Ephesians 1:19

1:19 and what is the incomparable ¹  greatness of his power toward ²  us who believe, as displayed in ³  the exercise of his immense strength. ⁴ 

Ephesians 3:16

3:16 I pray that ⁵  according to the wealth of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person,

Deuteronomy 20:3-4

20:3 “Listen, Israel! Today you are moving forward to do battle with your enemies. Do not be fainthearted. Do not fear and tremble or be terrified because of them, 20:4 for the Lord your God goes with you to fight on your behalf against your enemies to give you victory.” ⁶ 

Deuteronomy 31:23

31:23 and the Lord ⁷  commissioned Joshua son of Nun, “Be strong and courageous, for you will take the Israelites to the land I have promised them, and I will be with you.” ⁸ 

Joshua 1:6-7

1:6 Be strong and brave! You must lead these people in the conquest of this land that I solemnly promised their ancestors I would hand over to them. ⁹  1:7 Make sure you are ¹⁰  very strong and brave! Carefully obey ¹¹  all the law my servant Moses charged you to keep! ¹²  Do not swerve from it to the right or to the left, so that you may be successful ¹³  in all you do. ¹⁴ 

Joshua 1:9

1:9 I repeat, ¹⁵  be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic, ¹⁶  for I, the Lord your God, am with you in all you do.” ¹⁷ 

Joshua 1:1

The Lord Commissions Joshua

1:1 After Moses the Lord’s servant died, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant:

Joshua 23:16

23:16 If you violate the covenantal laws of the Lord your God which he commanded you to keep, ¹⁸  and follow, worship, and bow down to other gods, ¹⁹  the Lord will be very angry with you and you will disappear ²⁰  quickly from the good land which he gave to you.”

Joshua 23:1

Joshua Challenges Israel to be Faithful

23:1 A long time ²¹  passed after the Lord made Israel secure from all their enemies, ²²  and Joshua was very old. ²³ 

Joshua 1:10

Joshua Prepares for the Invasion

1:10 Joshua instructed ²⁴  the leaders of the people:

Joshua 1:1-2

The Lord Commissions Joshua

1:1 After Moses the Lord’s servant died, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant: 1:2 “Moses my servant is dead. Get ready! ²⁵  Cross the Jordan River! ²⁶  Lead these people into the land which I am ready to hand over to them. ²⁷ 

Joshua 15:7

15:7 It then went up to Debir from the Valley of Achor, turning northward to Gilgal (which is opposite the Pass ²⁸  of Adummim south of the valley), crossed to the waters of En Shemesh and extended to En Rogel.

Psalms 138:3

138:3 When ²⁹  I cried out for help, you answered me.

You made me bold and energized me. ³⁰ 

Isaiah 35:3-4

35:3 Strengthen the hands that have gone limp,

steady the knees that shake! ³¹ 

35:4 Tell those who panic, ³² 

“Be strong! Do not fear!

Look, your God comes to avenge!

With divine retribution he comes to deliver you.” ³³ 

Isaiah 40:28

40:28 Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The Lord is an eternal God,

the creator of the whole earth. ³⁴ 

He does not get tired or weary;

there is no limit to his wisdom. ³⁵ 

Isaiah 40:31

40:31 But those who wait for the Lord’s help ³⁶  find renewed strength;

they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings, ³⁷ 

they run without growing weary,

they walk without getting tired.

Haggai 2:4

2:4 Even so, take heart, Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord. ‘Take heart, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and ³⁸  all you citizens of the land,’ ³⁹  says the Lord, ‘and begin to work. For I am with you,’ says the Lord who rules over all.

Zechariah 8:9

8:9 “The Lord who rules over all also says, ‘Gather strength, you who are listening to these words today from the mouths of the prophets who were there at the founding of the house of the Lord who rules over all, ⁴⁰  so that the temple might be built.

Zechariah 8:13

8:13 And it will come about that just as you (both Judah and Israel) were a curse to the nations, so I will save you and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid! Instead, be strong!’

Zechariah 8:1

The Blessing of True Fasting

8:1 Then the word of the Lord who rules over all ⁴¹  came to me as follows:

Colossians 1:13

1:13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ⁴² 

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ⁴³  brothers and sisters ⁴⁴  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ⁴⁵  from God our Father! ⁴⁶ 

Colossians 1:9-10

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ⁴⁷  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ⁴⁸  to fill ⁴⁹  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 1:10 so that you may live ⁵⁰  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ⁵¹  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

Philippians 4:13

4:13 I am able to do all things ⁵²  through the one ⁵³  who strengthens me.

Colossians 1:11

1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of ⁵⁴  all patience and steadfastness, joyfully

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ⁵⁵  brothers and sisters ⁵⁶  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ⁵⁷  from God our Father! ⁵⁸ 

Colossians 2:1

2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, ⁵⁹  and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. ⁶⁰ 

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 1:10

1:10 so that you may live ⁶¹  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ⁶²  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

[1:19]  ¹ tn Or “immeasurable, surpassing”

[1:19]  ² tn Or “for, to”

[1:19]  ³ tn Grk “according to.”

[1:19]  ⁴ tn Grk “according to the exercise of the might of his strength.”

[3:16]  ⁵ tn Grk “that.” In Greek v. 16 is a subordinate clause to vv. 14-15.

[20:4]  ⁶ tn Or “to save you” (so KJV, NASB, NCV); or “to deliver you.”

[31:23]  ⁷ tn Heb “he.” Since the pronoun could be taken to refer to Moses, the referent has been specified as “the Lord” in the translation for clarity. See also the note on the word “you” later in this verse.

[31:23]  ⁸ tc The LXX reads, “as the Lord promised them, and he will be with you.” This relieves the problem of Moses apparently promising to be with Joshua as the MT reads on the surface (“I will be with you”). However, the reading of the LXX is clearly an attempt to clarify an existing obscurity and therefore is unlikely to reflect the original.

[1:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “For you will cause these people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give to them.” The pronoun “them” at the end of the verse refers to either the people or to the fathers.

[1:7]  ¹⁰ tn Or “Only be.”

[1:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “so you can be careful to do.” The use of the infinitive לִשְׁמֹר (lishmor, “to keep”) after the imperatives suggests that strength and bravery will be necessary for obedience. Another option is to take the form לִשְׁמֹר as a vocative lamed (ל) with imperative (see Isa 38:20 for an example of this construction), which could be translated, “Indeed, be careful!”

[1:7]  ¹² tn Heb “commanded you.”

[1:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “be wise,” but the word can mean “be successful” by metonymy.

[1:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “in all which you go.”

[1:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Have I not commanded you?” The rhetorical question emphasizes the importance of the following command by reminding the listener that it is being repeated.

[1:9]  ¹⁶ tn Or perhaps, “don’t get discouraged!”

[1:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “in all which you go.”

[23:16]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “when you violate the covenant of the Lord your God which he commanded you.”

[23:16]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and you walk and serve other gods and bow down to them.”

[23:16]  ²⁰ tn Or “perish.”

[23:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “many days.”

[23:1]  ²² tn Heb “the Lord had given rest to Israel from their enemies all around.”

[23:1]  ²³ tn Heb “was old, coming into the days.” This expression, referring to advancing in years, also occurs in the following verse.

[1:10]  ²⁴ tn Or “commanded.”

[1:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Get up!”

[1:2]  ²⁶ tn Heb “this Jordan”; the word “River” has been supplied in the translation for clarity (likewise in v. 11).

[1:2]  ²⁷ tc Heb “Cross over this Jordan, you and all these people, to the land that I am giving to them, to the children of Israel.” The final phrase, “to the children of Israel,” is probably a later scribal addition specifying the identity of “these people/them.”

[15:7]  ²⁸ tn Or “ascent.”

[138:3]  ²⁹ tn Heb “in the day.”

[138:3]  ³⁰ tn Heb “you made me bold in my soul [with] strength.”

[35:3]  ³¹ tn Heb “staggering knees”; KJV, ASV, NRSV “feeble knees”; NIV “knees that give way.”

[35:4]  ³² tn Heb “Say to the hasty of heart,” i.e., those whose hearts beat quickly from fear.

[35:4]  ³³ tn The jussive form וְיֹשַׁעֲכֶם (vÿyosha’akhem), which is subordinated to the preceding imperfect with vav conjunctive, indicates purpose.

[40:28]  ³⁴ tn Heb “the ends of the earth,” but this is a merism, where the earth’s extremities stand for its entirety, i.e., the extremities and everything in between them.

[40:28]  ³⁵ sn Exiled Israel’s complaint (v. 27) implies that God might be limited in some way. Perhaps he, like so many of the pagan gods, has died. Or perhaps his jurisdiction is limited to Judah and does not include Babylon. Maybe he is unable to devise an adequate plan to rescue his people, or is unable to execute it. But v. 28 affirms that he is not limited temporally or spatially nor is his power and wisdom restricted in any way. He can and will deliver his people, if they respond in hopeful faith (v. 31a).

[40:31]  ³⁶ tn The words “for the Lord’s help” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[40:31]  ³⁷ tn Heb “they rise up [on] wings like eagles” (TEV similar).

[2:4]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and take heart.” Although emphatic, the repetition of the verb is redundant in contemporary English style and has been left untranslated.

[2:4]  ³⁹ tn Heb “the people of the land” (עַם הָאָרֶץ, ’am ha’arets); this is a technical term referring to free citizens as opposed to slaves.

[8:9]  ⁴⁰ sn These prophets who were there at the founding of the house of the Lord who rules over all included at least Haggai and Zechariah, and perhaps others. The founding referred to here is not the initial laying of the temple’s foundations in 536 b.c. (Ezra 3:8) but the resumption of work two years before the time of the present narrative (i.e., in 520 b.c.), as vv. 10-12 make clear.

[8:1]  ⁴¹ sn Lord who rules over all. There is a remarkable concentration of this name of God in this section of Zechariah. Of 53 occurrences of יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת (yÿhvah tsÿva’ot) in the Hebrew text in the book, 18 are in this chapter. The reason is the sheer human impossibility of accomplishing what lies ahead – it must be done by the Lord who rules over all.

[1:13]  ⁴² tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).

[1:2]  ⁴³ 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]  ⁴⁴ 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]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ⁴⁶ 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.

[1:9]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.

[1:9]  ⁴⁸ tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ⁴⁹ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.

[1:10]  ⁵⁰ 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]  ⁵¹ 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.”

[4:13]  ⁵² tn The Greek word translated “all things” is in emphatic position at the beginning of the Greek sentence.

[4:13]  ⁵³ tc Although some excellent witnesses lack explicit reference to the one strengthening Paul (so א* A B D* I 33 1739 lat co Cl), the majority of witnesses (א² D² [F G] Ψ 075 1881 Ï sy) add Χριστῷ (Cristw) here (thus, “through Christ who strengthens me”). But this kind of reading is patently secondary, and is a predictable variant. Further, the shorter reading is much harder, for it leaves the agent unspecified.

[1:11]  ⁵⁴ tn The expression “for the display of” is an attempt to convey in English the force of the Greek preposition εἰς (eis) in this context.

[1:2]  ⁵⁵ 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]  ⁵⁶ 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]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ⁵⁸ 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.

[2:1]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”

[2:1]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”

[1:10]  ⁶¹ 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]  ⁶² 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.”