Galatians 2:4

2:4 Now this matter arose ¹  because of the false brothers with false pretenses ²  who slipped in unnoticed to spy on ³  our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, to make us slaves. ⁴ 

Galatians 4:9

4:9 But now that you have come to know God (or rather to be known by God), how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless ⁵  basic forces? ⁶  Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again? ⁷ 

Matthew 23:4

23:4 They ⁸  tie up heavy loads, hard to carry, and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing even to lift a finger to move them.

Acts 15:10

15:10 So now why are you putting God to the test ⁹  by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke ¹⁰  that neither our ancestors ¹¹  nor we have been able to bear?

Colossians 2:16-22

2:16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you with respect to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days – 2:17 these are only ¹²  the shadow of the things to come, but the reality ¹³  is Christ! ¹⁴  2:18 Let no one who delights in humility and the worship of angels pass judgment on you. That person goes on at great lengths ¹⁵  about what he has supposedly seen, but he is puffed up with empty notions by his fleshly mind. ¹⁶  2:19 He has not held fast ¹⁷  to the head from whom the whole body, supported ¹⁸  and knit together through its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God. ¹⁹ 

2:20 If you have died with Christ to the elemental spirits ²⁰  of the world, why do you submit to them as though you lived in the world? 2:21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” 2:22 These are all destined to perish with use, founded as they are ²¹  on human commands and teachings. ²² 

Hebrews 9:8-11

9:8 The Holy Spirit is making clear that the way into the holy place had not yet appeared as long as the old tabernacle ²³  was standing. 9:9 This was a symbol for the time then present, when gifts and sacrifices were offered that could not perfect the conscience of the worshiper. 9:10 They served only for matters of food and drink ²⁴  and various washings; they are external regulations ²⁵  imposed until the new order came. ²⁶ 

Christ’s Service in the Heavenly Sanctuary

9:11 But now Christ has come ²⁷  as the high priest of the good things to come. He passed through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation,

[2:4]  ¹ tn No subject and verb are expressed in vv. 4-5, but the phrase “Now this matter arose,” implied from v. 3, was supplied to make a complete English sentence.

[2:4]  ² tn The adjective παρεισάκτους (pareisaktou"), which relates to someone joining a group with false motives or false pretenses, applies to the “false brothers.” Although the expression “false brothers with false pretenses” is somewhat redundant, it captures the emphatic force of Paul’s expression, which labels both these “brothers” as false (ψευδαδέλφους, yeudadelfou") as well as their motives. See L&N 34.29 for more information.

[2:4]  ³ tn The verb translated here as “spy on” (κατασκοπέω, kataskopew) can have a neutral nuance, but here the connotation is certainly negative (so F. F. Bruce, Galatians [NIGTC], 112-13, and E. Burton, Galatians [ICC], 83).

[2:4]  ⁴ tn Grk “in order that they might enslave us.” The ἵνα (Jina) clause with the subjunctive verb καταδουλώσουσιν (katadoulwsousin) has been translated as an English infinitival clause.

[4:9]  ⁵ tn Or “useless.” See L&N 65.16.

[4:9]  ⁶ tn See the note on the phrase “basic forces” in 4:3.

[4:9]  ⁷ tn Grk “basic forces, to which you want to be enslaved…” Verse 9 is a single sentence in the Greek text, but has been divided into two in the translation because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence.

[23:4]  ⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[15:10]  ⁹ tn According to BDAG 793 s.v. πειράζω 2.c, “In Ac 15:10 the πειράζειν τὸν θεόν consists in the fact that after God’s will has been clearly made known through granting of the Spirit to the Gentiles (v. 8), some doubt and make trial to see whether God’s will really becomes operative.” All testing of God in Luke is negative: Luke 4:2; 11:16.

[15:10]  ¹⁰ sn A yoke is a wooden bar or frame that joins two animals like oxen or horses so that they can pull a wagon, plow, etc. together. Here it is used figuratively of the restriction that some in the early church wanted to place on Gentile converts to Christianity of observing the law of Moses and having males circumcised. The yoke is a decidedly negative image: Matt 23:4, but cf. Matt 11:29-30.

[15:10]  ¹¹ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[2:17]  ¹² tn The word “only,” though not in the Greek text, is supplied in the English translation to bring out the force of the Greek phrase.

[2:17]  ¹³ tn Grk “but the body of Christ.” The term body here, when used in contrast to shadow (σκιά, skia) indicates the opposite meaning, i.e., the reality or substance itself.

[2:17]  ¹⁴ tn The genitive τοῦ Χριστοῦ (tou Cristou) is appositional and translated as such: “the reality is Christ.”

[2:18]  ¹⁵ tn For the various views on the translation of ἐμβατεύων (embateuwn), see BDAG 321 s.v. ἐμβατεύω 4. The idea in this context seems to be that the individual in question loves to talk on and on about his spiritual experiences, but in reality they are only coming out of his own sinful flesh.

[2:18]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “by the mind of his flesh.” In the translation above, σαρκός (sarkos) is taken as an attributive genitive. The phrase could also be translated “by his sinful thoughts,” since it appears that Paul is using σάρξ (sarx, “flesh”) here in a morally negative way.

[2:19]  ¹⁷ tn The Greek participle κρατῶν (kratwn) was translated as a finite verb to avoid an unusually long and pedantic sentence structure in English.

[2:19]  ¹⁸ tn See BDAG 387 s.v. ἐπιχορηγέω 3.

[2:19]  ¹⁹ tn The genitive τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou) has been translated as a genitive of source, “from God.”

[2:20]  ²⁰ tn See the note on the phrase “elemental spirits” in 2:8.

[2:22]  ²¹ tn The expression “founded as they are” brings out the force of the Greek preposition κατά (kata).

[2:22]  ²² tn Grk “The commands and teachings of men.”

[9:8]  ²³ tn Grk “the first tent.” The literal phrase “the first tent” refers to either (1) the outer chamber of the tabernacle in the wilderness (as in vv. 2, 6) or (2) the entire tabernacle as a symbol of the OT system of approaching God. The second is more likely given the contrast that follows in vv. 11-12.

[9:10]  ²⁴ tn Grk “only for foods and drinks.”

[9:10]  ²⁵ tc Most witnesses (D¹ Ï) have “various washings, and external regulations” (βαπτισμοῖς καὶ δικαιώμασιν, baptismoi" kai dikaiwmasin), with both nouns in the dative. The translation “washings; they are… regulations” renders βαπτισμοῖς, δικαιώματα (baptismoi", dikaiwmata; found in such important mss as Ì⁴⁶ א* A I P 0278 33 1739 1881 al sa) in which case δικαιώματα is taken as the nominative subject of the participle ἐπικείμενα (epikeimena). It seems far more likely that scribes would conform δικαιώματα to the immediately preceding datives and join it to them by καί than they would to the following nominative participle. Both on external and internal evidence the text is thus secure as reading βαπτισμοῖς, δικαιώματα.

[9:10]  ²⁶ tn Grk “until the time of setting things right.”

[9:11]  ²⁷ tn Grk “But Christ, when he came,” introducing a sentence that includes all of Heb 9:11-12. The main construction is “Christ, having come…, entered…, having secured…,” and everything else describes his entrance.