Acts 26:29

26:29 Paul replied, “I pray to God that whether in a short or a long time ¹  not only you but also all those who are listening to me today could become such as I am, except for these chains.” ² 

Ephesians 3:1

Paul's Relationship to the Divine Mystery

3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus ³  for the sake of you Gentiles –

Ephesians 4:1

Live in Unity

4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, ⁴  urge you to live ⁵  worthily of the calling with which you have been called, ⁶ 

Ephesians 6:20

6:20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may be able to speak boldly as I ought to speak.

Philippians 1:13

1:13 The ⁷  whole imperial guard ⁸  and everyone else knows ⁹  that I am in prison ¹⁰  for the sake of Christ,

Colossians 4:18

4:18 I, Paul, write this greeting by my own hand. ¹¹  Remember my chains. ¹²  Grace be with you. ¹³ 

Colossians 4:2

Exhortation to Pray for the Success of Paul’s Mission

4:2 Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving.

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 2:9

2:9 For in him all the fullness of deity lives ¹⁶  in bodily form,

Philemon 1:10

1:10 I am appealing ¹⁷  to you concerning my child, whose spiritual father I have become ¹⁸  during my imprisonment, ¹⁹  that is, Onesimus,

Philemon 1:13

1:13 I wanted to keep him so that he could serve me in your place ²⁰  during ²¹  my imprisonment for the sake of the gospel. ²² 

[26:29]  ¹ tn BDAG 703 s.v. ὀλίγος 2.b.β has “καὶ ἐν ὀλ. καὶ ἐν μεγάλῳ whether in a short or a long time vs. 29 (cf. B-D-F §195; GWhitaker, The Words of Agrippa to St. Paul: JTS 15, 1914, 82f; AFridrichsen, SymbOsl 14, ’35, 50; Field, Notes 141-43; s. Rob. 653).”

[26:29]  ² sn Except for these chains. The chains represented Paul’s unjust suffering for the sake of the message. His point was, in effect, “I do not care how long it takes. I only hope you and everyone else hearing this would become believers in Christ, but without my unjust suffering.”

[3:1]  ³ tc Several early and important witnesses, chiefly of the Western text (א* D* F G [365]), lack ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou, “Jesus”) here, while most Alexandrian and Byzantine mss (Ì⁴⁶ א¹ A B [C] D¹ Ψ 33 1739 [1881] Ï lat sy bo) have the word. However, because of the Western text’s proclivities to add or delete to the text, seemingly at whim, serious doubts should be attached to the shorter reading. It is strengthened, however, by א’s support. Nevertheless, since both א and D were corrected with the addition of ᾿Ιησοῦ, their testimony might be questioned. Further, in uncial script the nomina sacra here could have led to missing a word by way of homoioteleuton (cMuiMu). At the same time, in light of the rarity of scribal omission of nomina sacra (see TCGNT 582, n. 1), a decision for inclusion of the word here must be tentative. NA²⁷ rightly places ᾿Ιησοῦ in brackets.

[4:1]  ⁴ tn Grk “prisoner in the Lord.”

[4:1]  ⁵ tn Grk “walk.” The verb “walk” in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.

[4:1]  ⁶ sn With which you have been called. The calling refers to the Holy Spirit’s prompting that caused them to believe. The author is thus urging his readers to live a life that conforms to their saved status before God.

[1:13]  ⁷ tn Grk “so that the whole imperial guard.” The ὥστε (Jwste) clause that begins v. 13 indicates two results of the spread of the gospel: Outsiders know why Paul is imprisoned (v. 13) and believers are emboldened by his imprisonment (v. 14).

[1:13]  ⁸ sn The whole imperial guard (Grk “praetorium”) can refer to the elite troops stationed in Rome or the headquarters of administrators in the provinces (cf. Matt 27:27; Mark 15:16; John 18:28, 33; 19:9; Acts 23:35). In either case a metonymy is involved, with the place (the praetorium) put for those (soldiers or government officials) who were connected with it or stationed in it.

[1:13]  ⁹ tn Grk “it has become known by the whole imperial guard and all the rest.”

[1:13]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “my bonds [are].”

[4:18]  ¹¹ tn Grk “the greeting by my hand, of Paul.”

[4:18]  ¹² tn Or “my imprisonment.”

[4:18]  ¹³ tc Most witnesses, including a few important ones (א² D Ψ 075 0278 Ï lat sy), conclude this letter with ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”). Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Further, the external evidence for the omission is quite compelling (א* A B C F G 048 6 33 81 1739* 1881 sa). The strongly preferred reading is therefore the omission of ἀμήν.

[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.”

[2:9]  ¹⁶ sn In him all the fullness of deity lives. The present tense in this verse (“lives”) is significant. Again, as was stated in the note on 1:19, this is not a temporary dwelling, but a permanent one. Paul’s point is polemical against the idea that the fullness of God dwells anywhere else, as the Gnostics believed, except in Christ alone. At the incarnation, the second person of the Trinity assumed humanity, and is forever the God-man.

[1:10]  ¹⁷ tn Or “I am encouraging…”

[1:10]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “my child whom I have begotten.” The adjective “spiritual” has been supplied before “father” in the translation to clarify for the modern reader that Paul did not literally father a child during his imprisonment. Paul’s point is that he was instrumental in Onesimus’ conversion while in prison.

[1:10]  ¹⁹ sn During my imprisonment. Apparently Onesimus became a believer under Paul’s shepherding while he [Paul] was a prisoner in Rome.

[1:13]  ²⁰ tn This is one of the clearest texts in the NT in which ὑπέρ is used for substitution. Cf. ExSyn 387.

[1:13]  ²¹ tn Grk “in my imprisonment.” Paul seems to expect release from his imprisonment after some time (cf. v. 22), but in the meantime the assistance that Onesimus could provide would be valuable to the apostle.

[1:13]  ²² tn Grk “in the chains of the gospel.” On the translation “imprisonment for the sake of the gospel,” cf. BDAG 219 s.v. δεσμός 1.a where it says: “Oft. simply in ref. to the locale where bonds or fetters are worn imprisonment, prison (Diod. S. 14, 103, 3; Lucian, Tox. 29; Jos., Ant. 13, 294; 302, Vi. 241; Just., A I, 67, 6 al.) Phil 1:7, 13f, 17; Col 4:18; Phlm 10. μέχρι δεσμῶν 2 Ti 2:9. ἐν τοῖς δ. τοῦ εὐαγγελίου in imprisonment for the gospel Phlm 13; cf. ISm 11:1; Pol 1:1.”