Genesis 42:1-38

Joseph’s Brothers in Egypt

42:1 When Jacob heard ¹  there was grain in Egypt, he ²  said to his sons, “Why are you looking at each other?” ³  42:2 He then said, “Look, I hear that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy grain for us ⁴  so that we may live ⁵  and not die.” ⁶ 

42:3 So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 42:4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, ⁷  for he said, ⁸  “What if some accident ⁹  happens ¹⁰  to him?” 42:5 So Israel’s sons came to buy grain among the other travelers, ¹¹  for the famine was severe in the land of Canaan.

42:6 Now Joseph was the ruler of the country, the one who sold grain to all the people of the country. ¹²  Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down ¹³  before him with ¹⁴  their faces to the ground. 42:7 When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger ¹⁵  to them and spoke to them harshly. He asked, “Where do you come from?” They answered, ¹⁶  “From the land of Canaan, to buy grain for food.” ¹⁷ 

42:8 Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. 42:9 Then Joseph remembered ¹⁸  the dreams he had dreamed about them, and he said to them, “You are spies; you have come to see if our land is vulnerable!” ¹⁹ 

42:10 But they exclaimed, ²⁰  “No, my lord! Your servants have come to buy grain for food! 42:11 We are all the sons of one man; we are honest men! Your servants are not spies.”

42:12 “No,” he insisted, “but you have come to see if our land is vulnerable.” ²¹  42:13 They replied, “Your servants are from a family of twelve brothers. ²²  We are the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is with our father at this time, ²³  and one is no longer alive.” ²⁴ 

42:14 But Joseph told them, “It is just as I said to you: ²⁵  You are spies! 42:15 You will be tested in this way: As surely as Pharaoh lives, ²⁶  you will not depart from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 42:16 One of you must go and get ²⁷  your brother, while ²⁸  the rest of you remain in prison. ²⁹  In this way your words may be tested to see if ³⁰  you are telling the truth. ³¹  If not, then, as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” 42:17 He imprisoned ³²  them all for three days. 42:18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do as I say ³³  and you will live, ³⁴  for I fear God. ³⁵  42:19 If you are honest men, leave one of your brothers confined here in prison ³⁶  while the rest of you go ³⁷  and take grain back for your hungry families. ³⁸  42:20 But you must bring ³⁹  your youngest brother to me. Then ⁴⁰  your words will be verified ⁴¹  and you will not die.” They did as he said. ⁴² 

42:21 They said to one other, ⁴³  “Surely we’re being punished ⁴⁴  because of our brother, because we saw how distressed he was ⁴⁵  when he cried to us for mercy, but we refused to listen. That is why this distress ⁴⁶  has come on us!” 42:22 Reuben said to them, “Didn’t I say to you, ‘Don’t sin against the boy,’ but you wouldn’t listen? So now we must pay for shedding his blood!” ⁴⁷  42:23 (Now ⁴⁸  they did not know that Joseph could understand them, ⁴⁹  for he was speaking through an interpreter.) ⁵⁰  42:24 He turned away from them and wept. When he turned around and spoke to them again, ⁵¹  he had Simeon taken ⁵²  from them and tied up ⁵³  before their eyes.

42:25 Then Joseph gave orders to fill ⁵⁴  their bags with grain, to return each man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. His orders were carried out. ⁵⁵  42:26 So they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left. ⁵⁶ 

42:27 When one of them ⁵⁷  opened his sack to get feed for his donkey at their resting place, ⁵⁸  he saw his money in the mouth of his sack. ⁵⁹  42:28 He said to his brothers, “My money was returned! Here it is in my sack!” They were dismayed; ⁶⁰  they turned trembling one to another ⁶¹  and said, “What in the world has God done to us?” ⁶² 

42:29 They returned to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan and told him all the things that had happened to them, saying, 42:30 “The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly to us and treated us ⁶³  as if we were ⁶⁴  spying on the land. 42:31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies! 42:32 We are from a family of twelve brothers; we are the sons of one father. ⁶⁵  One is no longer alive, ⁶⁶  and the youngest is with our father at this time ⁶⁷  in the land of Canaan.’

42:33 “Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘This is how I will find out if you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain ⁶⁸  for your hungry households and go. 42:34 But bring your youngest brother back to me so I will know ⁶⁹  that you are honest men and not spies. ⁷⁰  Then I will give your brother back to you and you may move about freely in the land.’” ⁷¹ 

42:35 When they were emptying their sacks, there was each man’s bag of money in his sack! When they and their father saw the bags of money, they were afraid. 42:36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You are making me childless! Joseph is gone. ⁷²  Simeon is gone. ⁷³  And now you want to take ⁷⁴  Benjamin! Everything is against me.”

42:37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may ⁷⁵  put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my care ⁷⁶  and I will bring him back to you.” 42:38 But Jacob ⁷⁷  replied, “My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left. ⁷⁸  If an accident happens to him on the journey you have to make, then you will bring down my gray hair ⁷⁹  in sorrow to the grave.” ⁸⁰ 

Genesis 11:21

11:21 And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

Genesis 15:19

15:19 the land ⁸¹  of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,

Genesis 26:18-20

26:18 Isaac reopened ⁸²  the wells that had been dug ⁸³  back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up ⁸⁴  after Abraham died. Isaac ⁸⁵  gave these wells ⁸⁶  the same names his father had given them. ⁸⁷ 

26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing ⁸⁸  water there, 26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled ⁸⁹  with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac ⁹⁰  named the well ⁹¹  Esek ⁹²  because they argued with him about it. ⁹³ 

Deuteronomy 4:30

4:30 In your distress when all these things happen to you in the latter days, ⁹⁴  if you return to the Lord your God and obey him ⁹⁵ 

Psalms 22:27

22:27 Let all the people of the earth acknowledge the Lord and turn to him! ⁹⁶ 

Let all the nations ⁹⁷  worship you! ⁹⁸ 

Isaiah 31:6

31:6 You Israelites! Return to the one against whom you have so blatantly rebelled! ⁹⁹ 

Lamentations 3:40

נ (Nun)

3:40 Let us carefully examine our ways, ¹⁰⁰ 

and let us return to the Lord.

Hosea 12:6

12:6 But you must return ¹⁰¹  to your God,

by maintaining love and justice,

and by waiting ¹⁰²  for your God to return to you. ¹⁰³ 

Hosea 14:2

14:2 Return to the Lord and repent! ¹⁰⁴ 

Say to him: “Completely ¹⁰⁵  forgive our iniquity;

accept ¹⁰⁶  our penitential prayer, ¹⁰⁷ 

that we may offer the praise of our lips as sacrificial bulls. ¹⁰⁸ 

Joel 2:13

2:13 Return to the Lord your God,

for he is merciful and compassionate,

slow to anger and boundless in loyal love ¹⁰⁹  – often relenting from calamitous punishment. ¹¹⁰ 

Luke 1:16-17

1:16 He ¹¹¹  will turn ¹¹²  many of the people ¹¹³  of Israel to the Lord their God. 1:17 And he will go as forerunner before the Lord ¹¹⁴  in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ¹¹⁵  to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.”

Luke 1:2

1:2 like the accounts ¹¹⁶  passed on ¹¹⁷  to us by those who were eyewitnesses and servants of the word ¹¹⁸  from the beginning. ¹¹⁹ 

Colossians 3:16

3:16 Let the word of Christ ¹²⁰  dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace ¹²¹  in your hearts to God.

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 1:9-10

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ¹²²  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ¹²³  to fill ¹²⁴  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 1:10 so that you may live ¹²⁵  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ¹²⁶  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

[42:1]  ¹ tn Heb “saw.”

[42:1]  ² tn Heb “Jacob.” Here the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[42:1]  ³ sn Why are you looking at each other? The point of Jacob’s question is that his sons should be going to get grain rather than sitting around doing nothing. Jacob, as the patriarch, still makes the decisions for the whole clan.

[42:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “and buy for us from there.” The word “grain,” the direct object of “buy,” has been supplied for clarity, and the words “from there” have been omitted in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[42:2]  ⁵ tn Following the imperatives, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav expresses purpose of result.

[42:2]  ⁶ tn The imperfect tense continues the nuance of the verb before it.

[42:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “But Benjamin, the brother of Joseph, Jacob did not send with his brothers.” The disjunctive clause highlights the contrast between Benjamin and the other ten.

[42:4]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew verb אָמַר (’amar, “to say”) could also be translated “thought” (i.e., “he said to himself”) here, giving Jacob’s reasoning rather than spoken words.

[42:4]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew noun אָסוֹן (’ason) is a rare word meaning “accident, harm.” Apart from its use in these passages it occurs in Exodus 21:22-23 of an accident to a pregnant woman. The term is a rather general one, but Jacob was no doubt thinking of his loss of Joseph.

[42:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “encounters.”

[42:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in the midst of the coming ones.”

[42:6]  ¹² tn The disjunctive clause either introduces a new episode in the unfolding drama or provides the reader with supplemental information necessary to understanding the story.

[42:6]  ¹³ sn Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him. Here is the beginning of the fulfillment of Joseph’s dreams (see Gen 37). But it is not the complete fulfillment, since all his brothers and his parents must come. The point of the dream, of course, was not simply to get the family to bow to Joseph, but that Joseph would be placed in a position of rule and authority to save the family and the world (41:57).

[42:6]  ¹⁴ tn The word “faces” is an adverbial accusative, so the preposition has been supplied in the translation.

[42:7]  ¹⁵ sn But pretended to be a stranger. Joseph intends to test his brothers to see if they have changed and have the integrity to be patriarchs of the tribes of Israel. He will do this by putting them in the same situations that they and he were in before. The first test will be to awaken their conscience.

[42:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “said.”

[42:7]  ¹⁷ tn The verb is denominative, meaning “to buy grain”; the word “food” could simply be the direct object, but may also be an adverbial accusative.

[42:9]  ¹⁸ sn You are spies. Joseph wanted to see how his brothers would react if they were accused of spying.

[42:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “to see the nakedness of the land you have come.”

[42:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and they said to him.” In context this is best understood as an exclamation.

[42:12]  ²¹ tn Heb “and he said, ‘No, for the nakedness of the land you have come to see.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for clarity.

[42:13]  ²² tn Heb “twelve [were] your servants, brothers [are] we.”

[42:13]  ²³ tn Heb “today.”

[42:13]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and the one is not.”

[42:14]  ²⁵ tn Heb “to you, saying.”

[42:15]  ²⁶ tn Heb “[By] the life of Pharaoh.”

[42:16]  ²⁷ tn Heb “send from you one and let him take.” After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose.

[42:16]  ²⁸ tn The disjunctive clause is here circumstantial-temporal.

[42:16]  ²⁹ tn Heb “bound.”

[42:16]  ³⁰ tn The words “to see” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[42:16]  ³¹ tn Heb “the truth [is] with you.”

[42:17]  ³² sn The same Hebrew word is used for Joseph’s imprisonment in 40:3, 4, 7. There is some mirroring going on in the narrative. The Hebrew word used here (אָסַף, ’asaf, “to gather”) is not normally used in a context like this (for placing someone in prison), but it forms a wordplay on the name Joseph (יוֹסֵף, yosoef) and keeps the comparison working.

[42:18]  ³³ tn Heb “Do this.”

[42:18]  ³⁴ tn After the preceding imperative, the imperative with vav (ו) can, as here, indicate logical sequence.

[42:18]  ³⁵ sn For I fear God. Joseph brings God into the picture to awaken his brothers’ consciences. The godly person cares about the welfare of people, whether they live or die. So he will send grain back, but keep one of them in Egypt. This action contrasts with their crime of selling their brother into slavery.

[42:19]  ³⁶ tn Heb “bound in the house of your prison.”

[42:19]  ³⁷ tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial-temporal.

[42:19]  ³⁸ tn Heb “[for] the hunger of your households.”

[42:20]  ³⁹ tn The imperfect here has an injunctive force.

[42:20]  ⁴⁰ tn After the injunctive imperfect, this imperfect with vav indicates purpose or result.

[42:20]  ⁴¹ tn The Niphal form of the verb has the sense of “to be faithful; to be sure; to be reliable.” Joseph will test his brothers to see if their words are true.

[42:20]  ⁴² tn Heb “and they did so.”

[42:21]  ⁴³ tn Heb “a man to his neighbor.”

[42:21]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “we are guilty”; the Hebrew word can also refer to the effect of being guilty, i.e., “we are being punished for guilt.”

[42:21]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “the distress of his soul.”

[42:21]  ⁴⁶ sn The repetition of the Hebrew noun translated distress draws attention to the fact that they regard their present distress as appropriate punishment for their refusal to ignore their brother when he was in distress.

[42:22]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “and also his blood, look, it is required.” God requires compensation, as it were, from those who shed innocent blood (see Gen 9:6). In other words, God exacts punishment for the crime of murder.

[42:23]  ⁴⁸ tn The disjunctive clause provides supplemental information that is important to the story.

[42:23]  ⁴⁹ tn “was listening.” The brothers were not aware that Joseph could understand them as they spoke the preceding words in their native language.

[42:23]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “for [there was] an interpreter between them.” On the meaning of the word here translated “interpreter” see HALOT 590 s.v. מֵלִיץ and M. A. Canney, “The Hebrew melis (Prov IX 12; Gen XLII 2-3),” AJSL 40 (1923/24): 135-37.

[42:24]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “and he turned to them and spoke to them.”

[42:24]  ⁵² tn Heb “took Simeon.” This was probably done at Joseph’s command, however; the grand vizier of Egypt would not have personally seized a prisoner.

[42:24]  ⁵³ tn Heb “and he bound him.” See the note on the preceding verb “taken.”

[42:25]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “and they filled.” The clause appears to be elliptical; one expects “Joseph gave orders to fill…and they filled.” See GKC 386 §120.f.

[42:25]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “and he did for them so.” Joseph would appear to be the subject of the singular verb. If the text is retained, the statement seems to be a summary of the preceding, more detailed statement. However, some read the verb as plural, “and they did for them so.” In this case the statement indicates that Joseph’s subordinates carried out his orders. Another alternative is to read the singular verb as passive (with unspecified subject), “and this was done for them so” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV).

[42:26]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “and they went from there.”

[42:27]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “and the one.” The article indicates that the individual is vivid in the mind of the narrator, yet it is not important to identify him by name.

[42:27]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “at the lodging place.”

[42:27]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “and look, it [was] in the mouth of his sack.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to look through the eyes of the character and thereby draws attention to the money.

[42:28]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “and their heart went out.” Since this expression is used only here, the exact meaning is unclear. The following statement suggests that it may refer to a sudden loss of emotional strength, so “They were dismayed” adequately conveys the meaning (cf. NRSV); NIV has “Their hearts sank.”

[42:28]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “and they trembled, a man to his neighbor.”

[42:28]  ⁶² tn Heb “What is this God has done to us?” The demonstrative pronoun (“this”) adds emphasis to the question.

[42:30]  ⁶³ tn Heb “made us.”

[42:30]  ⁶⁴ tn The words “if we were” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[42:32]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “twelve [were] we, brothers, sons of our father [are] we.”

[42:32]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “the one is not.”

[42:32]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “today.”

[42:33]  ⁶⁸ tn The word “grain” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[42:34]  ⁶⁹ tn After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav indicates purpose/result.

[42:34]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “that you are not spies, that you are honest men.”

[42:34]  ⁷¹ sn Joseph’s brothers soften the news considerably, making it sound like Simeon was a guest of Joseph (Leave one of your brothers with me) instead of being bound in prison. They do not mention the threat of death and do not at this time speak of the money in the one sack.

[42:36]  ⁷² tn Heb “is not.”

[42:36]  ⁷³ tn Heb “is not.”

[42:36]  ⁷⁴ tn The nuance of the imperfect verbal form is desiderative here.

[42:37]  ⁷⁵ tn The nuance of the imperfect verbal form is permissive here.

[42:37]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “my hand.”

[42:38]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[42:38]  ⁷⁸ sn The expression he alone is left meant that (so far as Jacob knew) Benjamin was the only surviving child of his mother Rachel.

[42:38]  ⁷⁹ sn The expression bring down my gray hair is figurative, using a part for the whole – they would put Jacob in the grave. But the gray head signifies a long life of worry and trouble.

[42:38]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “to Sheol,” the dwelling place of the dead.

[15:19]  ⁸¹ tn The words “the land” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[26:18]  ⁸² tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”

[26:18]  ⁸³ tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.

[26:18]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.

[26:18]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:18]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:18]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”

[26:19]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “living.” This expression refers to a well supplied by subterranean streams (see Song 4:15).

[26:20]  ⁸⁹ tn The Hebrew verb translated “quarreled” describes a conflict that often has legal ramifications.

[26:20]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:20]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “and he called the name of the well.”

[26:20]  ⁹² sn The name Esek means “argument” in Hebrew. The following causal clause explains that Isaac gave the well this name as a reminder of the conflict its discovery had created. In the Hebrew text there is a wordplay, for the name is derived from the verb translated “argued.”

[26:20]  ⁹³ tn The words “about it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[4:30]  ⁹⁴ sn The phrase is not used here in a technical sense for the eschaton, but rather refers to a future time when Israel will be punished for its sin and experience exile. See Deut 31:29.

[4:30]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “hear his voice.” The expression is an idiom meaning “obey,” occurring in Deut 8:20; 9:23; 13:18; 21:18, 20; 26:14, 17; 27:10; 28:1-2, 15, 45, 62; 30:2, 8, 10, 20.

[22:27]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “may all the ends of the earth remember and turn to the Lord.” The prefixed verbal forms in v. 27 are understood as jussives (cf. NEB). Another option (cf. NIV, NRSV) is to take the forms as imperfects and translate, “all the people of the earth will acknowledge and turn…and worship.” See vv. 29-32.

[22:27]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “families of the nations.”

[22:27]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “before you.”

[31:6]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “Return to the one [against] whom the sons of Israel made deep rebellion.” The syntax is awkward here. A preposition is omitted by ellipsis after the verb (see GKC 446 §138.f, n. 2), and there is a shift from direct address (note the second plural imperative “return”) to the third person (note “they made deep”). For other examples of abrupt shifts in person in poetic style, see GKC 462 §144.p.

[3:40]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “Let us test our ways and examine.” The two verbs וְנַחְקֹרָה…נַחְפְּשָׂה (nakhpÿsah…vÿnakhqorah, “Let us test and let us examine”) form a verbal hendiadys in which the first functions adverbially and the second retains its full verbal force: “Let us carefully examine our ways.”

[12:6]  ¹⁰¹ tn The verb תָשׁוּב (tashuv, Qal imperfect 2nd person masculine singular from שׁוּב, shuv, “to return”) functions as an imperfect of moral obligation, introducing the following imperatives (e.g., Gen 20:9; Exod 4:15). For this function of the imperfect, see IBHS 508-9 §31.4g.

[12:6]  ¹⁰² tn The verb וְקַוֵּה (vÿqavveh, vav + Piel imperative 2nd person masculine singular from קָוָה, qavah, “to wait for”) means “to hope for, wait for, look eagerly for” (BDB 875 s.v. קָוָה 1; HALOT 1082 s.v. קָוָה 2.b). The Qal meaning refers to a general hope; the Piel meaning refers to hope directed toward an object, or hope inserted within a sequence of expectation and fulfillment. When the Piel is used in reference to a thing, it refers to waiting expectantly for something to occur (e.g., Gen 49:18; Isa 5:2, 4, 7; 59:9, 11; Jer 8:15; 13:16; 14:19; Ps 69:21; Job 3:9; 6:19; 11:20). When it is used in reference to God, it refers to the people of God waiting expectantly for God to do something or to fulfill his promise (e.g., Pss 25:5, 21; 27:14; 37:34; 40:2; 52:11; 130:5; Isa 8:17; 25:9; 26:8; 33:2; 51:5; 60:9; Hos 12:7). The personal object can be introduced by the preposition לְ (lamed, “for”; HALOT 1082 s.v. קָוָה 2.a) or אֶל (’el, “for”; HALOT 1082 s.v. קָוָה 2.b; e.g., Pss 27:14; 37:34; Isa 51:5; Hos 12:7). The point seems to be that if Israel will repent and practice moral righteousness, she can look to God in confident expectation that he will intervene on her behalf by relenting from judgment and restoring the covenant blessings.

[12:6]  ¹⁰³ tn The phrase “to return to you” does not appear in the Hebrew text but is implied; it is provided in the translation for clarity. This ellipsis fills out the implicit connotations of the verb קָוָה (qavah, “to wait for”).

[14:2]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Heb “Take words with you and return to the Lord” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[14:2]  ¹⁰⁵ tn The word order כָּל־תִּשָּׂא עָוֹן (kol-tisa’ ’avon) is syntactically awkward. The BHS editors suggest rearranging the word order: תִּשָּׂא כָּל־עוֹן (“Forgive all [our] iniquity!”). However, Gesenius suggests that כָּל (“all”) does not function as the construct in the genitive phrase כָּל־עוֹן (“all [our] iniquity”); it functions adverbially modifying the verb תִּשָּׂא (“Completely forgive!”; see GKC 415 §128.e).

[14:2]  ¹⁰⁶ sn The repetition of the root לָקַח (laqakh) creates a striking wordplay in 14:2. If Israel will bring (לָקַח) its confession to God, he will accept (לָקַח) repentant Israel and completely forgive its sin.

[14:2]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Heb “and accept [our] speech.” The word טוֹב (tov) is often confused with the common homonymic root I טוֹב (tov, “good”; BDB 373 s.v. I טוֹב). However, this is probably IV טוֹב (tov, “word, speech”; HALOT 372 s.v. IV טוֹב), a hapax legomenon that is related to the verb טבב (“to speak”; HALOT 367 s.v. טבב) and the noun טִבָּה (tibbah, “rumor”; HALOT 367 s.v. טִבָּה). The term טוֹב (“word; speech”) refers to the repentant prayer mentioned in 14:1-3. Most translations relate it to I טוֹב and treat it as (1) accusative direct object: “accept that which is good” (RSV, NJPS), “Accept our good sacrifices” (CEV), or (2) adverbial accusative of manner: “receive [us] graciously” (KJV, NASB, NIV). Note TEV, however, which follows the suggestion made here: “accept our prayer.”

[14:2]  ¹⁰⁸ tc The MT reads פָרִים (farim, “bulls”), but the LXX reflects פְּרִי (pÿri, “fruit”), a reading followed by NASB, NIV, NRSV: “that we may offer the fruit of [our] lips [as sacrifices to you].” Although the Greek expression in Heb 13:15 (καρπὸν χειλέων, karpon xeilewn, “the fruit of lips”) reflects this LXX phrase, the MT makes good sense as it stands; NT usage of the LXX should not be considered decisive in resolving OT textual problems. The noun פָרִים (parim, “bulls”) functions as an adverbial accusative of state.

[2:13]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Heb “and great of loyal love.”

[2:13]  ¹¹⁰ tn Heb “and he relents from calamity.”

[1:16]  ¹¹¹ tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:16]  ¹¹² sn The word translated will turn is a good summary term for repentance and denotes John’s call to a change of direction (Luke 3:1-14).

[1:16]  ¹¹³ tn Grk “sons”; but clearly this is a generic reference to people of both genders.

[1:17]  ¹¹⁴ tn Grk “before him”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:17]  ¹¹⁵ sn These two lines cover all relationships: Turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children points to horizontal relationships, while (turn) the disobedient to the wisdom of the just shows what God gives from above in a vertical manner.

[1:2]  ¹¹⁶ tn Grk “even as”; this compares the recorded tradition of 1:1 with the original eyewitness tradition of 1:2.

[1:2]  ¹¹⁷ tn Or “delivered.”

[1:2]  ¹¹⁸ sn The phrase eyewitnesses and servants of the word refers to a single group of people who faithfully passed on the accounts about Jesus. The language about delivery (passed on) points to accounts faithfully passed on to the early church.

[1:2]  ¹¹⁹ tn Grk “like the accounts those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word passed on to us.” The location of “in the beginning” in the Greek shows that the tradition is rooted in those who were with Jesus from the start.

[3:16]  ¹²⁰ tc Since “the word of Christ” occurs nowhere else in the NT, two predictable variants arose: “word of God” and “word of the Lord.” Even though some of the witnesses for these variants are impressive (κυρίου [kuriou, “of the Lord”] in א* I 1175 pc bo; θεοῦ [qeou, “of God”] in A C* 33 104 323 945 al), the reading Χριστοῦ (Cristou, “of Christ”) is read by an excellent cross-section of witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ א² B C² D F G Ψ 075 1739 1881 Ï lat sa). On both internal and external grounds, Χριστοῦ is strongly preferred.

[3:16]  ¹²¹ tn Grk “with grace”; “all” is supplied as it is implicitly related to all the previous instructions in the verse.

[1:9]  ¹²² tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.

[1:9]  ¹²³ tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ¹²⁴ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.

[1:10]  ¹²⁵ 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]  ¹²⁶ 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.”