Isaiah 25:8

25:8 he will swallow up death permanently. ¹ 

The sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from every face,

and remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth.

Indeed, the Lord has announced it! ² 

Isaiah 57:18

57:18 I have seen their behavior, ³ 

but I will heal them and give them rest,

and I will once again console those who mourn. ⁴ 

Isaiah 66:10-12

66:10 Be happy for Jerusalem

and rejoice with her, all you who love her!

Share in her great joy,

all you who have mourned over her!

66:11 For ⁵  you will nurse from her satisfying breasts and be nourished; ⁶ 

you will feed with joy from her milk-filled breasts. ⁷ 

66:12 For this is what the Lord says:

“Look, I am ready to extend to her prosperity that will flow like a river,

the riches of nations will flow into her like a stream that floods its banks. ⁸ 

You will nurse from her breast ⁹  and be carried at her side;

you will play on her knees.

Jeremiah 31:13

31:13 The Lord says, ¹⁰  “At that time young women will dance and be glad.

Young men and old men will rejoice. ¹¹ 

I will turn their grief into gladness.

I will give them comfort and joy in place of their sorrow.

Matthew 5:4

5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. ¹² 

Luke 6:21

6:21 “Blessed are you who hunger ¹³  now, for you will be satisfied. ¹⁴ 

“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. ¹⁵ 

Luke 7:44-50

7:44 Then, ¹⁶  turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet, ¹⁷  but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 7:45 You gave me no kiss of greeting, ¹⁸  but from the time I entered she has not stopped kissing my feet. 7:46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet ¹⁹  with perfumed oil. 7:47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which were many, are forgiven, thus she loved much; ²⁰  but the one who is forgiven little loves little.” 7:48 Then ²¹  Jesus ²²  said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” ²³  7:49 But ²⁴  those who were at the table ²⁵  with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 7:50 He ²⁶  said to the woman, “Your faith ²⁷  has saved you; ²⁸  go in peace.”

John 16:20-22

16:20 I tell you the solemn truth, ²⁹  you will weep ³⁰  and wail, ³¹  but the world will rejoice; you will be sad, ³²  but your sadness will turn into ³³  joy. 16:21 When a woman gives birth, she has distress ³⁴  because her time ³⁵  has come, but when her child is born, she no longer remembers the suffering because of her joy that a human being ³⁶  has been born into the world. ³⁷  16:22 So also you have sorrow ³⁸  now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. ³⁹ 

John 16:2

16:2 They will put you out of ⁴⁰  the synagogue, ⁴¹  yet a time ⁴²  is coming when the one who kills you will think he is offering service to God. ⁴³ 

Colossians 1:4-5

1:4 since ⁴⁴  we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints. 1:5 Your faith and love have arisen ⁴⁵  from the hope laid up ⁴⁶  for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel ⁴⁷ 

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ⁴⁸  brothers and sisters ⁴⁹  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ⁵⁰  from God our Father! ⁵¹ 

Colossians 2:16-17

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 ⁵²  the shadow of the things to come, but the reality ⁵³  is Christ! ⁵⁴ 

[25:8]  ¹ sn The image of the Lord “swallowing” death would be especially powerful, for death was viewed in Canaanite mythology and culture as a hungry enemy that swallows its victims. See the note at 5:14.

[25:8]  ² tn Heb “has spoken” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[57:18]  ³ tn Heb “his ways” (so KJV, NASB, NIV); TEV “how they acted.”

[57:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “and I will restore consolation to him, to his mourners.”

[66:11]  ⁵ tn Or “in order that”; ASV, NRSV “that.”

[66:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “you will suck and be satisfied, from her comforting breast.”

[66:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “you will slurp and refresh yourselves from her heavy breast.”

[66:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “Look, I am ready to extend to her like a river prosperity [or “peace”], and like an overflowing stream, the riches of nations.”

[66:12]  ⁹ tn The words “from her breast” are supplied in the translation for clarification (see v. 11).

[31:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.” This phrase has been brought up to the beginning of v. 13 from the end of v. 14 to introduce the transition from third person description by Jeremiah to first person address by the Lord.

[31:13]  ¹¹ tc The translation follows the reading of the LXX (Greek version). The Hebrew reads “will dance and be glad, young men and old men together.” The Greek version presupposes a Qal imperfect of a rare verb (יַחְדּוּ [yakhdu] from the verb חָדָה [khadah]; see BDB 292 s.v. II חָדָה Qal) as opposed to the Hebrew text which reads a common adverb יַחְדָּו (yakhdav). The consonantal text is the same but the vocalization is different. There are no other examples of the syntax of the adverb used this way (i.e., of a compound subject added to a third subject) and the vocalization of the Hebrew text can be explained on the basis of a scribe misvocalizing the text based on his greater familiarity with the adverb.

[5:4]  ¹² sn The promise they will be comforted is the first of several “reversals” noted in these promises. The beatitudes and the reversals that accompany them serve in the sermon as an invitation to enter into God’s care, because one can know God cares for those who turn to him.

[6:21]  ¹³ sn You who hunger are people like the poor Jesus has already mentioned. The term has OT roots both in conjunction with the poor (Isa 32:6-7; 58:6-7, 9-10; Ezek 18:7, 16) or by itself (Ps 37:16-19; 107:9).

[6:21]  ¹⁴ sn The promise you will be satisfied is the first of several “reversals” noted in these promises. The beatitudes and the reversals that accompany them serve in the sermon as an invitation to enter into God’s care, because one can know God cares for those who turn to him.

[6:21]  ¹⁵ sn You will laugh alludes to the joy that comes to God’s people in the salvation to come.

[7:44]  ¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[7:44]  ¹⁷ sn It is discussed whether these acts in vv. 44-46 were required by the host. Most think they were not, but this makes the woman’s acts of respect all the more amazing.

[7:45]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “no kiss.” This refers to a formalized kiss of greeting, standard in that culture. To convey this to the modern reader, the words “of greeting” have been supplied to qualify what kind of kiss is meant.

[7:46]  ¹⁹ sn This event is not equivalent to the anointing of Jesus that takes place in the last week of his life (Matt 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; John 12:1-8). That woman was not a sinner, and Jesus was eating in the home of Simon the leper, who, as a leper, could never be a Pharisee.

[7:47]  ²⁰ tn Grk “for she loved much.” The connection between this statement and the preceding probably involves an ellipsis, to the effect that the ὅτι clause gives the evidence of forgiveness, not the ground. For similar examples of an “evidentiary” ὅτι, cf. Luke 1:22; 6:21; 13:2. See discussion in D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:703-5. Further evidence that this is the case here is the final statement: “the one who is forgiven little loves little” means that the one who is forgiven little is thus not able to love much. The REB renders this verse: “her great love proves that her many sins have been forgiven; where little has been forgiven, little love is shown.”

[7:48]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[7:48]  ²² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:48]  ²³ sn Jesus showed his authority to forgive sins, something that was quite controversial. See Luke 5:17-26 and the next verse.

[7:49]  ²⁴ tn Grk “And”; here καί (kai) has been translated as an adversative (contrastive).

[7:49]  ²⁵ tn Grk “were reclining at table.”

[7:50]  ²⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[7:50]  ²⁷ sn On faith see Luke 5:20; 7:9; 8:25; 12:28; 17:6; 18:8; 22:32.

[7:50]  ²⁸ sn The questioning did not stop Jesus. He declared authoritatively that the woman was forgiven by God (your faith has saved you). This event is a concrete example of Luke 5:31-32.

[16:20]  ²⁹ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[16:20]  ³⁰ tn Or “wail,” “cry.”

[16:20]  ³¹ tn Or “lament.”

[16:20]  ³² tn Or “sorrowful.”

[16:20]  ³³ tn Grk “will become.”

[16:21]  ³⁴ sn The same word translated distress here has been translated sadness in the previous verse (a wordplay that is not exactly reproducible in English).

[16:21]  ³⁵ tn Grk “her hour.”

[16:21]  ³⁶ tn Grk “that a man” (but in a generic sense, referring to a human being).

[16:21]  ³⁷ sn Jesus now compares the situation of the disciples to a woman in childbirth. Just as the woman in the delivery of her child experiences real pain and anguish (has distress), so the disciples will also undergo real anguish at the crucifixion of Jesus. But once the child has been born, the mother’s anguish is turned into joy, and she forgets the past suffering. The same will be true of the disciples, who after Jesus’ resurrection and reappearance to them will forget the anguish they suffered at his death on account of their joy.

[16:22]  ³⁸ tn Or “distress.”

[16:22]  ³⁹ sn An allusion to Isa 66:14 LXX, which reads: “Then you will see, and your heart will be glad, and your bones will flourish like the new grass; and the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants, but he will be indignant toward his enemies.” The change from “you will see [me]” to I will see you places more emphasis on Jesus as the one who reinitiates the relationship with the disciples after his resurrection, but v. 16 (you will see me) is more like Isa 66:14. Further support for seeing this allusion as intentional is found in Isa 66:7, which uses the same imagery of the woman giving birth found in John 16:21. In the context of Isa 66 the passages refer to the institution of the messianic kingdom, and in fact the last clause of 66:14 along with the following verses (15-17) have yet to be fulfilled. This is part of the tension of present and future eschatological fulfillment that runs throughout the NT, by virtue of the fact that there are two advents. Some prophecies are fulfilled or partially fulfilled at the first advent, while other prophecies or parts of prophecies await fulfillment at the second.

[16:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “expel you from.”

[16:2]  ⁴¹ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:59.

[16:2]  ⁴² tn Grk “an hour.”

[16:2]  ⁴³ sn Jesus now refers not to the time of his return to the Father, as he has frequently done up to this point, but to the disciples’ time of persecution. They will be excommunicated from Jewish synagogues. There will even be a time when those who kill Jesus’ disciples will think that they are offering service to God by putting the disciples to death. Because of the reference to service offered to God, it is almost certain that Jewish opposition is intended here in both cases rather than Jewish opposition in the first instance (putting the disciples out of synagogues) and Roman opposition in the second (putting the disciples to death). Such opposition materializes later and is recorded in Acts: The stoning of Stephen in 7:58-60 and the slaying of James the brother of John by Herod Agrippa I in Acts 12:2-3 are notable examples.

[1:4]  ⁴⁴ tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).

[1:5]  ⁴⁵ 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]  ⁴⁶ tn BDAG 113 s.v. ἀπόκειμαι 2 renders ἀποκειμένην (apokeimenhn) with the expression “reserved” in this verse.

[1:5]  ⁴⁷ 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.

[1:2]  ⁴⁸ 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]  ⁴⁹ 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]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ⁵¹ 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.

[2:17]  ⁵² 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]  ⁵³ 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]  ⁵⁴ tn The genitive τοῦ Χριστοῦ (tou Cristou) is appositional and translated as such: “the reality is Christ.”