2 Corinthians 8:2

8:2 that during a severe ordeal of suffering, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in the wealth ¹  of their generosity.

2 Corinthians 8:7

8:7 But as you excel ²  in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, and in all eagerness and in the love from us that is in you ³  – make sure that you excel ⁴  in this act of kindness ⁵  too.

Acts 9:36

Peter Raises Dorcas

9:36 Now in Joppa ⁶  there was a disciple named Tabitha (which in translation means ⁷  Dorcas). ⁸  She was continually doing good deeds and acts of charity. ⁹ 

Acts 9:1

The Conversion of Saul

9:1 Meanwhile Saul, still breathing out threats ¹⁰  to murder ¹¹  the Lord’s disciples, went to the high priest

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹²  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Ephesians 2:10

2:10 For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them. ¹³ 

Colossians 1:10

1:10 so that you may live ¹⁴  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ¹⁵  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ¹⁶  brothers and sisters ¹⁷  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ¹⁸  from God our Father! ¹⁹ 

Colossians 2:17

2:17 these are only ²⁰  the shadow of the things to come, but the reality ²¹  is Christ! ²² 

Colossians 2:2

2:2 My goal is that ²³  their hearts, having been knit together ²⁴  in love, may be encouraged, and that ²⁵  they may have all the riches that assurance brings in their understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely, Christ, ²⁶ 

Colossians 3:17

3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Titus 2:14

2:14 He ²⁷  gave himself for us to set us free from every kind of lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are truly his, ²⁸  who are eager to do good. ²⁹ 

Titus 3:8

Summary of the Letter

3:8 This saying ³⁰  is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on such truths, ³¹  so that those who have placed their faith in God may be intent on engaging in good works. These things are good and beneficial for all people.

Titus 3:14

3:14 Here is another way that our people ³²  can learn ³³  to engage in good works to meet pressing needs and so not be unfruitful.

[8:2]  ¹ tn Or “riches.”

[8:7]  ² tn Grk “as you abound.”

[8:7]  ³ tc The reading “the love from us that is in you” is very difficult in this context, for Paul is here enumerating the Corinthians’ attributes: How is it possible for them to excel “in the love from us that is in you”? Most likely, because of this difficulty, several early scribes, as well as most later ones (א C D F G Ψ [33] Ï lat), altered the text to read “your love for us” (so NIV; Grk ἐξ ὑμῶν ἐν ἡμῖν ἀγάπῃ [ex Jumwn en Jhmin agaph]). The reading ἐξ ἡμῶν ἐν ὑμῖν ἀγάπῃ (ex Jhmwn en Jumin agaph) is found, however, in excellent and early witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ B 0243 6 104 630 1175 1739 1881 co). As the harder reading it explains the rise of the other reading. What, then, is the force of “in the love from us that is in you”? Most likely, Paul is commending the Corinthians for excelling in deriving some inspiration from the apostles’ love for them.

[8:7]  ⁴ tn Grk “you abound.”

[8:7]  ⁵ tn Grk “this grace.”

[9:36]  ⁶ sn Joppa was a seaport on the Philistine coast, in the same location as modern Jaffa. “Though Joppa never became a major seaport, it was of some importance as a logistical base and an outlet to the Mediterranean” (A. F. Rainey, ISBE 2:1118-19).

[9:36]  ⁷ tn Grk “which being translated is called.” In English this would normally be expressed “which is translated as” or “which in translation means.” The second option is given by L&N 33.145.

[9:36]  ⁸ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. Dorcas is the Greek translation of the Aramaic name Tabitha. Dorcas in Greek means “gazelle” or “deer.”

[9:36]  ⁹ tn Or “and helping the poor.” Grk “She was full of good deeds and acts of charity which she was continually doing.” Since it is somewhat redundant in English to say “she was full of good deeds…which she was continually doing,” the translation has been simplified to “she was continually doing good deeds and acts of charity.” The imperfect verb ἐποίει (epoiei) has been translated as a progressive imperfect (“was continually doing”).

[9:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “Saul, making dire threats.”

[9:1]  ¹¹ tn The expression “breathing out threats and murder” is an idiomatic expression for “making threats to murder” (see L&N 33.293). Although the two terms “threats” and “murder” are syntactically coordinate, the second is semantically subordinate to the first. In other words, the content of the threats is to murder the disciples.

[1:1]  ¹² tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[2:10]  ¹³ tn Grk “so that we might walk in them” (or “by them”).

[1:10]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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.”

[1:2]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ¹⁹ 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.

[2:17]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ 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]  ²² tn The genitive τοῦ Χριστοῦ (tou Cristou) is appositional and translated as such: “the reality is Christ.”

[2:2]  ²³ tn Verse two begins a subordinate ἵνα (Jina) clause which was divided up into two sentences for the sake of clarity in English. Thus the phrase “My goal is that” is an attempt to reflect in the translation the purpose expressed through the ἵνα clauses.

[2:2]  ²⁴ tn BDAG 956 s.v. συμβιβάζω 1.b reads “unite, knit together.” Some commentators take the verb as a reference to instruction, “instructed in love.” See P. T. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon (WBC), 93.

[2:2]  ²⁵ tn The phrase “and that” translates the first εἰς (eis) clause of v. 2 and reflects the second goal of Paul’s striving and struggle for the Colossians – the first is “encouragement” and the second is “full assurance.”

[2:2]  ²⁶ tc There are at least a dozen variants here, almost surely generated by the unusual wording τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ (tou qeou, Cristou, “of God, Christ”; so Ì⁴⁶ B Hil). Scribes would be prone to conform this to more common Pauline expressions such as “of God, who is in Christ” (33), “of God, the Father of Christ” (א* A C 048^vid 1175 bo), and “of the God and Father of Christ” (א² Ψ 075 0278 365 1505 pc). Even though the external support for the wording τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ is hardly overwhelming, it clearly best explains the rise of the other readings and should thus be regarded as authentic.

[2:14]  ²⁷ tn Grk “who” (as a continuation of the previous clause).

[2:14]  ²⁸ tn Or “a people who are his very own.”

[2:14]  ²⁹ tn Grk “for good works.”

[3:8]  ³⁰ sn This saying (Grk “the saying”) refers to the preceding citation (Titus 3:4-7). See 1 Tim 1:15; 3:1; 4:9; 2 Tim 2:11 for other occurrences of this phrase.

[3:8]  ³¹ tn Grk “concerning these things.”

[3:14]  ³² tn Grk “that those who are ours” (referring to the Christians).

[3:14]  ³³ tn Grk “and also let our people learn.”