Deuteronomy 15:11

15:11 There will never cease to be some poor people in the land; therefore, I am commanding you to make sure you open ¹  your hand to your fellow Israelites ²  who are needy and poor in your land.

Matthew 25:35-45

25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 25:36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 25:37 Then the righteous will answer him, ³  ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 25:38 When ⁴  did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? 25:39 When ⁵  did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 25:40 And the king will answer them, ⁶  ‘I tell you the truth, ⁷  just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters ⁸  of mine, you did it for me.’

25:41 “Then he will say ⁹  to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels! 25:42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. 25:43 I was a stranger and you did not receive me as a guest, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 25:44 Then they too will answer, ¹⁰  ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not give you whatever you needed?’ 25:45 Then he will answer them, ¹¹  ‘I tell you the truth, ¹²  just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.’

Matthew 26:11

26:11 For you will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me! ¹³ 

John 12:7-8

12:7 So Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She has kept it for the day of my burial. ¹⁴  12:8 For you will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me!” ¹⁵ 

John 12:2

12:2 So they prepared a dinner for Jesus ¹⁶  there. Martha ¹⁷  was serving, and Lazarus was among those present at the table ¹⁸  with him.

Colossians 1:13-14

1:13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁹  1:14 in whom we have redemption, ²⁰  the forgiveness of sins.

Philemon 1:7

1:7 I ²¹  have had great joy and encouragement because ²²  of your love, for the hearts ²³  of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.

James 2:14-16

Faith and Works Together

2:14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, ²⁴  if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can this kind of faith ²⁵  save him? ²⁶  2:15 If a brother or sister ²⁷  is poorly clothed and lacks daily food, 2:16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,” but you do not give them what the body needs, ²⁸  what good is it?

James 2:1

Prejudice and the Law of Love

2:1 My brothers and sisters, ²⁹  do not show prejudice ³⁰  if you possess faith ³¹  in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. ³² 

James 3:16

3:16 For where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is disorder and every evil practice.

[15:11]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “make sure.”

[15:11]  ² tn Heb “your brother.”

[25:37]  ³ tn Grk “answer him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[25:38]  ⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[25:39]  ⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[25:40]  ⁶ tn Grk “answering, the king will say to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[25:40]  ⁷ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[25:40]  ⁸ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). In this context Jesus is ultimately speaking of his “followers” (whether men or women, adults or children), but the familial connotation of “brothers and sisters” is also important to retain here.

[25:41]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[25:44]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Then they will answer, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[25:45]  ¹¹ tn Grk “answer them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[25:45]  ¹² tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[26:11]  ¹³ tn In the Greek text of this clause, “me” is in emphatic position (the first word in the clause). To convey some impression of the emphasis, an exclamation point is used in the translation.

[12:7]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “Leave her alone, that for the day of my burial she may keep it.” The construction with ἵνα (Jina) is somewhat ambiguous. The simplest way to read it would be, “Leave her alone, that she may keep it for the day of my burial.” This would imply that Mary was going to use the perfumed oil on that day, while vv. 3 and 5 seem to indicate clearly that she had already used it up. Some understand the statement as elliptical: “Leave her alone; (she did this) in order to keep it for the day of my burial.” Another alternative would be an imperatival use of ἵνα with the meaning: “Leave her alone; let her keep it.” The reading of the Byzantine text, which omits the ἵνα and substitutes a perfect tense τετήρηκεν (tethrhken), while not likely to be original, probably comes close to the meaning of the text, and that has been followed in this translation.

[12:8]  ¹⁵ tc A few isolated witnesses omit v. 8 (D sy^s), part of v. 8 (Ì⁷⁵), or vv. 7-8 ({0250}). The latter two omissions are surely due to errors of sight, while the former can be attributed to D’s sometimes erratic behavior. The verse is secure in light of the overwhelming evidence on its behalf.

[12:2]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity and to conform with contemporary English style.

[12:2]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “And Martha.” The connective καί (kai, “and”) has been omitted in the translation because it would produce a run-on sentence in English.

[12:2]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “reclining at the table.”

[1:13]  ¹⁹ tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).

[1:14]  ²⁰ tc διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ (dia tou {aimato" autou, “through his blood”) is read at this juncture by several minuscule mss (614 630 1505 2464 al) as well as a few, mostly secondary, versional and patristic witnesses. But the reading was prompted by the parallel in Eph 1:7 where the wording is solid. If these words had been in the original of Colossians, why would scribes omit them here but not in Eph 1:7? Further, the testimony on behalf of the shorter reading is quite overwhelming: {א A B C D F G Ψ 075 0150 6 33 1739 1881 Ï latt co as well as several other versions and fathers}. The conviction that “through his blood” is not authentic in Col 1:14 is as strong as the conviction that these words are authentic in Eph 1:7.

[1:7]  ²¹ tn Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and contemporary English style.

[1:7]  ²² tn The Greek preposition ἐπί (epi) is understood here in a causal sense, i.e., “because.”

[1:7]  ²³ tn The word translated “hearts” here is σπλάγχνα (splancna). Literally the term refers to one’s “inward parts,” but it is commonly used figuratively for “heart” as the seat of the emotions. See BDAG 938 s.v. σπλάγχνον 2 (cf. Col 3:12, Phil 2:1).

[2:14]  ²⁴ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[2:14]  ²⁵ tn Grk “the faith,” referring to the kind of faith just described: faith without works. The article here is anaphoric, referring to the previous mention of the noun πίστις (pisti") in the verse. See ExSyn 219.

[2:14]  ²⁶ sn The form of the question in Greek expects a negative answer.

[2:15]  ²⁷ tn It is important to note that the words ἀδελφός (adelfos) and ἀδελφή (adelfh) both occur in the Greek text at this point, confirming that the author intended to refer to both men and women. See the note on “someone” in 2:2.

[2:16]  ²⁸ tn Grk “what is necessary for the body.”

[2:1]  ²⁹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[2:1]  ³⁰ tn Or “partiality.”

[2:1]  ³¹ tn Grk “do not have faith with personal prejudice,” with emphasis on the last phrase.

[2:1]  ³² tn Grk “our Lord Jesus Christ of glory.” Here δόξης (doxhs) has been translated as an attributive genitive.