Acts 21:19

21:19 When Paul ¹  had greeted them, he began to explain ²  in detail ³  what God ⁴  had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

Acts 22:21

22:21 Then ⁵  he said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

Acts 26:17-20

26:17 I will rescue ⁶  you from your own people ⁷  and from the Gentiles, to whom ⁸  I am sending you 26:18 to open their eyes so that they turn ⁹  from darkness to light and from the power ¹⁰  of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share ¹¹  among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

26:19 “Therefore, King Agrippa, ¹²  I was not disobedient ¹³  to the heavenly ¹⁴  vision, 26:20 but I declared to those in Damascus first, and then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, ¹⁵  and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, ¹⁶  performing deeds consistent with ¹⁷  repentance.

Romans 1:5

1:5 Through him ¹⁸  we have received grace and our apostleship ¹⁹  to bring about the obedience ²⁰  of faith ²¹  among all the Gentiles on behalf of his name.

Romans 1:13-15

1:13 I do not want you to be unaware, ²²  brothers and sisters, ²³  that I often intended to come to you (and was prevented until now), so that I may have some fruit even among you, just as I already have among the rest of the Gentiles. ²⁴  1:14 I am a debtor ²⁵  both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 1:15 Thus I am eager ²⁶  also to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome. ²⁷ 

Romans 11:13

11:13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Seeing that I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,

Romans 15:15-21

15:15 But I have written more boldly to you on some points so as to remind you, because of the grace given to me by God 15:16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. I serve ²⁸  the gospel of God ²⁹  like a priest, so that the Gentiles may become an acceptable offering, ³⁰  sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

15:17 So I boast ³¹  in Christ Jesus about the things that pertain to God. 15:18 For I will not dare to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in order to bring about the obedience ³²  of the Gentiles, by word and deed, 15:19 in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem even as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 15:20 And in this way I desire to preach where Christ has not been named, so as not to build on another person’s foundation, 15:21 but as it is written: “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.” ³³ 

Romans 15:1

Exhortation for the Strong to Help the Weak

15:1 But we who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not just please ourselves. ³⁴ 

Colossians 1:10

1:10 so that you may live ³⁵  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ³⁶  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

Galatians 2:7-8

2:7 On the contrary, when they saw ³⁷  that I was entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised ³⁸  just as Peter was to the circumcised ³⁹  2:8 (for he who empowered ⁴⁰  Peter for his apostleship ⁴¹  to the circumcised ⁴²  also empowered me for my apostleship to the Gentiles) ⁴³ 

Ephesians 3:7-8

3:7 I became a servant of this gospel ⁴⁴  according to the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by ⁴⁵  the exercise of his power. ⁴⁶  3:8 To me – less than the least of all the saints ⁴⁷  – this grace was given, ⁴⁸  to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ

Colossians 1:25-29

1:25 I became a servant of the church according to the stewardship ⁴⁹  from God – given to me for you – in order to complete ⁵⁰  the word of God, 1:26 that is, the mystery that has been kept hidden from ages and generations, but has now been revealed to his saints. 1:27 God wanted to make known to them the glorious ⁵¹  riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 1:28 We proclaim him by instructing ⁵²  and teaching ⁵³  all people ⁵⁴  with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature ⁵⁵  in Christ. 1:29 Toward this goal ⁵⁶  I also labor, struggling according to his power that powerfully ⁵⁷  works in me.

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁵⁸  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 2:7

2:7 rooted ⁵⁹  and built up in him and firm ⁶⁰  in your ⁶¹  faith just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

[21:19]  ¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:19]  ² tn Or “to report,” “to describe.” The imperfect verb ἐξηγεῖτο (exhgeito) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[21:19]  ³ tn BDAG 293 s.v. εἷς 5.e has “καθ᾿ ἕν one after the other (hence τὸ καθ᾿ ἕν ‘a detailed list’: PLille 11, 8 [III bc]; PTebt. 47, 34; 332, 16) J 21:25. Also καθ᾿ ἕν ἕκαστον…Ac 21:19.”

[21:19]  ⁴ sn Note how Paul credited God with the success of his ministry.

[22:21]  ⁵ tn Grk “And.” Since this represents a response to Paul’s reply in v. 19, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[26:17]  ⁶ tn Grk “rescuing.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the participle ἐξαιρούμενος (exairoumeno") has been translated as a finite verb and a new sentence started in the translation at the beginning of v. 17.

[26:17]  ⁷ tn That is, from the Jewish people. Grk “the people”; the words “your own” have been supplied to clarify the meaning.

[26:17]  ⁸ tn The antecedent of the relative pronoun is probably both the Jews (“your own people”) and the Gentiles, indicating the comprehensive commission Paul received.

[26:18]  ⁹ sn To open their eyes so that they turn… Here is Luke’s most comprehensive report of Paul’s divine calling. His role was to call humanity to change their position before God and experience God’s forgiveness as a part of God’s family. The image of turning is a key one in the NT: Luke 1:79; Rom 2:19; 13:12; 2 Cor 4:6; 6:14; Eph 5:8; Col 1:12; 1 Thess 5:5. See also Luke 1:77-79; 3:3; 24:47.

[26:18]  ¹⁰ tn BDAG 352-53 s.v. ἐξουσία 2 states, “Also of Satan’s power Ac 26:18.” It is also possible to translate this “the domain of Satan” (cf. BDAG 353 s.v. 6)

[26:18]  ¹¹ tn Or “and an inheritance.”

[26:19]  ¹² sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.

[26:19]  ¹³ sn I was not disobedient. Paul’s defense is that he merely obeyed the risen Jesus. He was arrested for obeying heavenly direction and preaching the opportunity to turn to God.

[26:19]  ¹⁴ tn According to L&N 1.5, “In Ac 26:19 the adjective οὐράνιος could be interpreted as being related simply to the meaning of οὐρανός^a ‘sky,’ but it seems preferable to regard οὐράνιος in this context as meaning simply ‘from heaven’ or ‘heavenly.’”

[26:20]  ¹⁵ tn BDAG 1093-94 s.v. χώρα 2.b states, “of the provincial name (1 Macc 8:3) ἡ χώρα τῆς ᾿Ιουδαίας Ac 26:20.”

[26:20]  ¹⁶ sn That they should repent and turn to God. This is the shortest summary of Paul’s message that he preached.

[26:20]  ¹⁷ tn BDAG 93 s.v. ἄξιος 1.b, “καρποὶ ἄ. τῆς μετανοίας fruits in keeping with your repentance…Lk 3:8; Mt 3:8. For this ἄ. τῆς μετανοίας ἔργα Ac 26:20.” Note how Paul preached the gospel offer and the issue of response together, side by side.

[1:5]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “through whom.”

[1:5]  ¹⁹ tn Some interpreters understand the phrase “grace and apostleship” as a hendiadys, translating “grace [i.e., gift] of apostleship.” The pronoun “our” is supplied in the translation to clarify the sense of the statement.

[1:5]  ²⁰ tn Grk “and apostleship for obedience.”

[1:5]  ²¹ tn The phrase ὑπακοὴν πίστεως has been variously understood as (1) an objective genitive (a reference to the Christian faith, “obedience to [the] faith”); (2) a subjective genitive (“the obedience faith produces [or requires]”); (3) an attributive genitive (“believing obedience”); or (4) as a genitive of apposition (“obedience, [namely] faith”) in which “faith” further defines “obedience.” These options are discussed by C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans (ICC), 1:66. Others take the phrase as deliberately ambiguous; see D. B. Garlington, “The Obedience of Faith in the Letter to the Romans: Part I: The Meaning of ὑπακοὴ πίστεως (Rom 1:5; 16:26),” WTJ 52 (1990): 201-24.

[1:13]  ²² sn The expression “I do not want you to be unaware [Grk ignorant]” also occurs in 1 Cor 10:1; 12:1; 1 Thess 4:13. Paul uses the phrase to signal that he is about to say something very important.

[1:13]  ²³ 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).

[1:13]  ²⁴ tn Grk “in order that I might have some fruit also among you just as also among the rest of the Gentiles.”

[1:14]  ²⁵ tn Or “obligated.”

[1:15]  ²⁶ tn Or “willing, ready”; Grk “so my eagerness [is] to preach…” The word πρόθυμος (proqumo", “eager, willing”) is used only elsewhere in the NT in Matt 26:41 = Mark 14:38: “the spirit indeed is willing (πρόθυμος), but the flesh is weak.”

[1:15]  ²⁷ map For location see JP4 A1.

[15:16]  ²⁸ tn Grk “serving.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but in keeping with contemporary English style, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[15:16]  ²⁹ tn The genitive in the phrase τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ θεοῦ (to euangelion tou qeou, “the gospel of God”) could be translated as either a subjective genitive (“the gospel which God brings”) or an objective genitive (“the gospel about God”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, an interplay between the two concepts is intended: The gospel which God brings is in fact the gospel about himself.

[15:16]  ³⁰ tn Grk “so that the offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable.” This could be understood to refer to an offering belonging to the Gentiles (a possessive genitive) or made by the Gentiles (subjective genitive), but more likely the phrase should be understood as an appositive genitive, with the Gentiles themselves consisting of the offering (so J. D. G. Dunn, Romans [WBC 38], 2:860). The latter view is reflected in the translation “so that the Gentiles may become an acceptable offering.”

[15:17]  ³¹ tc ‡ After οὖν (oun), several important Alexandrian and Western mss (B C D F G 81 365 pc) have τήν (thn). The article is lacking in א A Ψ 33 1739 1881 Ï however. Ì⁴⁶ supplies a relative pronoun and has a different reading entirely (“which I have [as a] boast”). Articles were frequently introduced to clarify the meaning of the text. In this instance, since the word modified (καύχησιν, kauchsin) is third declension, a visual oversight (resulting in omission) is less likely. Hence, the shorter reading is probably original. The difference in translation between these first two options is negligible (“I have the boast” or “I have a boast”). NA²⁷ puts the article in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

[15:18]  ³² tn Grk “unto obedience.”

[15:21]  ³³ sn A quotation from Isa 52:15.

[15:1]  ³⁴ tn Grk “and not please ourselves.” NT Greek negatives used in contrast like this are often not absolute, but relative: “not so much one as the other.”

[1:10]  ³⁵ 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]  ³⁶ 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.”

[2:7]  ³⁷ tn The participle ἰδόντες (idontes) has been taken temporally to retain the structure of the passage. Many modern translations, because of the length of the sentence here, translate this participle as a finite verb and break the Greek sentences into several English sentences (NIV, for example, begins new sentences at the beginning of both vv. 8 and 9).

[2:7]  ³⁸ tn Grk “to the uncircumcision,” that is, to the Gentiles.

[2:7]  ³⁹ tn Grk “to the circumcision,” a collective reference to the Jewish people.

[2:8]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “worked through”; the same word is also used in relation to Paul later in this verse.

[2:8]  ⁴¹ tn Or “his ministry as an apostle.”

[2:8]  ⁴² tn Grk “to the circumcision,” i.e., the Jewish people.

[2:8]  ⁴³ tn Grk “also empowered me to the Gentiles.”

[3:7]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “of which I was made a minister,” “of which I became a servant.”

[3:7]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “according to.”

[3:7]  ⁴⁶ sn On the exercise of his power see 1:19-20.

[3:8]  ⁴⁷ sn In Pauline writings saints means any true believer. Thus for Paul to view himself as less than the least of all the saints is to view himself as the most unworthy object of Christ’s redemption.

[3:8]  ⁴⁸ sn The parallel phrases to proclaim and to enlighten which follow indicate why God’s grace was manifested to Paul. Grace was not something just to be received, but to be shared with others (cf. Acts 13:47).

[1:25]  ⁴⁹ tn BDAG 697 s.v. οἰκονομία 1.b renders the term here as “divine office.”

[1:25]  ⁵⁰ tn See BDAG 828 s.v. πληρόω 3. The idea here seems to be that the apostle wants to “complete the word of God” in that he wants to preach it to every person in the known world (cf. Rom 15:19). See P. T. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon (WBC), 82.

[1:27]  ⁵¹ tn The genitive noun τῆς δόξης (ths doxhs) is an attributive genitive and has therefore been translated as “glorious riches.”

[1:28]  ⁵² 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]  ⁵³ 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]  ⁵⁴ 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]  ⁵⁵ 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.

[1:29]  ⁵⁶ tn The Greek phrase εἴς ὅ (eis Jo, “toward which”) implies “movement toward a goal” and has been rendered by the English phrase “Toward this goal.”

[1:29]  ⁵⁷ tn The prepositional phrase ἐν δυνάμει (en dunamei) seems to be functioning adverbially, related to the participle, and has therefore been translated “powerfully.”

[1:1]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[2:7]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “having been rooted.”

[2:7]  ⁶⁰ 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]  ⁶¹ 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).