Ephesians 3:17

3:17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, so that, because you have been rooted and grounded in love,

Ephesians 4:2

4:2 with all humility and gentleness, ¹  with patience, bearing with ²  one another in love,

Ephesians 4:15-16

4:15 But practicing the truth in love, ³  we will in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head. 4:16 From him the whole body grows, fitted and held together ⁴  through every supporting ligament. ⁵  As each one does its part, the body grows in love.

Ephesians 5:2

5:2 and live ⁶  in love, just as Christ also loved us ⁷  and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering ⁸  to God.

Galatians 5:6

5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision carries any weight – the only thing that matters is faith working through love. ⁹ 

Galatians 5:13

Practice Love

5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; ¹⁰  only do not use your freedom as an opportunity to indulge your flesh, ¹¹  but through love serve one another. ¹² 

Galatians 5:22

5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit ¹³  is love, ¹⁴  joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ¹⁵ 

Colossians 2:2

2:2 My goal is that ¹⁶  their hearts, having been knit together ¹⁷  in love, may be encouraged, and that ¹⁸  they may have all the riches that assurance brings in their understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely, Christ, ¹⁹ 

Colossians 2:1

2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, ²⁰  and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. ²¹ 

Colossians 3:12

Exhortation to Unity and Love

3:12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, ²²  kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,

Colossians 3:1

Exhortations to Seek the Things Above

3:1 Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Colossians 4:16

4:16 And after ²³  you have read this letter, have it read ²⁴  to the church of Laodicea. In turn, read the letter from Laodicea ²⁵  as well.

[4:2]  ¹ tn Or “meekness.” The word is often used in Hellenistic Greek of the merciful execution of justice on behalf of those who have no voice by those who are in a position of authority (Matt 11:29; 21:5).

[4:2]  ² tn Or “putting up with”; or “forbearing.”

[4:15]  ³ tn The meaning of the participle ἀληθεύοντες (alhqeuonte"; from the verb ἀληθεύω [alhqeuw]) is debated. In classical times the verb could mean “to speak the truth,” or “to be true, to prove true.” In the LXX it appears five times (Gen 20:16; 42:16; Prov 21:3; Isa 44:26; Sir 34:4) and translates four different Hebrew words; there it is an ethical term used of proving or being true, not with the idea of speaking the truth. In the NT the only other place the verb appears is in Gal 4:16 where it means “to speak the truth.” However, in Ephesians the concept of “being truthful” is the best sense of the word. In contrast to the preceding verse, where there are three prepositional phrases to denote falsehood and deceit, the present word speaks of being real or truthful in both conduct and speech. Their deceit was not only in their words but also in their conduct. In other words, the believers’ conduct should be transparent, revealing the real state of affairs, as opposed to hiding or suppressing the truth through cunning and deceit. See H. W. Hoehner, Ephesians, 564-65, and R. Bultmann, TDNT 1:251.

[4:16]  ⁴ tn The Greek participle συμβιβαζόμενον (sumbibazomenon) translated “held together” also has in different contexts, the idea of teaching implied in it.

[4:16]  ⁵ tn Grk “joint of supply.”

[5:2]  ⁶ tn Grk “walk.” The NT writers often used the verb “walk” (περιπατέω, peripatew) to refer to ethical conduct (cf. Rom 8:4; Gal 5:16; Col 4:5).

[5:2]  ⁷ tc A number of important witnesses have ὑμᾶς (Jumas, “you”; e.g., א* A B P 0159 81 1175 al it co as well as several fathers). Other, equally important witnesses read ἡμᾶς (Jhmas, “us”; Ì⁴⁶ א² D F G Ψ 0278 33 1739 1881 al lat sy). It is possible that ἡμᾶς was accidentally introduced via homoioarcton with the previous word (ἠγάπησεν, hgaphsen). On the other hand, ὑμᾶς may have been motivated by the preceding ὑμῖν (Jumin) in 4:32 and second person verbs in 5:1, 2. Further, the flow of argument seems to require the first person pronoun. A decision is difficult to make, but the first person pronoun has a slightly greater probability of being original.

[5:2]  ⁸ tn Grk “an offering and sacrifice to God as a smell of fragrance.” The first expression, προσφορὰν καὶ θυσίαν (prosforan kai qusian), is probably a hendiadys and has been translated such that “sacrificial” modifies “offering.” The second expression, εἰς ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας (ei" osmhn euwdia", “as a smell of fragrance”) has been translated as “a fragrant offering”; see BDAG 728-29 s.v. ὀσμή 2. Putting these two together in a clear fashion in English yields the translation: “a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.”

[5:6]  ⁹ tn Grk “but faith working through love.”

[5:13]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:11.

[5:13]  ¹¹ tn Grk “as an opportunity for the flesh”; BDAG 915 s.v. σάρξ 2.c.α states: “In Paul’s thought esp., all parts of the body constitute a totality known as σ. or flesh, which is dominated by sin to such a degree that wherever flesh is, all forms of sin are likew. present, and no good thing can live in the σάρξ…Gal 5:13, 24;…Opp. τὸ πνεῦμα…Gal 3:3; 5:16, 17ab; 6:8ab.”

[5:13]  ¹² tn It is possible that the verb δουλεύετε (douleuete) should be translated “serve one another in a humble manner” here, referring to the way in which slaves serve their masters (see L&N 35.27).

[5:22]  ¹³ tn That is, the fruit the Spirit produces.

[5:22]  ¹⁴ sn Another way to punctuate this is “love” followed by a colon (love: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control). It is thus possible to read the eight characteristics following “love” as defining love.

[5:22]  ¹⁵ tn Or “reliability”; see BDAG 818 s.v. πίστις 1.a.

[2:2]  ¹⁶ tn Verse two begins a subordinate ἵνα (Jina) clause which was divided up into two sentences for the sake of clarity in English. Thus the phrase “My goal is that” is an attempt to reflect in the translation the purpose expressed through the ἵνα clauses.

[2:2]  ¹⁷ tn BDAG 956 s.v. συμβιβάζω 1.b reads “unite, knit together.” Some commentators take the verb as a reference to instruction, “instructed in love.” See P. T. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon (WBC), 93.

[2:2]  ¹⁸ tn The phrase “and that” translates the first εἰς (eis) clause of v. 2 and reflects the second goal of Paul’s striving and struggle for the Colossians – the first is “encouragement” and the second is “full assurance.”

[2:2]  ¹⁹ tc There are at least a dozen variants here, almost surely generated by the unusual wording τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ (tou qeou, Cristou, “of God, Christ”; so Ì⁴⁶ B Hil). Scribes would be prone to conform this to more common Pauline expressions such as “of God, who is in Christ” (33), “of God, the Father of Christ” (א* A C 048^vid 1175 bo), and “of the God and Father of Christ” (א² Ψ 075 0278 365 1505 pc). Even though the external support for the wording τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ is hardly overwhelming, it clearly best explains the rise of the other readings and should thus be regarded as authentic.

[2:1]  ²⁰ tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”

[2:1]  ²¹ tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”

[3:12]  ²² tn If the genitive construct σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμοῦ (splancna oiktirmou) is a hendiadys then it would be “compassion” or “tenderheartedness.” See M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 161.

[4:16]  ²³ tn Grk “when.”

[4:16]  ²⁴ tn The construction beginning with the imperative ποιήσατε ἵνα…ἀναγνωσθῇ (poihsate Jina…anagnwsqh) should be translated as “have it read” where the conjunction ἵνα functions to mark off its clause as the direct object of the imperative ποιήσατε. The content of the clause (“reading the letter”) is what Paul commands with the imperative ποιήσατε. Thus the translation “have it read” has been used here.

[4:16]  ²⁵ sn This letter is otherwise unknown, but some have suggested that it is the letter known today as Ephesians.