Isaiah 27:11

27:11 When its branches get brittle, ¹  they break;

women come and use them for kindling. ² 

For these people lack understanding, ³ 

therefore the one who made them has no compassion on them;

the one who formed them has no mercy on them.

Isaiah 55:6-7

55:6 Seek the Lord while he makes himself available; ⁴ 

call to him while he is nearby!

55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle ⁵ 

and sinful people their plans. ⁶ 

They should return ⁷  to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, ⁸ 

and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. ⁹ 

Matthew 7:7-11

Ask, Seek, Knock

7:7 “Ask ¹⁰  and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door ¹¹  will be opened for you. 7:8 For everyone who asks ¹²  receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 7:9 Is ¹³  there anyone among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 7:10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹⁴  7:11 If you then, although you are evil, ¹⁵  know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts ¹⁶  to those who ask him!

Matthew 7:2

7:2 For by the standard you judge you will be judged, and the measure you use will be the measure you receive. ¹⁷ 

Colossians 1:8-10

1:8 who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ¹⁸  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ¹⁹  to fill ²⁰  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 1:10 so that you may live ²¹  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ²²  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

Philippians 4:6-7

4:6 Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. 4:7 And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds ²³  in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:1

Christian Practices

4:1 So then, my brothers and sisters, ²⁴  dear friends whom I long to see, my joy and crown, stand in the Lord in this way, my dear friends!

Philippians 2:10

2:10 so that at the name of Jesus

every knee will bow

– in heaven and on earth and under the earth –

[27:11]  ¹ tn Heb “are dry” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[27:11]  ² tn Heb “women come [and] light it.” The city is likened to a dead tree with dried up branches that is only good for firewood.

[27:11]  ³ tn Heb “for not a people of understanding [is] he.”

[55:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “while he allows himself to be found.” The Niphal form has a tolerative force here.

[55:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the man of evil his thoughts.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”

[55:7]  ⁸ tn The imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive after the jussive indicates purpose/result.

[55:7]  ⁹ sn The appeal and promise of vv. 6-7 echoes the language of Deut 4:25-31; 30:1-10; and 1 Kgs 8:46-53, all of which anticipate the exile and speak of the prerequisites for restoration.

[7:7]  ¹⁰ sn The three present imperatives in this verse (Ask…seek…knock) are probably intended to call for a repeated or continual approach before God.

[7:7]  ¹¹ tn Grk “it”; the referent (a door) is implied by the context and has been specified in the translation here and in v. 8 for clarity.

[7:8]  ¹² sn The actions of asking, seeking, and knocking are repeated here from v. 7 with the encouragement that God does respond.

[7:9]  ¹³ tn Grk “Or is there.”

[7:10]  ¹⁴ sn The two questions of vv. 9-10 expect the answer, “No parent would do this!”

[7:11]  ¹⁵ tn The participle ὄντες (ontes) has been translated concessively.

[7:11]  ¹⁶ sn The provision of the good gifts is probably a reference to the wisdom and guidance supplied in response to repeated requests. The teaching as a whole stresses not that we get everything we want, but that God gives the good that we need.

[7:2]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “by [the measure] with which you measure it will be measured to you.”

[1:9]  ¹⁸ tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.

[1:9]  ¹⁹ tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ²⁰ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.

[1:10]  ²¹ tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”

[1:10]  ²² tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”

[4:7]  ²³ tn Grk “will guard the hearts of you and the minds of you.” To improve the English style, the second occurrence of ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “of you”) has not been translated, since it is somewhat redundant in English.

[4:1]  ²⁴ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.