Deuteronomy 31:7

31:7 Then Moses called out to Joshua ¹  in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will accompany these people to the land that the Lord promised to give their ancestors, ²  and you will enable them to inherit it.

Luke 9:1-5

The Sending of the Twelve Apostles

9:1 After ³  Jesus ⁴  called ⁵  the twelve ⁶  together, he gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure ⁷  diseases, 9:2 and he sent ⁸  them out to proclaim ⁹  the kingdom of God ¹⁰  and to heal the sick. ¹¹  9:3 He ¹²  said to them, “Take nothing for your ¹³  journey – no staff, ¹⁴  no bag, ¹⁵  no bread, no money, and do not take an extra tunic. ¹⁶  9:4 Whatever ¹⁷  house you enter, stay there ¹⁸  until you leave the area. ¹⁹  9:5 Wherever ²⁰  they do not receive you, ²¹  as you leave that town, ²²  shake the dust off ²³  your feet as a testimony against them.”

Luke 10:2-11

10:2 He ²⁴  said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest ²⁵  to send out ²⁶  workers into his harvest. 10:3 Go! I ²⁷  am sending you out like lambs ²⁸  surrounded by wolves. ²⁹  10:4 Do not carry ³⁰  a money bag, ³¹  a traveler’s bag, ³²  or sandals, and greet no one on the road. ³³  10:5 Whenever ³⁴  you enter a house, ³⁵  first say, ‘May peace ³⁶  be on this house!’ 10:6 And if a peace-loving person ³⁷  is there, your peace will remain on him, but if not, it will return to you. ³⁸  10:7 Stay ³⁹  in that same house, eating and drinking what they give you, ⁴⁰  for the worker deserves his pay. ⁴¹  Do not move around from house to house. 10:8 Whenever ⁴²  you enter a town ⁴³  and the people ⁴⁴  welcome you, eat what is set before you. 10:9 Heal ⁴⁵  the sick in that town ⁴⁶  and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God ⁴⁷  has come upon ⁴⁸  you!’ 10:10 But whenever ⁴⁹  you enter a town ⁵⁰  and the people ⁵¹  do not welcome ⁵²  you, go into its streets ⁵³  and say, 10:11 ‘Even the dust of your town ⁵⁴  that clings to our feet we wipe off ⁵⁵  against you. ⁵⁶  Nevertheless know this: The kingdom of God has come.’ ⁵⁷ 

Acts 20:28-31

20:28 Watch out for ⁵⁸  yourselves and for all the flock of which ⁵⁹  the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, ⁶⁰  to shepherd the church of God ⁶¹  that he obtained ⁶²  with the blood of his own Son. ⁶³  20:29 I know that after I am gone ⁶⁴  fierce wolves ⁶⁵  will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 20:30 Even from among your own group ⁶⁶  men ⁶⁷  will arise, teaching perversions of the truth ⁶⁸  to draw the disciples away after them. 20:31 Therefore be alert, ⁶⁹  remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning ⁷⁰  each one of you with tears.

Colossians 4:17

4:17 And tell Archippus, “See to it that you complete the ministry you received in the Lord.”

Colossians 4:1

4:1 Masters, treat your slaves with justice and fairness, because you know that you also have a master in heaven.

Colossians 1:21

Paul’s Goal in Ministry

1:21 And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your ⁷¹  minds ⁷²  as expressed through ⁷³  your evil deeds,

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁷⁴  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:13-17

1:13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ⁷⁵  1:14 in whom we have redemption, ⁷⁶  the forgiveness of sins.

The Supremacy of Christ

1:15 ⁷⁷ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn ⁷⁸  over all creation, ⁷⁹ 

1:16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him – all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, ⁸⁰  whether principalities or powers – all things were created through him and for him.

1:17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together ⁸¹  in him.

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ⁸²  brothers and sisters ⁸³  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ⁸⁴  from God our Father! ⁸⁵ 

Colossians 4:1-6

4:1 Masters, treat your slaves with justice and fairness, because you know that you also have a master in heaven.

Exhortation to Pray for the Success of Paul’s Mission

4:2 Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving. 4:3 At the same time pray ⁸⁶  for us too, that ⁸⁷  God may open a door for the message ⁸⁸  so that we may proclaim ⁸⁹  the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. ⁹⁰  4:4 Pray that I may make it known as I should. ⁹¹  4:5 Conduct yourselves ⁹²  with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunities. 4:6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer everyone.

[31:7]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text includes “and said to him.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:7]  ² tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 20).

[9:1]  ³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[9:1]  ⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:1]  ⁵ tn An aorist participle preceding an aorist main verb may indicate either contemporaneous (simultaneous) action (“When he called… he gave”) or antecedent (prior) action (“After he called… he gave”). The participle συγκαλεσάμενος (sunkalesameno") has been translated here as indicating antecedent action.

[9:1]  ⁶ tc Some mss add ἀποστόλους (apostolou", “apostles”; א C* L Θ Ψ 070 0291 ˹³ 33 579 892 1241 1424 2542 pc lat) or μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ (maqhta" autou, “his disciples”; C³ al it) here, but such clarifying notes are clearly secondary.

[9:1]  ⁷ sn Note how Luke distinguishes between exorcisms (authority over all demons) and diseases here.

[9:2]  ⁸ sn “To send out” is often a term of divine commission in Luke: 1:19; 4:18, 43; 7:27; 9:48; 10:1, 16; 11:49; 13:34; 24:49.

[9:2]  ⁹ tn Or “to preach.”

[9:2]  ¹⁰ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[9:2]  ¹¹ sn As Jesus’ own ministry (Luke 4:16-44) involved both word (to proclaim) and deed (to heal) so also would that of the disciples.

[9:3]  ¹² tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:3]  ¹³ tn Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[9:3]  ¹⁴ sn Mark 6:8 allows one staff. It might be that Luke’s summary (cf. Matt 10:9-10) means not taking an extra staff or that the expression is merely rhetorical for “traveling light” which has been rendered in two slightly different ways.

[9:3]  ¹⁵ tn Or “no traveler’s bag”; or possibly “no beggar’s bag” (L&N 6.145; BDAG 811 s.v. πήρα).

[9:3]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “have two tunics.” See the note on the word “tunics” in 3:11.

[9:4]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “And whatever.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:4]  ¹⁸ sn Jesus telling his disciples to stay there in one house contrasts with the practice of religious philosophers in the ancient world who went from house to house begging.

[9:4]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “and depart from there.” The literal wording could be easily misunderstood; the meaning is that the disciples were not to move from house to house in the same town or locality, but remain at the same house as long as they were in that place.

[9:5]  ²⁰ tn Grk “And wherever.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:5]  ²¹ tn Grk “all those who do not receive you.”

[9:5]  ²² tn Or “city.”

[9:5]  ²³ sn To shake the dust off represented shaking off the uncleanness from one’s feet; see Luke 10:11; Acts 13:51; 18:6. It was a sign of rejection.

[10:2]  ²⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:2]  ²⁵ sn The phrase Lord of the harvest recognizes God’s sovereignty over the harvest process.

[10:2]  ²⁶ tn Grk “to thrust out.”

[10:3]  ²⁷ tn Grk “Behold I.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[10:3]  ²⁸ sn On the imagery of lambs see Isa 40:11, Ezek 34:11-31, and John 10:1-18.

[10:3]  ²⁹ sn This imagery of wolves is found in intertestamental Judaism as well; see Pss. Sol. 8:23.

[10:4]  ³⁰ sn On the command Do not carry see Luke 9:3. The travel instructions communicate a note of urgency and stand in contrast to philosophical teachers, who often took a bag. There is no ostentation in this ministry.

[10:4]  ³¹ tn Traditionally, “a purse.”

[10:4]  ³² tn Or possibly “a beggar’s bag” (L&N 6.145; BDAG 811 s.v. πήρα).

[10:4]  ³³ tn Or “no one along the way.”

[10:5]  ³⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:5]  ³⁵ tn Grk “Into whatever house you enter.” This acts as a distributive, meaning every house they enter; this is expressed more naturally in English as “whenever you enter a house.”

[10:5]  ³⁶ sn The statement ‘May peace be on this house!’ is really a benediction, asking for God’s blessing. The requested shalom (peace) is understood as coming from God.

[10:6]  ³⁷ tn Grk “a son of peace,” a Hebrew idiom for a person of a certain class or kind, as specified by the following genitive construction (in this case, “of peace”). Such constructions are discussed further in L&N 9.4. Here the expression refers to someone who responds positively to the disciples’ message, like “wisdom’s child” in Luke 7:30.

[10:6]  ³⁸ sn The response to these messengers determines how God’s blessing is bestowed – if they are not welcomed with peace, their blessing will return to them. Jesus shows just how important their mission is by this remark.

[10:7]  ³⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:7]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “eating and drinking the things from them” (an idiom for what the people in the house provide the guests).

[10:7]  ⁴¹ sn On the phrase the worker deserves his pay see 1 Tim 5:18 and 1 Cor 9:14.

[10:8]  ⁴² tn Grk “And whatever town you enter,” but this is more often expressed in English as “whenever you enter a town.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[10:8]  ⁴³ tn Or “city.” Jesus now speaks of the town as a whole, as he will in vv. 10-12.

[10:8]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “and they”; the referent (the people who live in the town) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:9]  ⁴⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[10:9]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “in it”; the referent (that town) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:9]  ⁴⁷ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[10:9]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “come near to you,” suggesting the approach (but not arrival) of the kingdom. But the combination of the perfect tense of ἐγγίζω (engizw) with the preposition ἐπί (epi) most likely suggests that the sense is “has come upon” (see BDAG 270 s.v. ἐγγίζω 2; W. R. Hutton, “The Kingdom of God Has Come,” ExpTim 64 [Dec 1952]: 89-91; and D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 2:1000; cf. also NAB “is at hand for you”). These passages argue that a key element of the kingdom is its ability to overcome the power of Satan and those elements in the creation that oppose humanity. Confirmation of this understanding comes in v. 18 and in Luke 11:14-23, especially the parable of vv. 21-23.

[10:10]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “whatever town you enter,” but this is more often expressed in English as “whenever you enter a town.”

[10:10]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “city.”

[10:10]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “and they”; the referent (the people who live in the town) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:10]  ⁵² sn More discussion takes place concerning rejection (the people do not welcome you), as these verses lead into the condemnation of certain towns for their rejection of God’s kingdom.

[10:10]  ⁵³ tn The term πλατεῖα (plateia) refers to the “broad street,” so this refers to the main roads of the town.

[10:11]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “city.”

[10:11]  ⁵⁵ sn See Luke 9:5, where the verb is different but the meaning is the same. This was a sign of rejection.

[10:11]  ⁵⁶ tn Here ὑμῖν (Jumin) has been translated as a dative of disadvantage.

[10:11]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “has come near.” As in v. 9 (see above), the combination of ἐγγίζω (engizw) with the preposition ἐπί (epi) is decisive in showing that the sense is “has come” (see BDAG 270 s.v. ἐγγίζω 2, and W. R. Hutton, “The Kingdom of God Has Come,” ExpTim 64 [Dec 1952]: 89-91).

[20:28]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “Be on your guard for” (cf. v. 29). Paul completed his responsibility to the Ephesians with this warning.

[20:28]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “in which.”

[20:28]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “guardians.” BDAG 379-80 s.v. ἐπίσκοπος 2 states, “The term was taken over in Christian communities in ref. to one who served as overseer or supervisor, with special interest in guarding the apostolic tradition…Ac 20:28.” This functional term describes the role of the elders (see v. 17). They were to guard and shepherd the congregation.

[20:28]  ⁶¹ tc The reading “of God” (τοῦ θεοῦ, tou qeou) is found in א B 614 1175 1505 al vg sy; other witnesses have “of the Lord” (τοῦ κυρίου, tou kuriou) here (so Ì⁷⁴ A C* D E Ψ 33 1739 al co), while the majority of the later minuscule mss conflate these two into “of the Lord and God” (τοῦ κυρίου καὶ [τοῦ] θεοῦ, tou kuriou kai [tou] qeou). Although the evidence is evenly balanced between the first two readings, τοῦ θεοῦ is decidedly superior on internal grounds. The final prepositional phrase of this verse, διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ ἰδίου (dia tou {aimato" tou idiou), could be rendered “through his own blood” or “through the blood of his own.” In the latter translation, the object that “own” modifies must be supplied (see tn below for discussion). But this would not be entirely clear to scribes; those who supposed that ἰδίου modified αἵματος would be prone to alter “God” to “Lord” to avoid the inference that God had blood. In a similar way, later scribes would be prone to conflate the two titles, thereby affirming the deity (with the construction τοῦ κυρίου καὶ θεοῦ following the Granville Sharp rule and referring to a single person [see ExSyn 272, 276-77, 290]) and substitutionary atonement of Christ. For these reasons, τοῦ θεοῦ best explains the rise of the other readings and should be considered authentic.

[20:28]  ⁶² tn Or “acquired.”

[20:28]  ⁶³ tn Or “with his own blood”; Grk “with the blood of his own.” The genitive construction could be taken in two ways: (1) as an attributive genitive (second attributive position) meaning “his own blood”; or (2) as a possessive genitive, “with the blood of his own.” In this case the referent is the Son, and the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. See further C. F. DeVine, “The Blood of God,” CBQ 9 (1947): 381-408.

[20:29]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “after my departure.”

[20:29]  ⁶⁵ tn That is, people like fierce wolves. See BDAG 167-68 s.v. βαρύς 4 on the term translated “fierce.” The battle that will follow would be a savage one.

[20:30]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “from among yourselves.”

[20:30]  ⁶⁷ tn The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which only rarely is used in a generic sense to refer to both males and females. Since Paul is speaking to the Ephesian elders at this point and there is nothing in the context to suggest women were included in that group (“from among your own group”), it is most likely Paul was not predicting that these false teachers would include women.

[20:30]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “speaking crooked things”; BDAG 237 s.v. διαστρέφω 2 has “λαλεῖν διεστραμμένα teach perversions (of the truth) Ac 20:30.”

[20:31]  ⁶⁹ tn Or “be watchful.”

[20:31]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “admonishing.”

[1:21]  ⁷¹ tn The article τῇ (th) has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[1:21]  ⁷² 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]  ⁷³ 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]  ⁷⁴ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:13]  ⁷⁵ tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).

[1:14]  ⁷⁶ 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.

[1:15]  ⁷⁷ sn This passage has been typeset as poetry because many scholars regard this passage as poetic or hymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for determining if a passage is poetic or hymnic: “(a) stylistic: a certain rhythmical lilt when the passages are read aloud, the presence of parallelismus membrorum (i.e., an arrangement into couplets), the semblance of some metre, and the presence of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, chiasmus, and antithesis; and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary, particularly the presence of theological terms, which is different from the surrounding context” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 188-89). Classifying a passage as hymnic or poetic is important because understanding this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree that the above criteria are present in this passage, so the decision to typeset it as poetry should be viewed as a tentative decision about its genre.

[1:15]  ⁷⁸ tn The Greek term πρωτότοκος (prwtotokos) could refer either to first in order of time, such as a first born child, or it could refer to one who is preeminent in rank. M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 43, expresses the meaning of the word well: “The ‘firstborn’ was either the eldest child in a family or a person of preeminent rank. The use of this term to describe the Davidic king in Ps 88:28 LXX (=Ps 89:27 EVV), ‘I will also appoint him my firstborn (πρωτότοκον), the most exalted of the kings of the earth,’ indicates that it can denote supremacy in rank as well as priority in time. But whether the πρωτό- element in the word denotes time, rank, or both, the significance of the -τοκος element as indicating birth or origin (from τίκτω, give birth to) has been virtually lost except in ref. to lit. birth.” In Col 1:15 the emphasis is on the priority of Jesus’ rank as over and above creation (cf. 1:16 and the “for” clause referring to Jesus as Creator).

[1:15]  ⁷⁹ tn The genitive construction πάσης κτίσεως (pash" ktisew") is a genitive of subordination and is therefore translated as “over all creation.” See ExSyn 103-4.

[1:16]  ⁸⁰ tn BDAG 579 s.v. κυριότης 3 suggests “bearers of the ruling powers, dominions” here.

[1:17]  ⁸¹ tn BDAG 973 s.v. συνίστημι B.3 suggests “continue, endure, exist, hold together” here.

[1:2]  ⁸² tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ⁸³ 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).

[1:2]  ⁸⁴ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ⁸⁵ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.

[4:3]  ⁸⁶ tn Though προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi) is an adverbial participle related to the previous imperative, προσκαρτερεῖτε (proskartereite), it is here translated as an independent clause due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[4:3]  ⁸⁷ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been rendered as substantival here, indicating the content of the prayer rather than the purpose for it. These two ideas are very similar and difficult to differentiate in this passage, but the conjunction ἵνα following a verb of praying is generally regarded as giving the content of the prayer.

[4:3]  ⁸⁸ tn Grk “that God may open for us a door of the word to speak the mystery of Christ.” The construction in Greek is somewhat awkward in this clause. The translation attempts to simplify this structure somewhat and yet communicate exactly what Paul is asking for.

[4:3]  ⁸⁹ tn Or “so that we may speak.”

[4:3]  ⁹⁰ tn Or “in prison.”

[4:4]  ⁹¹ tn The phrase begins with the ἵνα (Jina) clause and is subordinate to the imperative προσκαρτερεῖτε (proskartereite) in v. 2. The reference to the idea that Paul must make it known indicates that this clause is probably best viewed as purpose and not content, like the ἵνα of v. 3. It is the second purpose stated in the context; the first is expressed through the infinitive λαλῆσαι (lalhsai) in v. 3. The term “pray” at the beginning of the sentence is intended to pick up the imperative of v. 3.

[4:5]  ⁹² tn Grk “walk.” The verb περιπατέω (peripatew) is a common NT idiom for one’s lifestyle, behavior, or manner of conduct (L&N 41.11).