Daniel 3:16

3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to King Nebuchadnezzar, ¹  “We do not need to give you a reply ²  concerning this.

Matthew 6:25-33

Do Not Worry

6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry ³  about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing? 6:26 Look at the birds in the sky: ⁴  They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds ⁵  them. Aren’t you more valuable ⁶  than they are? 6:27 And which of you by worrying can add even one hour to his life? ⁷  6:28 Why do you worry about clothing? Think about how the flowers ⁸  of the field grow; they do not work ⁹  or spin. 6:29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! 6:30 And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, ¹⁰  which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, ¹¹  won’t he clothe you even more, ¹²  you people of little faith? 6:31 So then, don’t worry saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 6:32 For the unconverted ¹³  pursue these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 6:33 But above all pursue his kingdom ¹⁴  and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 10:19

10:19 Whenever ¹⁵  they hand you over for trial, do not worry about how to speak or what to say, ¹⁶  for what you should say will be given to you at that time. ¹⁷ 

Matthew 13:22

13:22 The ¹⁸  seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but worldly cares and the seductiveness of wealth ¹⁹  choke the word, ²⁰  so it produces nothing.

Luke 10:41

10:41 But the Lord ²¹  answered her, ²²  “Martha, Martha, ²³  you are worried and troubled ²⁴  about many things,

Luke 12:29

12:29 So ²⁵  do not be overly concerned about ²⁶  what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not worry about such things. ²⁷ 

Luke 12:1

Fear God, Not People

12:1 Meanwhile, ²⁸  when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus ²⁹  began to speak first to his disciples, “Be on your guard against ³⁰  the yeast of the Pharisees, ³¹  which is hypocrisy. ³² 

Colossians 1:21

Paul’s Goal in Ministry

1:21 And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your ³³  minds ³⁴  as expressed through ³⁵  your evil deeds,

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ³⁶  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ³⁷  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:7

1:7 You learned the gospel ³⁸  from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave ³⁹  – a ⁴⁰  faithful minister of Christ on our ⁴¹  behalf –

[3:16]  ¹ tc In the MT this word is understood to begin the following address (“answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar’”). However, it seems unlikely that Nebuchadnezzar’s subordinates would address the king in such a familiar way, particularly in light of the danger that they now found themselves in. The present translation implies moving the atnach from “king” to “Nebuchadnezzar.”

[3:16]  ² tn Aram “to return a word to you.”

[6:25]  ³ tn Or “do not be anxious,” and so throughout the rest of this paragraph.

[6:26]  ⁴ tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).

[6:26]  ⁵ tn Or “God gives them food to eat.” L&N 23.6 has both “to provide food for” and “to give food to someone to eat.”

[6:26]  ⁶ tn Grk “of more value.”

[6:27]  ⁷ tn Or “a cubit to his height.” A cubit (πῆχυς, phcu") can measure length (normally about 45 cm or 18 inches) or time (a small unit, “hour” is usually used [BDAG 812 s.v.] although “day” has been suggested [L&N 67.151]). The term ἡλικία (Jhlikia) is ambiguous in the same way as πῆχυς (phcus). Most scholars take the term to describe age or length of life here, although a few refer it to bodily stature (see BDAG 436 s.v. 3 for discussion). Worry about length of life seems a more natural figure than worry about height. However, the point either way is clear: Worrying adds nothing to life span or height.

[6:28]  ⁸ tn Traditionally, “lilies.” According to L&N 3.32, “Though traditionally κρίνον has been regarded as a type of lily, scholars have suggested several other possible types of flowers, including an anemone, a poppy, a gladiolus, and a rather inconspicuous type of daisy.” In view of the uncertainty, the more generic “flowers” has been used in the translation.

[6:28]  ⁹ tn Or, traditionally, “toil.” Although it might be argued that “work hard” would be a more precise translation of κοπιάω (kopiaw) here, the line in English reads better in terms of cadence with a single syllable.

[6:30]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “grass of the field.”

[6:30]  ¹¹ tn Grk “into the oven.” The expanded translation “into the fire to heat the oven” has been used to avoid misunderstanding; most items put into modern ovens are put there to be baked, not burned.

[6:30]  ¹² sn The phrase even more is a typical form of rabbinic argumentation, from the lesser to the greater. If God cares for the little things, surely he will care for the more important things.

[6:32]  ¹³ tn Or “unbelievers”; Grk “Gentiles.”

[6:33]  ¹⁴ tc ‡ Most mss (L W Θ 0233 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat sy mae) read τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὴν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ (thn basileian tou qeou kai thn dikaiosunhn aujtou, “the kingdom of God and his righteousness”) here, but the words “of God” are lacking in א B pc sa bo Eus. On the one hand, there is the possibility of accidental omission on the part of these Alexandrian witnesses, but it seems unlikely that the scribe’s eye would skip over both words (especially since τοῦ θεοῦ is bracketed by first declension nouns). Intrinsically, the author generally has a genitive modifier with βασιλεία – especially θεοῦ or οὐρανῶν (ouranwn) – but this argument cuts both ways: Although he might be expected to use such an adjunct here, scribes might also be familiar with his practice and would thus naturally insert it if it were missing in their copy of Matthew. Although a decision is difficult, the omission of τοῦ θεοῦ is considered most likely to be original. NA²⁷ includes the words in brackets, indicating doubt as to their authenticity.

[10:19]  ¹⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:19]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “how or what you might speak.”

[10:19]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “in that hour.”

[13:22]  ¹⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[13:22]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “the deceitfulness of riches.” Cf. BDAG 99 s.v. ἀπάτη 1, “the seduction which comes from wealth.”

[13:22]  ²⁰ sn That is, their concern for spiritual things is crowded out by material things.

[10:41]  ²¹ tc Most mss (A B* C D W Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï it) read “Jesus” instead of “the Lord” here, but κύριος (kurios, “Lord”) has the support of some weighty papyri, uncials, and other witnesses (Ì^3,[45],75 א B² L 579 892 pc lat sa).

[10:41]  ²² tn Grk “answering, said to her.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “answered her.”

[10:41]  ²³ sn The double vocative Martha, Martha communicates emotion.

[10:41]  ²⁴ tn Or “upset.” Here the meanings of μεριμνάω (merimnaw) and θορυβάζομαι (qorubazomai) reinforce each other (L&N 25.234).

[12:29]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate a conclusion drawn from the previous illustrations.

[12:29]  ²⁶ tn Grk “do not seek,” but this could be misunderstood to mean that people should make no attempt to obtain their food. The translation “do not be overly concerned” attempts to reflect the force of the original.

[12:29]  ²⁷ tn The words “about such things” have been supplied to qualify the meaning; the phrase relates to obtaining food and drink mentioned in the previous clause.

[12:1]  ²⁸ tn The phrase ἐν οἷς (en Jois) can be translated “meanwhile.”

[12:1]  ²⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:1]  ³⁰ tn According to L&N 27.59, “to pay attention to, to keep on the lookout for, to be alert for, to be on your guard against.” This is another Lukan present imperative calling for constant vigilance.

[12:1]  ³¹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[12:1]  ³² sn The pursuit of popularity can lead to hypocrisy, if one is not careful.

[1:21]  ³³ tn The article τῇ (th) has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[1:21]  ³⁴ tn Although διανοία (dianoia) is singular in Greek, the previous plural noun ἐχθρούς (ecqrous) indicates that all those from Colossae are in view here.

[1:21]  ³⁵ tn The dative ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τοῖς πονηροῖς (en toi" ergoi" toi" ponhroi") is taken as means, indicating the avenue through which hostility in the mind is revealed and made known.

[1:1]  ³⁶ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ³⁷ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:7]  ³⁸ tn Or “learned it.” The Greek text simply has “you learned” without the reference to “the gospel,” but “the gospel” is supplied to clarify the sense of the clause. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[1:7]  ³⁹ tn The Greek word translated “fellow slave” is σύνδουλος (sundoulo"); the σύν- prefix here denotes association. Though δοῦλος is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:7]  ⁴⁰ tn The Greek text has “who (ὅς, Jos) is a faithful minister.” The above translation conveys the antecedent of the relative pronoun quite well and avoids the redundancy with the following substantival participle of v. 8, namely, “who told” (ὁ δηλώσας, Jo dhlwsa").

[1:7]  ⁴¹ tc ‡ Judging by the superior witnesses for the first person pronoun ἡμῶν (Jhmwn, “us”; Ì⁴⁶ א* A B D* F G 326* 1505 al) vs. the second person pronoun ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “you”; found in א² C D¹ Ψ 075 33 1739 1881 Ï lat sy co), ἡμῶν should be regarded as original. Although it is possible that ἡμῶν was an early alteration of ὑμῶν (either unintentionally, as dittography, since it comes seventeen letters after the previous ἡμῶν; or intentionally, to conform to the surrounding first person pronouns), this supposition is difficult to maintain in light of the varied and valuable witnesses for this reading. Further, the second person is both embedded in the verb ἐμάθετε (emaqete) and is explicit in v. 8 (ὑμῶν). Hence, the motivation to change to the first person pronoun is counterbalanced by such evidence. The second person pronoun may have been introduced unintentionally via homoioarcton with the ὑπέρ (Juper) that immediately precedes it. As well, the second person reading is somewhat harder for it seems to address Epaphras’ role only in relation to Paul and his colleagues, rather than in relation to the Colossians. Nevertheless, the decision must be based ultimately on external evidence (because the internal evidence can be variously interpreted), and this strongly supports ἡμῶν.