Genesis 17:7

17:7 I will confirm ¹  my covenant as a perpetual ²  covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. ³ 

Genesis 17:10-14

17:10 This is my requirement that you and your descendants after you must keep: ⁴  Every male among you must be circumcised. ⁵  17:11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins. This will be a reminder ⁶  of the covenant between me and you. 17:12 Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old ⁷  must be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants. 17:13 They must indeed be circumcised, ⁸  whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant ⁹  will be visible in your flesh as a permanent ¹⁰  reminder. 17:14 Any uncircumcised male ¹¹  who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off ¹²  from his people – he has failed to carry out my requirement.” ¹³ 

Numbers 14:31

14:31 But I will bring in your little ones, whom you said would become victims of war, ¹⁴  and they will enjoy ¹⁵  the land that you have despised.

Deuteronomy 4:37

4:37 Moreover, because he loved ¹⁶  your ancestors, he chose their ¹⁷  descendants who followed them and personally brought you out of Egypt with his great power

Deuteronomy 29:11-12

29:11 your infants, your wives, and the ¹⁸  foreigners living in your encampment, those who chop wood and those who carry water – 29:12 so that you may enter by oath into the covenant the Lord your God is making with you today. ¹⁹ 

Deuteronomy 29:1

Narrative Interlude

29:1 (28:69) ²⁰  These are the words of the covenant that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb. ²¹ 

Deuteronomy 1:11

1:11 Indeed, may the Lord, the God of your ancestors, make you a thousand times more numerous than you are now, blessing you ²²  just as he said he would!

Deuteronomy 1:22

1:22 So all of you approached me and said, “Let’s send some men ahead of us to scout out the land and bring us back word as to how we should attack it and what the cities are like there.”

Deuteronomy 1:27-28

1:27 You complained among yourselves privately ²³  and said, “Because the Lord hates us he brought us from Egypt to deliver us over to the Amorites so they could destroy us! 1:28 What is going to happen to us? Our brothers have drained away our courage ²⁴  by describing people who are more numerous ²⁵  and taller than we are, and great cities whose defenses appear to be as high as heaven ²⁶  itself! Moreover, they said they saw ²⁷  Anakites ²⁸  there.”

Psalms 78:4

78:4 we will not hide from their ²⁹  descendants.

We will tell the next generation

about the Lord’s praiseworthy acts, ³⁰ 

about his strength and the amazing things he has done.

Psalms 115:14-15

115:14 May he increase your numbers,

yours and your children’s! ³¹ 

115:15 May you be blessed by the Lord,

the creator ³²  of heaven and earth!

Isaiah 65:23

65:23 They will not work in vain,

or give birth to children that will experience disaster. ³³ 

For the Lord will bless their children

and their descendants. ³⁴ 

Jeremiah 32:39-40

32:39 I will give them a single-minded purpose to live in a way that always shows respect for me. They will want to do that for ³⁵  their own good and the good of the children who descend from them. 32:40 I will make a lasting covenant ³⁶  with them that I will never stop doing good to them. ³⁷  I will fill their hearts and minds with respect for me so that ³⁸  they will never again turn ³⁹  away from me.

Luke 18:15-16

Jesus and Little Children

18:15 Now people ⁴⁰  were even bringing their babies ⁴¹  to him for him to touch. ⁴²  But when the disciples saw it, they began to scold those who brought them. ⁴³  18:16 But Jesus called for the children, ⁴⁴  saying, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of God ⁴⁵  belongs to such as these. ⁴⁶ 

Acts 2:39

2:39 For the promise ⁴⁷  is for you and your children, and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.”

Acts 3:25

3:25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, ⁴⁸  saying to Abraham, ‘And in your descendants ⁴⁹  all the nations ⁵⁰  of the earth will be blessed.’ ⁵¹ 

Romans 11:16

11:16 If the first portion ⁵²  of the dough offered is holy, then the whole batch is holy, and if the root is holy, so too are the branches. ⁵³ 

Romans 11:28

11:28 In regard to the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but in regard to election they are dearly loved for the sake of the fathers.

Romans 11:1

Israel’s Rejection not Complete nor Final

11:1 So I ask, God has not rejected his people, has he? Absolutely not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.

Colossians 1:14

1:14 in whom we have redemption, ⁵⁴  the forgiveness of sins.

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 1:5

1:5 Your faith and love have arisen ⁵⁹  from the hope laid up ⁶⁰  for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel ⁶¹ 

Colossians 3:15

3:15 Let the peace of Christ be in control in your heart (for you were in fact called as one body ⁶²  to this peace), and be thankful.

[17:7]  ¹ tn The verb קוּם (qum, “to arise, to stand up”) in the Hiphil verbal stem means “to confirm, to give effect to, to carry out” (i.e., a covenant or oath; see BDB 878-79 s.v. קוּם).

[17:7]  ² tn Or “as an eternal.”

[17:7]  ³ tn Heb “to be to you for God and to your descendants after you.”

[17:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “This is my covenant that you must keep between me and you and your descendants after you.”

[17:10]  ⁵ sn For a discussion of male circumcision as the sign of the covenant in this passage see M. V. Fox, “The Sign of the Covenant: Circumcision in the Light of the Priestly ‘ot Etiologies,” RB 81 (1974): 557-96.

[17:11]  ⁶ tn Or “sign.”

[17:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “the son of eight days.”

[17:13]  ⁸ tn The emphatic construction employs the Niphal imperfect tense (collective singular) and the Niphal infinitive.

[17:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “my covenant.” Here in v. 13 the Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) refers to the outward, visible sign, or reminder, of the covenant. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.

[17:13]  ¹⁰ tn Or “an eternal.”

[17:14]  ¹¹ tn The disjunctive clause calls attention to the “uncircumcised male” and what will happen to him.

[17:14]  ¹² tn Heb “that person will be cut off.” The words “that person” have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[17:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “he has broken my covenant.” The noun בְּרִית (bÿrit) here refers to the obligation required by God in conjunction with the covenantal agreement. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.

[14:31]  ¹⁴ tn Or “plunder.”

[14:31]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “know.”

[4:37]  ¹⁶ tn The concept of love here is not primarily that of emotional affection but of commitment or devotion. This verse suggests that God chose Israel to be his special people because he loved the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) and had promised to bless their descendants. See as well Deut 7:7-9.

[4:37]  ¹⁷ tc The LXX, Smr, Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate read a third person masculine plural suffix for the MT’s 3rd person masculine singular, “his descendants.” Cf. Deut 10:15. Quite likely the MT should be emended in this instance.

[29:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “your.”

[29:12]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “for you to pass on into the covenant of the Lord your God and into his oath, which the Lord your God is cutting with you today.”

[29:1]  ²⁰ sn Beginning with 29:1, the verse numbers through 29:29 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 29:1 ET = 28:69 HT, 29:2 ET = 29:1 HT, 29:3 ET = 29:2 HT, etc., through 29:29 ET = 29:28 HT. With 30:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.

[29:1]  ²¹ sn Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai (which some English versions substitute here for clarity, cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[1:11]  ²² tn Heb “may he bless you.”

[1:27]  ²³ tn Heb “in your tents,” that is, privately.

[1:28]  ²⁴ tn Heb “have caused our hearts to melt.”

[1:28]  ²⁵ tn Heb “greater.” Many English versions understand this to refer to physical size or strength rather than numbers (cf. “stronger,” NAB, NIV, NRSV; “bigger,” NASB).

[1:28]  ²⁶ tn Or “as the sky.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[1:28]  ²⁷ tn Heb “we have seen.”

[1:28]  ²⁸ tn Heb “the sons of the Anakim.”

[78:4]  ²⁹ tn The pronominal suffix refers back to the “fathers” (“our ancestors,” v. 3).

[78:4]  ³⁰ tn Heb “to a following generation telling the praises of the Lord.” “Praises” stand by metonymy for the mighty acts that prompt worship. Cf. Ps 9:14.

[115:14]  ³¹ tn Heb “may he add to you, to you and your sons.” The prefixed verbal form is jussive, indicating this is a prayer.

[115:15]  ³² tn Or “maker.”

[65:23]  ³³ tn Heb “and they will not give birth to horror.”

[65:23]  ³⁴ tn Heb “for offspring blessed by the Lord they [will be], and their descendants along with them.”

[32:39]  ³⁵ tn Heb “I will give to them one heart and one way to [= in order that they may] fear me all the days for good to them.” The phrase “one heart” refers both to unanimity of will and accord (cf. 1 Chr 12:38 [12:39 HT]; 2 Chr 30:12) and to singleness of purpose or intent (cf. Ezek 11:19 and see BDB 525 s.v. ֵלב 4 where reference is made to “inclinations, resolutions, and determinations of the will”). The phrase “one way” refers to one way of life or conduct (cf. BDB 203 s.v. דֶּרֶךְ 6.a where reference is made to moral action and character), a way of life that is further qualified by the goal of showing “fear, reverence, respect” for the Lord. The Hebrew sentence has been broken up to avoid a long complex sentence in English which is contrary to contemporary English style. However, an attempt has been made to preserve all the connections of the original.

[32:40]  ³⁶ tn Heb “an everlasting covenant.” For the rationale for the rendering “agreement” and the nature of the biblical covenants see the study note on 11:2.

[32:40]  ³⁷ tn Or “stop being gracious to them” or “stop blessing them with good”; Heb “turn back from them to do good to them.”

[32:40]  ³⁸ tn Or “I will make them want to fear and respect me so much that”; Heb “I will put the fear of me in their hearts.” However, as has been noted several times, “heart” in Hebrew is more the center of the volition (and intellect) than the center of emotions as it is in English. Both translations are intended to reflect the difference in psychology.

[32:40]  ³⁹ tn The words “never again” are not in the text but are implicit from the context and are supplied not only by this translation but by a number of others.

[18:15]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “they.”

[18:15]  ⁴¹ tn The term βρέφος (brefos) here can refer to babies or to toddlers (2:12, 16; Acts 7:19; 2 Tim 3:15; 1 Pet 2:2).

[18:15]  ⁴² tn Grk “so that he would touch them.” Here the touch is connected with (or conveys) a blessing (cf. Mark 10:16; also BDAG 126 s.v. ἅπτω 2.c).

[18:15]  ⁴³ tn Grk “the disciples began to scold them.” In the translation the referent has been specified as “those who brought them,” since otherwise the statement could be understood to mean that the disciples began scolding the children rather than their parents who brought them.

[18:16]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “summoned them”; the referent (the children) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:16]  ⁴⁵ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[18:16]  ⁴⁶ sn The kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Children are a picture of those whose simple trust illustrates what faith is all about. The remark illustrates how everyone is important to God, even those whom others regard as insignificant.

[2:39]  ⁴⁷ sn The promise refers to the promise of the Holy Spirit that Jesus received from the Father in 2:33 and which he now pours out on others. The promise consists of the Holy Spirit (see note in 2:33). Jesus is the active mediator of God’s blessing.

[3:25]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[3:25]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “in your offspring”; Grk “in your seed.”

[3:25]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “families.” The Greek word πατριά (patria) can indicate persons of succeeding generations who are related by birth (“lineage,” “family”) but it can also indicate a relatively large unit of people who make up a sociopolitical group and who share a presumed biological descent. In many contexts πατριά is very similar to ἔθνος (eqnos) and λαός (laos). In light of the context of the OT quotation, it is better to translate πατριά as “nations” here.

[3:25]  ⁵¹ sn A quotation from Gen 22:18.

[11:16]  ⁵² tn Grk “firstfruits,” a term for the first part of something that has been set aside and offered to God before the remainder can be used.

[11:16]  ⁵³ sn Most interpreters see Paul as making use of a long-standing metaphor of the olive tree (the root…the branches) as a symbol for Israel. See, in this regard, Jer 11:16, 19. A. T. Hanson, Studies in Paul’s Technique and Theology, 121-24, cites rabbinic use of the figure of the olive tree, and goes so far as to argue that Rom 11:17-24 is a midrash on Jer 11:16-19.

[1:14]  ⁵⁴ tc διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ (dia tou {aimato" autou, “through his blood”) is read at this juncture by several minuscule mss (614 630 1505 2464 al) as well as a few, mostly secondary, versional and patristic witnesses. But the reading was prompted by the parallel in Eph 1:7 where the wording is solid. If these words had been in the original of Colossians, why would scribes omit them here but not in Eph 1:7? Further, the testimony on behalf of the shorter reading is quite overwhelming: {א A B C D F G Ψ 075 0150 6 33 1739 1881 Ï latt co as well as several other versions and fathers}. The conviction that “through his blood” is not authentic in Col 1:14 is as strong as the conviction that these words are authentic in Eph 1:7.

[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.

[1:5]  ⁵⁹ tn Col 1:3-8 form one long sentence in the Greek text and have been divided at the end of v. 4 and v. 6 and within v. 6 for clarity, in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English toward shorter sentences. Thus the phrase “Your faith and love have arisen from the hope” is literally “because of the hope.” The perfect tense “have arisen” was chosen in the English to reflect the fact that the recipients of the letter had acquired this hope at conversion in the past, but that it still remains and motivates them to trust in Christ and to love one another.

[1:5]  ⁶⁰ tn BDAG 113 s.v. ἀπόκειμαι 2 renders ἀποκειμένην (apokeimenhn) with the expression “reserved” in this verse.

[1:5]  ⁶¹ tn The term “the gospel” (τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, tou euangeliou) is in apposition to “the word of truth” (τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας, tw logw th" alhqeia") as indicated in the translation.

[3:15]  ⁶² 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.