Genesis 24:2

24:2 Abraham said to his servant, the senior one ¹  in his household who was in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh ² 

Nehemiah 6:11

6:11 But I replied, “Should a man like me run away? Would someone like me flee to the temple in order to save his life? ³  I will not go!”

Luke 12:48

12:48 But the one who did not know his master’s will ⁴  and did things worthy of punishment ⁵  will receive a light beating. ⁶  From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, ⁷  and from the one who has been entrusted with much, ⁸  even more will be asked. ⁹ 

Luke 12:1

Fear God, Not People

12:1 Meanwhile, ¹⁰  when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus ¹¹  began to speak first to his disciples, “Be on your guard against ¹²  the yeast of the Pharisees, ¹³  which is hypocrisy. ¹⁴ 

Colossians 4:2

Exhortation to Pray for the Success of Paul’s Mission

4:2 Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving.

Titus 2:10

2:10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith, ¹⁵  in order to bring credit to ¹⁶  the teaching of God our Savior in everything.

[24:2]  ¹ tn The Hebrew term זָקֵן (zaqen) may refer to the servant who is oldest in age or senior in authority (or both).

[24:2]  ² sn Put your hand under my thigh. The taking of this oath had to do with the sanctity of the family and the continuation of the family line. See D. R. Freedman, “Put Your Hand Under My Thigh – the Patriarchal Oath,” BAR 2 (1976): 2-4, 42.

[6:11]  ³ tn Heb “go into the temple and live.”

[12:48]  ⁴ tn Grk “did not know”; the phrase “his master’s will” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the contemporary English reader.

[12:48]  ⁵ tn Grk “blows.”

[12:48]  ⁶ tn Grk “will receive few (blows).”

[12:48]  ⁷ tn Grk “required from him”; but the words “from him” are redundant in English and have not been translated.

[12:48]  ⁸ sn Entrusted with much. To be gifted with precious responsibility is something that requires faithfulness.

[12:48]  ⁹ tn Grk “they will ask even more.”

[12:1]  ¹⁰ tn The phrase ἐν οἷς (en Jois) can be translated “meanwhile.”

[12:1]  ¹¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:1]  ¹² tn According to L&N 27.59, “to pay attention to, to keep on the lookout for, to be alert for, to be on your guard against.” This is another Lukan present imperative calling for constant vigilance.

[12:1]  ¹³ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[12:1]  ¹⁴ sn The pursuit of popularity can lead to hypocrisy, if one is not careful.

[2:10]  ¹⁵ tn Or “showing that genuine faith is productive.” At issue between these two translations is the force of ἀγαθήν (agaqhn): Is it attributive (as the text has it) or predicate (as in this note)? A number of considerations point in the direction of a predicate ἀγαθήν (e.g., separation from the noun πίστιν (pistin) by the verb, the possibility that the construction is an object-complement, etc.), though is not usually seen as an option in either translations or commentaries. Cf. ExSyn 188-89, 312-13, for a discussion. Contextually, it makes an intriguing statement, for it suggests a synthetic or synonymous parallel: “‘Slaves should be wholly subject to their masters…demonstrating that all [genuine] faith is productive, with the result [ecbatic ἵνα] that they will completely adorn the doctrine of God.’ The point of the text, then, if this understanding is correct, is an exhortation to slaves to demonstrate that their faith is sincere and results in holy behavior. If taken this way, the text seems to support the idea that saving faith does not fail, but even results in good works” (ExSyn 312-13). The translation of ἀγαθήν as an attributive adjective, however, also makes good sense.

[2:10]  ¹⁶ tn Or “adorn,” “show the beauty of.”