Acts 13:2

13:2 While they were serving ¹  the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart ²  for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

Acts 14:23

14:23 When they had appointed elders ³  for them in the various churches, ⁴  with prayer and fasting ⁵  they entrusted them to the protection ⁶  of the Lord in whom they had believed.

Acts 14:1

Paul and Barnabas at Iconium

14:1 The same thing happened in Iconium ⁷  when Paul and Barnabas ⁸  went into the Jewish synagogue ⁹  and spoke in such a way that a large group ¹⁰  of both Jews and Greeks believed.

Colossians 1:8-11

1:8 who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ¹¹  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ¹²  to fill ¹³  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 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, 1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of ¹⁶  all patience and steadfastness, joyfully

Colossians 1:28

1:28 We proclaim him by instructing ¹⁷  and teaching ¹⁸  all people ¹⁹  with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature ²⁰  in Christ.

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ²¹  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 4:14

4:14 Our dear friend Luke the physician and Demas greet you.

[13:2]  ¹ tn This term is frequently used in the LXX of the service performed by priests and Levites in the tabernacle (Exod 28:35, 43; 29:30; 30:20; 35:19; 39:26; Num 1:50; 3:6, 31) and the temple (2 Chr 31:2; 35:3; Joel 1:9, 13; 2:17, and many more examples). According to BDAG 591 s.v. λειτουργέω 1.b it is used “of other expression of religious devotion.” Since the previous verse described the prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch, it is probable that the term here describes two of them (Barnabas and Saul) as they were serving in that capacity. Since they were not in Jerusalem where the temple was located, general religious service is referred to here.

[13:2]  ² tn Or “Appoint.”

[14:23]  ³ sn Appointed elders. See Acts 20:17.

[14:23]  ⁴ tn The preposition κατά (kata) is used here in a distributive sense; see BDAG 512 s.v. κατά B.1.d.

[14:23]  ⁵ tn Literally with a finite verb (προσευξάμενοι, proseuxamenoi) rather than a noun, “praying with fasting,” but the combination “prayer and fasting” is so familiar in English that it is preferable to use it here.

[14:23]  ⁶ tn BDAG 772 s.v. παρατίθημι 3.b has “entrust someone to the care or protection of someone” for this phrase. The reference to persecution or suffering in the context (v. 22) suggests “protection” is a better translation here. This looks at God’s ultimate care for the church.

[14:1]  ⁷ sn Iconium. See the note in 13:51.

[14:1]  ⁸ tn Grk “they”; the referents (Paul and Barnabas) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:1]  ⁹ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[14:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “that a large crowd.”

[1:9]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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]  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.”

[1:11]  ¹⁶ 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.

[1:28]  ¹⁷ tn Or “admonishing,” or “warning.” BDAG 679 s.v. νουθετέω states, “to counsel about avoidance or cessation of an improper course of conduct,, admonish, warn, instruct.” After the participle νουθετοῦντες (nouqetounte", “instructing”) the words πάντα ἄνθρωπον (panta anqrwpon, “all men”) occur in the Greek text, but since the same phrase appears again after διδάσκοντες (didaskontes) it was omitted in translation to avoid redundancy in English.

[1:28]  ¹⁸ tn The two participles “instructing” (νουθετοῦντες, nouqetounte") and “teaching” (διδάσκοντες, didaskonte") are translated as participles of means (“by”) related to the finite verb “we proclaim” (καταγγέλλομεν, katangellomen).

[1:28]  ¹⁹ tn Here ἄνθρωπον (anqrwpon) is twice translated as a generic (“people” and “person”) since both men and women are clearly intended in this context.

[1:28]  ²⁰ tn Since Paul’s focus is on the present experience of the Colossians, “mature” is a better translation of τέλειον (teleion) than “perfect,” since the latter implies a future, eschatological focus.

[1:1]  ²¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.