2 Samuel 22:36

22:36 You give me ¹  your protective shield; ² 

your willingness to help enables me to prevail. ³ 

Isaiah 40:11

40:11 Like a shepherd he tends his flock;

he gathers up the lambs with his arm;

he carries them close to his heart; ⁴ 

he leads the ewes along.

Matthew 11:29

11:29 Take my yoke ⁵  on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Matthew 11:2

Jesus and John the Baptist

11:2 Now when John ⁶  heard in prison about the deeds Christ ⁷  had done, he sent his disciples to ask a question: ⁸ 

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁹  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Galatians 5:22

5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit ¹⁰  is love, ¹¹  joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ¹² 

Galatians 6:1

Support One Another

6:1 Brothers and sisters, ¹³  if a person ¹⁴  is discovered in some sin, ¹⁵  you who are spiritual ¹⁶  restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness. ¹⁷  Pay close attention ¹⁸  to yourselves, so that you are not tempted too.

Ephesians 4:2

4:2 with all humility and gentleness, ¹⁹  with patience, bearing with ²⁰  one another in love,

Philippians 4:5

4:5 Let everyone see your gentleness. ²¹  The Lord is near!

Colossians 3:12-13

Exhortation to Unity and Love

3:12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, ²²  kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 3:13 bearing with one another and forgiving ²³  one another, if someone happens to have ²⁴  a complaint against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others. ²⁵ 

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 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 2:2

2:2 My goal is that ²⁹  their hearts, having been knit together ³⁰  in love, may be encouraged, and that ³¹  they may have all the riches that assurance brings in their understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely, Christ, ³² 

Colossians 2:1

2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, ³³  and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. ³⁴ 

Colossians 2:1

2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, ³⁵  and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. ³⁶ 

James 1:19-20

Living Out the Message

1:19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters! ³⁷  Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. 1:20 For human ³⁸  anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness. ³⁹ 

James 3:17

3:17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, accommodating, ⁴⁰  full of mercy and good fruit, ⁴¹  impartial, and not hypocritical. ⁴² 

James 3:1

The Power of the Tongue

3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, ⁴³  because you know that we will be judged more strictly. ⁴⁴ 

James 3:8

3:8 But no human being can subdue the tongue; it is a restless ⁴⁵  evil, full of deadly poison.

[22:36]  ¹ tn Another option is to translate the prefixed verb with vav consecutive with a past tense, “you gave me.” Several prefixed verbal forms with vav consecutive also appear in vv. 38-44. The present translation understands this section as a description of what generally happened when the author charged into battle, but another option is to understand the section as narrative and translate accordingly.

[22:36]  ² tc Ps 18:35 contains an additional line following this one, which reads “your right hand supports me.” It may be omitted here due to homoioarcton. See the note at Ps 18:35.

[22:36]  ³ tn Heb “your answer makes me great.” David refers to God’s willingness to answer his prayer.

[40:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “in his bosom” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV), an expression which reflects closeness and protective care.

[11:29]  ⁵ sn A yoke is a wooden bar or frame that joins two animals like oxen or horses so that they can pull a wagon, plow, etc. together. Here it is used figuratively of the restrictions that a teacher or rabbi would place on his followers.

[11:2]  ⁶ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[11:2]  ⁷ tc The Western codex D and a few other mss (0233 1424 al) read “Jesus” here instead of “Christ.” This is not likely to be original because it is not found in the earliest and most important mss, nor in the rest of the ms tradition.

[11:2]  ⁸ tc Instead of “by his disciples” (see the tn below for the reading of the Greek), the majority of later mss (C³ L ˹ Ï lat bo) have “two of his disciples.” The difference in Greek, however, is only two letters: διὰ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ vs. δύο τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ (dia twn maqhtwn autou vs. duo twn maqhtwn autou). Although an accidental alteration could account for either of these readings, it is more likely that δύο is an assimilation to the parallel in Luke 7:18. Further, διά is read by a good number of early and excellent witnesses (א B C* D P W Z Δ Θ 0233 ˹³ 33 sa), and thus should be considered original.

[1:1]  ⁹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[5:22]  ¹⁰ tn That is, the fruit the Spirit produces.

[5:22]  ¹¹ sn Another way to punctuate this is “love” followed by a colon (love: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control). It is thus possible to read the eight characteristics following “love” as defining love.

[5:22]  ¹² tn Or “reliability”; see BDAG 818 s.v. πίστις 1.a.

[6:1]  ¹³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:11.

[6:1]  ¹⁴ tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense, referring to both men and women.

[6:1]  ¹⁵ tn Or “some transgression” (L&N 88.297).

[6:1]  ¹⁶ sn Who are spiritual refers to people who are controlled and directed by God’s Spirit.

[6:1]  ¹⁷ tn Or “with a gentle spirit” or “gently.”

[6:1]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “taking careful notice.”

[4:2]  ¹⁹ tn Or “meekness.” The word is often used in Hellenistic Greek of the merciful execution of justice on behalf of those who have no voice by those who are in a position of authority (Matt 11:29; 21:5).

[4:2]  ²⁰ tn Or “putting up with”; or “forbearing.”

[4:5]  ²¹ tn Grk “let your gentleness be seen by all.” The passive voice construction has been converted to active voice in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[3:12]  ²² tn If the genitive construct σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμοῦ (splancna oiktirmou) is a hendiadys then it would be “compassion” or “tenderheartedness.” See M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 161.

[3:13]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ 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.

[2:7]  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).

[2:2]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ 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]  ³² 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.

[2:1]  ³³ tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”

[2:1]  ³⁴ tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”

[2:1]  ³⁵ tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”

[2:1]  ³⁶ tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”

[1:19]  ³⁷ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[1:20]  ³⁸ tn The word translated “human” here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” But it sometimes is used generically to mean “anyone,” “a person” (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 2), and in this context, contrasted with “God’s righteousness,” the point is “human” anger (not exclusively “male” anger).

[1:20]  ³⁹ sn God’s righteousness could refer to (1) God’s righteous standard, (2) the righteousness God gives, (3) righteousness before God, or (4) God’s eschatological righteousness (see P. H. Davids, James [NIGTC], 93, for discussion).

[3:17]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “willing to yield,” “open to persuasion.”

[3:17]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “fruits.” The plural Greek term καρπούς has been translated with the collective singular “fruit.”

[3:17]  ⁴² tn Or “sincere.”

[3:1]  ⁴³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[3:1]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “will receive a greater judgment.”

[3:8]  ⁴⁵ tc Most mss (C Ψ 1739^c Ï as well as a few versions and fathers) read “uncontrollable” (ἀκατασχετόν, akatasceton), while the most important witnesses (א A B K P 1739* latt) have “restless” (ἀκατάστατον, akatastaton). Externally, the latter reading should be preferred. Internally, however, things get a bit more complex. The notion of being uncontrollable is well suited to the context, especially as a counterbalance to v. 8a, though for this very reason scribes may have been tempted to replace ἀκατάστατον with ἀκατασχετόν. However, in a semantically parallel early Christian text, ἀκατάστατος (akatastato") was considered strong enough of a term to denounce slander as “a restless demon” (Herm. 27:3). On the other hand, ἀκατάστατον may have been substituted for ἀκατασχετόν by way of assimilation to 1:8 (especially since both words were relatively rare, scribes may have replaced the less familiar with one that was already used in this letter). On internal evidence, it is difficult to decide, though ἀκατασχετόν is slightly preferred. However, in light of the strong support for ἀκατάστατον, and the less-than-decisive internal evidence, ἀκατάστατον is preferred instead.