Ephesians 5:19-20

5:19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music ¹  in ²  your hearts to the Lord, 5:20 always giving thanks to God the Father for each other ³  in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Ephesians 1:16

1:16 I do not cease to give thanks for you when I remember you ⁴  in my prayers.

Psalms 33:1

Psalm 33 ⁵ 

33:1 You godly ones, shout for joy because of the Lord!

It is appropriate for the morally upright to offer him praise.

Psalms 92:1

Psalm 92 ⁶ 

A psalm; a song for the Sabbath day.

92:1 It is fitting ⁷  to thank the Lord,

and to sing praises to your name, O sovereign One! ⁸ 

Psalms 107:21-22

107:21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,

and for the amazing things he has done for people! ⁹ 

107:22 Let them present thank offerings,

and loudly proclaim what he has done! ¹⁰ 

Daniel 6:10

6:10 When Daniel realized ¹¹  that a written decree had been issued, he entered his home, where the windows ¹²  in his upper room opened toward Jerusalem. ¹³  Three ¹⁴  times daily he was ¹⁵  kneeling ¹⁶  and offering prayers and thanks to his God just as he had been accustomed to do previously.

John 6:23

6:23 But some boats from Tiberias ¹⁷  came to shore ¹⁸  near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. ¹⁹ 

John 6:2

6:2 A large crowd was following him because they were observing the miraculous signs he was performing on the sick.

Colossians 1:11

1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of ²⁰  all patience and steadfastness, joyfully

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ²¹  brothers and sisters ²²  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ²³  from God our Father! ²⁴ 

Colossians 1:15

The Supremacy of Christ

1:15 ²⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn ²⁶  over all creation, ²⁷ 

Philippians 4:6

4:6 Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God.

Colossians 3:15-17

3:15 Let the peace of Christ be in control in your heart (for you were in fact called as one body ²⁸  to this peace), and be thankful. 3:16 Let the word of Christ ²⁹  dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace ³⁰  in your hearts to God. 3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

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 3:9

3:9 Do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man with its practices

Colossians 1:18

1:18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn ³¹  from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. ³² 

Hebrews 13:15

13:15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, acknowledging his name.

[5:19]  ¹ tn See BDAG 1096 s.v. ψάλλω.

[5:19]  ² tn Or “with.”

[5:20]  ³ tn Grk “for all.” The form “all” can be either neuter or masculine.

[1:16]  ⁴ tn Grk “making mention [of you].”

[33:1]  ⁵ sn Psalm 33. In this hymn the psalmist praises the Lord as the sovereign creator and just ruler of the world who protects and vindicates those who fear him.

[92:1]  ⁶ sn Psalm 92. The psalmist praises God because he defeats the wicked and vindicates his loyal followers.

[92:1]  ⁷ tn Or “good.”

[92:1]  ⁸ tn Traditionally “O Most High.”

[107:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “and [for] his amazing deeds for the sons of man.” See v. 8.

[107:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and let them proclaim his works with a ringing cry.”

[6:10]  ¹¹ tn Aram “knew.”

[6:10]  ¹² sn In later rabbinic thought this verse was sometimes cited as a proof text for the notion that one should pray only in a house with windows. See b. Berakhot 34b.

[6:10]  ¹³ map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[6:10]  ¹⁴ sn This is apparently the only specific mention in the OT of prayer being regularly offered three times a day. The practice was probably not unique to Daniel, however.

[6:10]  ¹⁵ tc Read with several medieval Hebrew MSS and printed editions הֲוָה (havah) rather than the MT הוּא (hu’).

[6:10]  ¹⁶ tn Aram “kneeling on his knees” (so NASB).

[6:23]  ¹⁷ map For location see Map1 E2; Map2 C2; Map3 C3; Map4 D1; Map5 G4.

[6:23]  ¹⁸ tn Or “boats from Tiberias landed”; Grk “came.”

[6:23]  ¹⁹ tc D 091 a e sy^s,c lack the phrase “after the Lord had given thanks” (εὐχαριστήσαντος τοῦ κυρίου, eucaristhsanto" tou kuriou), while almost all the rest of the witnesses ({Ì⁷⁵ א A B L W Θ Ψ 0141 [˹] ˹³ 33 Ï as well as several versions and fathers}) have the words (though {l672 l950 sy^p pbo} read ᾿Ιησοῦ [Ihsou, “Jesus”] instead of κυρίου). Although the shorter reading has minimal support, it is significant that this Gospel speaks of Jesus as Lord in the evangelist’s narrative descriptions only in 11:2; 20:18, 20; 21:12; and possibly 4:1 (but see tc note on “Jesus” there). There is thus but one undisputed preresurrection text in which the narrator calls Jesus “Lord.” This fact can be utilized on behalf of either reading: The participial phrase could be seen as a scribal addition harking back to 6:11 but which does not fit Johannine style, or it could be viewed as truly authentic and in line with what John indisputably does elsewhere even if rarely. On balance, in light of the overwhelming support for these words it is probably best to retain them in the text.

[1:11]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ 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]  ²² 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]  ²³ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ²⁴ 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.

[1:15]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ 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.

[3:15]  ²⁸ tn Grk “in one body.” This phrase emphasizes the manner in which the believers were called, not the goal of their calling, and focuses upon their unity.

[3:16]  ²⁹ tc Since “the word of Christ” occurs nowhere else in the NT, two predictable variants arose: “word of God” and “word of the Lord.” Even though some of the witnesses for these variants are impressive (κυρίου [kuriou, “of the Lord”] in א* I 1175 pc bo; θεοῦ [qeou, “of God”] in A C* 33 104 323 945 al), the reading Χριστοῦ (Cristou, “of Christ”) is read by an excellent cross-section of witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ א² B C² D F G Ψ 075 1739 1881 Ï lat sa). On both internal and external grounds, Χριστοῦ is strongly preferred.

[3:16]  ³⁰ tn Grk “with grace”; “all” is supplied as it is implicitly related to all the previous instructions in the verse.

[1:18]  ³¹ tn See the note on the term “firstborn” in 1:15. Here the reference to Jesus as the “firstborn from among the dead” seems to be arguing for a chronological priority, i.e., Jesus was the first to rise from the dead.

[1:18]  ³² tn Grk “in order that he may become in all things, himself, first.”