and you will be blind, unable to see the sun for a time!” Immediately mistiness ⁴⁰  and darkness came over ⁴¹  him, and he went around seeking people ⁴²  to lead him by the hand.

Acts 13:1

The Church at Antioch Commissions Barnabas and Saul

13:1 Now there were these prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch: ⁴³  Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, ⁴⁴  Lucius the Cyrenian, ⁴⁵  Manaen (a close friend of Herod ⁴⁶  the tetrarch ⁴⁷  from childhood ⁴⁸ ) and Saul.

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 1:3-5

Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Church

1:3 We always ⁴⁹  give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 1:4 since ⁵⁰  we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints. 1:5 Your faith and love have arisen ⁵¹  from the hope laid up ⁵²  for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel ⁵³ 

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁵⁴  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:20

1:20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross – through him, ⁵⁵  whether things on earth or things in heaven.

Colossians 1:3

Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Church

1:3 We always ⁵⁶  give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,

Colossians 1:10

1:10 so that you may live ⁵⁷  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ⁵⁸  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

[13:2]  ¹ tn The word “anyone” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[13:10]  ² tn Grk “when I am present,” but in the context of Paul’s third (upcoming) visit to Corinth, this is better translated as “when I arrive.”

[13:10]  ³ tn The words “with you” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[16:26]  ⁴ tn The word רָשָׁע (rasha’) has the sense of a guilty criminal. The word “wicked” sometimes gives the wrong connotation. These men were opposing the Lord, and so were condemned as criminals – they were guilty. The idea of “wickedness” therefore applies in that sense.

[16:26]  ⁵ tn The preposition bet (בְּ) in this line is causal – “on account of their sins.”

[16:26]  ⁶ sn The impression is that the people did not hear what the Lord said to Moses, but only what Moses said to the people as a result. They saw the brilliant cloud, and perhaps heard the sound of his voice, but the relaying of the instructions indicates they did not hear the actual instruction from the Lord himself.

[16:27]  ⁷ tn The verb נִצָּבִים (nitsavim) suggests a defiant stance, for the word is often used in the sense of taking a stand for or against something. It can also be somewhat neutral, having the sense of positioning oneself for a purpose.

[16:28]  ⁸ tn Heb “in this.”

[16:28]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew text simply has כִּי־לֹא מִלִּבִּי (ki-lo’ millibbi, “for not from my heart”). The heart is the center of the will, the place decisions are made (see H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament). Moses is saying that the things he has done have not come “from the will of man” so to speak – and certainly not from some secret desire on his part to seize power.

[16:29]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “if like the death of every man they die.”

[16:29]  ¹¹ tn The noun is פְּקֻדָּה (pÿquddah, “appointment, visitation”). The expression refers to a natural death, parallel to the first expression.

[16:30]  ¹² tn The verb בָּרָא (bara’) is normally translated “create” in the Bible. More specifically it means to fashion or make or do something new and fresh. Here the verb is joined with its cognate accusative to underscore that this will be so different everyone will know it is of God.

[16:30]  ¹³ tn The figures are personifications. But they vividly describe the catastrophe to follow – which was very much like a mouth swallowing them.

[16:30]  ¹⁴ tn The word is “life” or “lifetime”; it certainly means their lives – they themselves. But the presence of this word suggest more. It is an accusative specifying the state of the subject – they will go down alive to Sheol.

[16:30]  ¹⁵ tn The word “Sheol” in the Bible can be used four different ways: the grave, the realm of the departed [wicked] spirits or Hell, death in general, or a place of extreme danger (one that will lead to the grave if God does not intervene). The usage here is certainly the first, and very likely the second as well. A translation of “pit” would not be inappropriate. Since they will go down there alive, it is likely that they will sense the deprivation and the separation from the land above. See H. W. Robinson, Inspiration and Revelation in the Old Testament; N. J. Tromp, Primitive Conceptions of Death and the Netherworld in the Old Testament (BibOr 21), 21-23; and A. Heidel, The Gilgamesh Epic, especially ch. 3.

[5:3]  ¹⁶ sn This is a good example of the Greek verb fill (πληρόω, plhrow) meaning “to exercise control over someone’s thought and action” (cf. Eph 5:18).

[5:3]  ¹⁷ tn The words “from the sale of” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to clarify the meaning, since the phrase “proceeds from the land” could possibly be understood as crops rather than money from the sale.

[5:4]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “Remaining to you.”

[5:4]  ¹⁹ tn The negative interrogative particle οὐχί (ouci) expects a positive reply to this question and the following one (“And when it was sold, was it not at your disposal?”).

[5:4]  ²⁰ tn Grk “it”; the referent of the pronoun (the money generated from the sale of the land) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:4]  ²¹ tn Grk “How is it that you have [or Why have you] placed this deed in your heart?” Both of these literal translations differ from the normal way of expressing the thought in English.

[5:4]  ²² tn Grk “to men.” If Peter’s remark refers only to the apostles, the translation “to men” would be appropriate. But if (as is likely) the action was taken to impress the entire congregation (who would presumably have witnessed the donation or been aware of it) then the more general “to people” is more appropriate, since the audience would have included both men and women.

[5:5]  ²³ tn Or “fear came on,” “fear seized”; Grk “fear happened to.”

[5:6]  ²⁴ tn Or “arose.”

[5:6]  ²⁵ tn The translation “wrapped up” for συνέστειλαν (sunesteilan) is suggested by L&N 79.119, but another interpretation is possible. The same verb could also be translated “removed” (see L&N 15.200), although that sense appears somewhat redundant and out of sequence with the following verb and participle (“carried him out and buried him”).

[5:6]  ²⁶ sn Buried. Same day burial was a custom in the Jewish world of the first century (cf. also Deut 21:23).

[5:7]  ²⁷ tn Grk “It happened that after an interval of about three hours.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[5:7]  ²⁸ tn Grk “came in, not knowing.” The participle has been translated with concessive or adversative force: “although she did not know.” In English, the adversative conjunction (“but”) conveys this nuance more smoothly.

[5:8]  ²⁹ tn The words “the two of” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to indicate that the verb (ἀπέδοσθε, apedosqe) is plural and thus refers to both Ananias and Sapphira.

[5:8]  ³⁰ tn Grk “so much,” “as much as this.”

[5:8]  ³¹ tn Grk “She”; the referent (Sapphira) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:10]  ³² tn Grk “And at once.” 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.

[5:11]  ³³ tn Grk “And great.” 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.

[5:11]  ³⁴ tn Or “fear came on,” “fear seized”; Grk “fear happened to.”

[5:11]  ³⁵ sn This is the first occurrence of the term church (ἐκκλησία, ekklhsia) in Acts. It refers to an assembly of people.

[13:10]  ³⁶ tn Or “unscrupulousness.”

[13:10]  ³⁷ sn “You who…paths of the Lord?” This rebuke is like ones from the OT prophets: Jer 5:27; Gen 32:11; Prov 10:7; Hos 14:9. Five separate remarks indicate the magician’s failings. The closing rhetorical question of v. 10 (“will you not stop…?”) shows how opposed he is to the way of God.

[13:11]  ³⁸ tn Grk “And now.” 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.

[13:11]  ³⁹ tn Grk “upon,” but in a negative sense.

[13:11]  ⁴⁰ sn The term translated mistiness here appears in the writings of the physician Galen as a medical technical description of a person who is blind. The picture of judgment to darkness is symbolic as well. Whatever power Elymas had, it represented darkness. Magic will again be an issue in Acts 19:18-19. This judgment is like that of Ananias and his wife in Acts 5:1-11.

[13:11]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “fell on.”

[13:11]  ⁴² tn The noun χειραγωγός (ceiragwgo") is plural, so “people” is used rather than singular “someone.”

[13:1]  ⁴³ sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia).

[13:1]  ⁴⁴ sn Simeon may well have been from North Africa, since the Latin loanword Niger refers to someone as “dark-complexioned.”

[13:1]  ⁴⁵ sn The Cyrenian refers to a native of the city of Cyrene, on the coast of northern Africa west of Egypt.

[13:1]  ⁴⁶ sn Herod is generally taken as a reference to Herod Antipas, who governed Galilee from 4 b.c. to a.d. 39, who had John the Baptist beheaded, and who is mentioned a number of times in the gospels.

[13:1]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “the governor.”

[13:1]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “(a foster brother of Herod the tetrarch).” The meaning “close friend from childhood” is given by L&N 34.15, but the word can also mean “foster brother” (L&N 10.51). BDAG 976 s.v. σύντροφας states, “pert. to being brought up with someone, either as a foster-brother or as a companion/friend,” which covers both alternatives. Context does not given enough information to be certain which is the case here, although many modern translations prefer the meaning “close friend from childhood.”

[1:3]  ⁴⁹ tn The adverb πάντοτε (pantote) is understood to modify the indicative εὐχαριστοῦμεν (eucaristoumen) because it precedes περὶ ὑμῶν (peri Jumwn) which probably modifies the indicative and not the participle προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi). But see 1:9 where the same expression occurs and περὶ ὑμῶν modifies the participle “praying” (προσευχόμενοι).

[1:4]  ⁵⁰ tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).

[1:5]  ⁵¹ tn Col 1:3-8 form one long sentence in the Greek text and have been divided at the end of v. 4 and v. 6 and within v. 6 for clarity, in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English toward shorter sentences. Thus the phrase “Your faith and love have arisen from the hope” is literally “because of the hope.” The perfect tense “have arisen” was chosen in the English to reflect the fact that the recipients of the letter had acquired this hope at conversion in the past, but that it still remains and motivates them to trust in Christ and to love one another.

[1:5]  ⁵² tn BDAG 113 s.v. ἀπόκειμαι 2 renders ἀποκειμένην (apokeimenhn) with the expression “reserved” in this verse.

[1:5]  ⁵³ tn The term “the gospel” (τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, tou euangeliou) is in apposition to “the word of truth” (τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας, tw logw th" alhqeia") as indicated in the translation.

[1:1]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:20]  ⁵⁵ tc The presence or absence of the second occurrence of the phrase δι᾿ αὐτοῦ (di’ autou, “through him”) is a difficult textual problem to solve. External evidence is fairly evenly divided. Many ancient and excellent witnesses lack the phrase (B D* F G I 0278 81 1175 1739 1881 2464 al latt sa), but equally important witnesses have it (Ì⁴⁶ א A C D¹ Ψ 048^vid 33 Ï). Both readings have strong Alexandrian support, which makes the problem difficult to decide on external evidence alone. Internal evidence points to the inclusion of the phrase as original. The word immediately preceding the phrase is the masculine pronoun αὐτοῦ (autou); thus the possibility of omission through homoioteleuton in various witnesses is likely. Scribes might have deleted the phrase because of perceived redundancy or awkwardness in the sense: The shorter reading is smoother and more elegant, so scribes would be prone to correct the text in that direction. As far as style is concerned, repetition of key words and phrases for emphasis is not foreign to the corpus Paulinum (see, e.g., Rom 8:23, Eph 1:13, 2 Cor 12:7). In short, it is easier to account for the shorter reading arising from the longer reading than vice versa, so the longer reading is more likely original.

[1:3]  ⁵⁶ tn The adverb πάντοτε (pantote) is understood to modify the indicative εὐχαριστοῦμεν (eucaristoumen) because it precedes περὶ ὑμῶν (peri Jumwn) which probably modifies the indicative and not the participle προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi). But see 1:9 where the same expression occurs and περὶ ὑμῶν modifies the participle “praying” (προσευχόμενοι).

[1:10]  ⁵⁷ 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]  ⁵⁸ 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.”