Ephesians 3:14

Prayer for Strengthened Love

3:14 For this reason ¹  I kneel ²  before the Father, ³ 

Matthew 28:19

28:19 Therefore go ⁴  and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ⁵ 

John 4:21-23

4:21 Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, ⁶  a time ⁷  is coming when you will worship ⁸  the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 4:22 You people ⁹  worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, because salvation is from the Jews. ¹⁰  4:23 But a time ¹¹  is coming – and now is here ¹²  – when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks ¹³  such people to be ¹⁴  his worshipers. ¹⁵ 

John 4:1

Departure From Judea

4:1 Now when Jesus ¹⁶  knew that the Pharisees ¹⁷  had heard that he ¹⁸  was winning ¹⁹  and baptizing more disciples than John

Colossians 1:6

1:6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel ²⁰  is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing ²¹  among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.

Galatians 4:6

4:6 And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, who calls ²²  “Abba! ²³  Father!”

James 3:9

3:9 With it we bless the Lord ²⁴  and Father, and with it we curse people ²⁵  made in God’s image.

James 3:1

The Power of the Tongue

3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, ²⁶  because you know that we will be judged more strictly. ²⁷ 

James 1:17

1:17 All generous giving and every perfect gift ²⁸  is from above, coming down ²⁹  from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change. ³⁰ 

[3:14]  ¹ sn For this reason resumes the point begun in v. 1, after a long parenthesis.

[3:14]  ² tn Grk “I bend my knees.”

[3:14]  ³ tc Most Western and Byzantine witnesses, along with a few others (א² D F G Ψ 0278 1881 Ï lat sy), have “of our Lord Jesus Christ” after “Father,” but such an edifying phrase cannot explain the rise of the reading that lacks it, especially when the shorter reading is attested by early and important witnesses such as Ì⁴⁶ א* A B C P 6 33 81 365 1175 1739 co Or Hier.

[28:19]  ⁴ tn “Go…baptize…teach” are participles modifying the imperative verb “make disciples.” According to ExSyn 645 the first participle (πορευθέντες, poreuqentes, “Go”) fits the typical structural pattern for the attendant circumstance participle (aorist participle preceding aorist main verb, with the mood of the main verb usually imperative or indicative) and thus picks up the mood (imperative in this case) from the main verb (μαθητεύσατε, maqhteusate, “make disciples”). This means that semantically the action of “going” is commanded, just as “making disciples” is. As for the two participles that follow the main verb (βαπτίζοντες, baptizontes, “baptizing”; and διδάσκοντες, didaskontes, “teaching”), these do not fit the normal pattern for attendant circumstance participles, since they are present participles and follow the aorist main verb. However, some interpreters do see them as carrying additional imperative force in context. Others regard them as means, manner, or even result.

[28:19]  ⁵ tc Although some scholars have denied that the trinitarian baptismal formula in the Great Commission was a part of the original text of Matthew, there is no ms support for their contention. F. C. Conybeare, “The Eusebian Form of the Text of Mt. 28:19,” ZNW 2 (1901): 275-88, based his view on a faulty reading of Eusebius’ quotations of this text. The shorter reading has also been accepted, on other grounds, by a few other scholars. For discussion (and refutation of the conjecture that removes this baptismal formula), see B. J. Hubbard, The Matthean Redaction of a Primitive Apostolic Commissioning (SBLDS 19), 163-64, 167-75; and Jane Schaberg, The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (SBLDS 61), 27-29.

[4:21]  ⁶ sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions.

[4:21]  ⁷ tn Grk “an hour.”

[4:21]  ⁸ tn The verb is plural.

[4:22]  ⁹ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to indicate that the Greek verb translated “worship” is second person plural and thus refers to more than the woman alone.

[4:22]  ¹⁰ tn Or “from the Judeans.” See the note on “Jew” in v. 9.

[4:23]  ¹¹ tn Grk “an hour.”

[4:23]  ¹² tn “Here” is not in the Greek text but is supplied to conform to contemporary English idiom.

[4:23]  ¹³ sn See also John 4:27.

[4:23]  ¹⁴ tn Or “as.” The object-complement construction implies either “as” or “to be.”

[4:23]  ¹⁵ tn This is a double accusative construction of object and complement with τοιούτους (toioutous) as the object and the participle προσκυνοῦντας (proskunounta") as the complement.

[4:1]  ¹⁶ tc Several early and important witnesses, along with the majority of later ones (Ì^66c,75 A B C L W^s Ψ 083 ˹³ 33 Ï sa), have κύριος (kurio", “Lord”) here instead of ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsou", “Jesus”). As significant as this external support is, the internal evidence seems to be on the side of ᾿Ιησοῦς. “Jesus” is mentioned two more times in the first two verses of chapter four in a way that is stylistically awkward (so much so that the translation has substituted the pronoun for the first one; see tn note below). This seems to be sufficient reason to motivate scribes to change the wording to κύριος. Further, the reading ᾿Ιησοῦς is not without decent support, though admittedly not as strong as that for κύριος (Ì^66* א D Θ 086 ˹ 565 1241 al lat bo). On the other hand, this Gospel speaks of Jesus as Lord in the evangelist’s narrative descriptions elsewhere only in 11:2; 20:18, 20; 21:12; and probably 6:23, preferring ᾿Ιησοῦς most of the time. This fact could be used to argue that scribes, acquainted with John’s style, changed κύριος to ᾿Ιησοῦς. But the immediate context generally is weighed more heavily than an author’s style. It is possible that neither word was in the original text and scribes supplied what they thought most appropriate (see TCGNT 176). But without ms evidence to this effect coupled with the harder reading ᾿Ιησοῦς, this conjecture must remain doubtful. All in all, it is best to regard ᾿Ιησοῦς as the original reading here.

[4:1]  ¹⁷ sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[4:1]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “Jesus”; the repetition of the proper name is somewhat redundant in English (see the beginning of the verse) and so the pronoun (“he”) has been substituted here.

[4:1]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “was making.”

[1:6]  ²⁰ tn Grk “just as in the entire world it is bearing fruit.” The antecedent (“the gospel”) of the implied subject (“it”) of ἐστιν (estin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:6]  ²¹ tn Though the participles are periphrastic with the present tense verb ἐστίν (estin), the presence of the temporal indicator “from the day” in the next clause indicates that this is a present tense that reaches into the past and should be translated as “has been bearing fruit and growing.” For a discussion of this use of the present tense, see ExSyn 519-20.

[4:6]  ²² tn Grk “calling.” The participle is neuter indicating that the Spirit is the one who calls.

[4:6]  ²³ tn The term “Abba” is the Greek transliteration of the Aramaic אַבָּא (’abba’), literally meaning “my father” but taken over simply as “father,” used in prayer and in the family circle, and later taken over by the early Greek-speaking Christians (BDAG 1 s.v. ἀββα).

[3:9]  ²⁴ tc Most later mss (Ï), along with several versional witnesses, have θεόν (qeon, “God”) here instead of κύριον (kurion, “Lord”). Such is a predictable variant since nowhere else in the NT is God described as “Lord and Father,” but he is called “God and Father” on several occasions. Further, the reading κύριον is well supported by early and diversified witnesses (̲⁰ א A B C P Ψ 33 81 945 1241 1739), rendering it as the overwhelmingly preferred reading.

[3:9]  ²⁵ tn Grk “men”; but here ἀνθρώπους (anqrwpous) has generic force, referring to both men and women.

[3:1]  ²⁶ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[3:1]  ²⁷ tn Grk “will receive a greater judgment.”

[1:17]  ²⁸ tn The first phrase refers to the action of giving and the second to what is given.

[1:17]  ²⁹ tn Or “All generous giving and every perfect gift from above is coming down.”

[1:17]  ³⁰ tn Grk “variation or shadow of turning” (referring to the motions of heavenly bodies causing variations of light and darkness).