Isaiah 29:10-11

29:10 For the Lord has poured out on you

a strong urge to sleep deeply. ¹ 

He has shut your eyes (the prophets),

and covered your heads (the seers).

29:11 To you this entire prophetic revelation ²  is like words in a sealed scroll. When they hand it to one who can read ³  and say, “Read this,” he responds, “I can’t, because it is sealed.”

Isaiah 28:7

28:7 Even these men ⁴  stagger because of wine,

they stumble around because of beer –

priests and prophets stagger because of beer,

they are confused ⁵  because of wine,

they stumble around because of beer;

they stagger while seeing prophetic visions, ⁶ 

they totter while making legal decisions. ⁷ 

Zechariah 12:10

12:10 “I will pour out on the kingship ⁸  of David and the population of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication so that they will look to me, ⁹  the one they have pierced. They will lament for him as one laments for an only son, and there will be a bitter cry for him like the bitter cry for a firstborn. ¹⁰ 

Matthew 21:28-32

The Parable of the Two Sons

21:28 “What ¹¹  do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 21:29 The boy answered, ¹²  ‘I will not.’ But later he had a change of heart ¹³  and went. 21:30 The father ¹⁴  went to the other son and said the same thing. This boy answered, ¹⁵  ‘I will, sir,’ but did not go. 21:31 Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.” ¹⁶  Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, ¹⁷  tax collectors ¹⁸  and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God! 21:32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe. Although ¹⁹  you saw this, you did not later change your minds ²⁰  and believe him.

Luke 7:47

7:47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which were many, are forgiven, thus she loved much; ²¹  but the one who is forgiven little loves little.”

Luke 15:17-19

15:17 But when he came to his senses ²²  he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have food ²³  enough to spare, but here I am dying from hunger! 15:18 I will get up and go to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned ²⁴  against heaven ²⁵  and against ²⁶  you. 15:19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me ²⁷  like one of your hired workers.”’

Acts 2:37

The Response to Peter’s Address

2:37 Now when they heard this, ²⁸  they were acutely distressed ²⁹  and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “What should we do, brothers?”

Acts 6:7

6:7 The word of God continued to spread, ³⁰  the number of disciples in Jerusalem ³¹  increased greatly, and a large group ³²  of priests became obedient to the faith.

Acts 9:19-20

9:19 and after taking some food, his strength returned.

For several days ³³  he was with the disciples in Damascus, 9:20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, ³⁴  saying, “This man is the Son of God.” ³⁵ 

Acts 9:1

The Conversion of Saul

9:1 Meanwhile Saul, still breathing out threats ³⁶  to murder ³⁷  the Lord’s disciples, went to the high priest

Colossians 1:11

1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of ³⁸  all patience and steadfastness, joyfully

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ³⁹  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:13-15

1:13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ⁴⁰  1:14 in whom we have redemption, ⁴¹  the forgiveness of sins.

The Supremacy of Christ

1:15 ⁴² He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn ⁴³  over all creation, ⁴⁴ 

Revelation 20:2-3

20:2 He ⁴⁵  seized the dragon – the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan – and tied him up for a thousand years. 20:3 The angel ⁴⁶  then ⁴⁷  threw him into the abyss and locked ⁴⁸  and sealed it so that he could not deceive the nations until the one thousand years were finished. (After these things he must be released for a brief period of time.)

[29:10]  ¹ tn Heb “a disposition [or “spirit”] of deep sleep.” Through this mixed metaphor (sleep is likened to a liquid which one pours and in turn symbolizes spiritual dullness) the prophet emphasizes that God himself has given the people over to their spiritual insensitivity as a form of judgment.

[29:11]  ² tn Heb “vision” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[29:11]  ³ tn Heb “one who knows a/the scroll.”

[28:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “these.” The demonstrative pronoun anticipates “priests and prophets” two lines later.

[28:7]  ⁵ tn According to HALOT 135 s.v. III בלע, the verb form is derived from בָּלַע (bala’, “confuse”), not the more common בָּלַע (“swallow”). See earlier notes at 3:12 and 9:16.

[28:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “in the seeing.”

[28:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “[in] giving a decision.”

[12:10]  ⁸ tn Or “dynasty”; Heb “house.”

[12:10]  ⁹ tc Because of the difficulty of the concept of the mortal piercing of God, the subject of this clause, and the shift of pronoun from “me” to “him” in the next, many mss read אַלֵי אֵת אֲשֶׁר (’ale ’et ’asher, “to the one whom,” a reading followed by NAB, NRSV) rather than the MT’s אֵלַי אֵת אֲשֶׁר (’ela ’et ’asher, “to me whom”). The reasons for such alternatives, however, are clear – they are motivated by scribes who found such statements theologically objectionable – and they should be rejected in favor of the more difficult reading (lectio difficilior) of the MT.

[12:10]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term בְּכוֹר (bÿkhor, “firstborn”), translated usually in the LXX by πρωτότοκος (prwtotokos), has unmistakable messianic overtones as the use of the Greek term in the NT to describe Jesus makes clear (cf. Col 1:15, 18). Thus, the idea of God being pierced sets the stage for the fatal wounding of Jesus, the Messiah and the Son of God (cf. John 19:37; Rev 1:7). Note that some English translations supply “son” from the context (e.g., NIV, TEV, NLT).

[21:28]  ¹¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:29]  ¹² tn Grk “And answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here the referent (“the boy”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:29]  ¹³ tn The Greek text reads here μεταμέλομαι (metamelomai): “to change one’s mind about something, with the probable implication of regret” (L&N 31.59); cf. also BDAG 639 s.v. The idea in this context involves more than just a change of mind, for the son regrets his initial response. The same verb is used in v. 32.

[21:30]  ¹⁴ tn “And he”; here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:30]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “And answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated. Here the referent (“this boy”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:31]  ¹⁶ tc Verses 29-31 involve a rather complex and difficult textual problem. The variants cluster into three different groups: (1) The first son says “no” and later has a change of heart, and the second son says “yes” but does not go. The second son is called the one who does his father’s will. This reading is found in the Western mss (D it). But the reading is so hard as to be nearly impossible. One can only suspect some tampering with the text, extreme carelessness on the part of the scribe, or possibly a recognition of the importance of not shaming one’s parent in public. (Any of these reasons is not improbable with this texttype, and with codex D in particular.) The other two major variants are more difficult to assess. Essentially, the responses make sense (the son who does his father’s will is the one who changes his mind after saying “no”): (2) The first son says “no” and later has a change of heart, and the second son says “yes” but does not go. But here, the first son is called the one who does his father’s will (unlike the Western reading). This is the reading found in (א) C L W (Z) 0102 0281 ˹ 33 Ï and several versional witnesses. (3) The first son says “yes” but does not go, and the second son says “no” but later has a change of heart. This is the reading found in B Θ Ë¹³ 700 and several versional witnesses. Both of these latter two readings make good sense and have significantly better textual support than the first reading. The real question, then, is this: Is the first son or the second the obedient one? If one were to argue simply from the parabolic logic, the second son would be seen as the obedient one (hence, the third reading). The first son would represent the Pharisees (or Jews) who claim to obey God, but do not (cf. Matt 23:3). This accords well with the parable of the prodigal son (in which the oldest son represents the unbelieving Jews). Further, the chronological sequence of the second son being obedient fits well with the real scene: Gentiles and tax collectors and prostitutes were not, collectively, God’s chosen people, but they did repent and come to God, while the Jewish leaders claimed to be obedient to God but did nothing. At the same time, the external evidence is weaker for this reading (though stronger than the first reading), not as widespread, and certainly suspect because of how neatly it fits. One suspects scribal manipulation at this point. Thus the second reading looks to be superior to the other two on both external and transcriptional grounds. But what about intrinsic evidence? One can surmise that Jesus didn’t always give predictable responses. In this instance, he may well have painted a picture in which the Pharisees saw themselves as the first son, only to stun them with his application (v. 32).

[21:31]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[21:31]  ¹⁸ sn See the note on tax collectors in 5:46.

[21:32]  ¹⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:32]  ²⁰ sn The word translated change your minds is the same verb used in v. 29 (there translated had a change of heart). Jesus is making an obvious comparison here, in which the religious leaders are viewed as the disobedient son.

[7:47]  ²¹ 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.”

[15:17]  ²² tn Grk “came to himself” (an idiom).

[15:17]  ²³ tn Grk “bread,” but used figuratively for food of any kind (L&N 5.1).

[15:18]  ²⁴ sn In the confession “I have sinned” there is a recognition of wrong that pictures the penitent coming home and “being found.”

[15:18]  ²⁵ sn The phrase against heaven is a circumlocution for God.

[15:18]  ²⁶ tn According to BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνωπιον 4.a, “in relation to ἁμαρτάνειν ἐ. τινος sin against someone Lk 15:18, 21 (cf. Jdth 5:17; 1 Km 7:6; 20:1).”

[15:19]  ²⁷ tn Or “make me.” Here is a sign of total humility.

[2:37]  ²⁸ tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[2:37]  ²⁹ tn Grk “they were pierced to the heart” (an idiom for acute emotional distress).

[6:7]  ³⁰ tn Grk “kept on spreading”; the verb has been translated as a progressive imperfect.

[6:7]  ³¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[6:7]  ³² tn Grk “a great multitude.”

[9:19]  ³³ tn Grk “It happened that for several days.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[9:20]  ³⁴ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[9:20]  ³⁵ tn The ὅτι (Joti) is understood to introduce direct (“This man is the Son of God”) rather than indirect discourse (“that this man is the Son of God”) because the pronoun οὗτος (Jouto") combined with the present tense verb ἐστιν (estin) suggests the contents of what was proclaimed are a direct (albeit summarized) quotation.

[9:1]  ³⁶ tn Or “Saul, making dire threats.”

[9:1]  ³⁷ tn The expression “breathing out threats and murder” is an idiomatic expression for “making threats to murder” (see L&N 33.293). Although the two terms “threats” and “murder” are syntactically coordinate, the second is semantically subordinate to the first. In other words, the content of the threats is to murder the disciples.

[1:11]  ³⁸ tn The expression “for the display of” is an attempt to convey in English the force of the Greek preposition εἰς (eis) in this context.

[1:1]  ³⁹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:13]  ⁴⁰ tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).

[1:14]  ⁴¹ 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.

[1:15]  ⁴² sn This passage has been typeset as poetry because many scholars regard this passage as poetic or hymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for determining if a passage is poetic or hymnic: “(a) stylistic: a certain rhythmical lilt when the passages are read aloud, the presence of parallelismus membrorum (i.e., an arrangement into couplets), the semblance of some metre, and the presence of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, chiasmus, and antithesis; and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary, particularly the presence of theological terms, which is different from the surrounding context” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 188-89). Classifying a passage as hymnic or poetic is important because understanding this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree that the above criteria are present in this passage, so the decision to typeset it as poetry should be viewed as a tentative decision about its genre.

[1:15]  ⁴³ tn The Greek term πρωτότοκος (prwtotokos) could refer either to first in order of time, such as a first born child, or it could refer to one who is preeminent in rank. M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 43, expresses the meaning of the word well: “The ‘firstborn’ was either the eldest child in a family or a person of preeminent rank. The use of this term to describe the Davidic king in Ps 88:28 LXX (=Ps 89:27 EVV), ‘I will also appoint him my firstborn (πρωτότοκον), the most exalted of the kings of the earth,’ indicates that it can denote supremacy in rank as well as priority in time. But whether the πρωτό- element in the word denotes time, rank, or both, the significance of the -τοκος element as indicating birth or origin (from τίκτω, give birth to) has been virtually lost except in ref. to lit. birth.” In Col 1:15 the emphasis is on the priority of Jesus’ rank as over and above creation (cf. 1:16 and the “for” clause referring to Jesus as Creator).

[1:15]  ⁴⁴ tn The genitive construction πάσης κτίσεως (pash" ktisew") is a genitive of subordination and is therefore translated as “over all creation.” See ExSyn 103-4.

[20:2]  ⁴⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[20:3]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel introduced in v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:3]  ⁴⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[20:3]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “and shut.” While the lexical force of the term is closer to “shut,” it is acceptable to render the verb ἔκλεισεν (ekleisen) as “locked” here in view of the mention of the key in the previous verse.