Ecclesiastes 9:10

9:10 Whatever you find to do with your hands, ¹ 

do it with all your might,

because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, ² 

the place where you will eventually go. ³ 

John 9:4

9:4 We must perform the deeds ⁴  of the one who sent me ⁵  as long as ⁶  it is daytime. Night is coming when no one can work.

John 12:35

12:35 Jesus replied, ⁷  “The light is with you for a little while longer. ⁸  Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. ⁹  The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.

Ephesians 5:16

5:16 taking advantage of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

Philippians 4:10

Appreciation for Support

4:10 I have great joy in the Lord because now at last you have again expressed your concern for me. (Now I know you were concerned before but had no opportunity to do anything.) ¹⁰ 

Colossians 4:5

4:5 Conduct yourselves ¹¹  with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunities.

Titus 2:14

2:14 He ¹²  gave himself for us to set us free from every kind of lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are truly his, ¹³  who are eager to do good. ¹⁴ 

[9:10]  ¹ tn Heb “Whatever your hand finds to do.”

[9:10]  ² tn Heb “Sheol.”

[9:10]  ³ tn Or “where you are about to go.”

[9:4]  ⁴ tn Grk “We must work the works.”

[9:4]  ⁵ tn Or “of him who sent me” (God).

[9:4]  ⁶ tn Or “while.”

[12:35]  ⁷ tn Grk “Then Jesus said to them.”

[12:35]  ⁸ tn Grk “Yet a little while the light is with you.”

[12:35]  ⁹ sn The warning Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you operates on at least two different levels: (1) To the Jewish people in Jerusalem to whom Jesus spoke, the warning was a reminder that there was only a little time left for them to accept him as their Messiah. (2) To those later individuals to whom the Fourth Gospel was written, and to every person since, the words of Jesus are also a warning: There is a finite, limited time in which each individual has opportunity to respond to the Light of the world (i.e., Jesus); after that comes darkness. One’s response to the Light decisively determines one’s judgment for eternity.

[4:10]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “for you were even concerned, but you lacked opportunity.”

[4:5]  ¹¹ 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).

[2:14]  ¹² tn Grk “who” (as a continuation of the previous clause).

[2:14]  ¹³ tn Or “a people who are his very own.”

[2:14]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “for good works.”