Isaiah 35:8

35:8 A thoroughfare will be there –

it will be called the Way of Holiness. ¹ 

The unclean will not travel on it;

it is reserved for those authorized to use it ²  –

fools ³  will not stray into it.

Isaiah 42:4

42:4 He will not grow dim or be crushed ⁴ 

before establishing justice on the earth;

the coastlands ⁵  will wait in anticipation for his decrees.” ⁶ 

Isaiah 56:6-8

56:6 As for foreigners who become followers of ⁷  the Lord and serve him,

who love the name of the Lord and want to be his servants –

all who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,

and who are faithful to ⁸  my covenant –

56:7 I will bring them to my holy mountain;

I will make them happy in the temple where people pray to me. ⁹ 

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar,

for my temple will be known as a temple where all nations may pray.” ¹⁰ 

56:8 The sovereign Lord says this,

the one who gathers the dispersed of Israel:

“I will still gather them up.” ¹¹ 

Isaiah 60:21

60:21 All of your people will be godly; ¹² 

they will possess the land permanently.

I will plant them like a shoot;

they will be the product of my labor,

through whom I reveal my splendor. ¹³ 

Psalms 94:14-15

94:14 Certainly ¹⁴  the Lord does not forsake his people;

he does not abandon the nation that belongs to him. ¹⁵ 

94:15 For justice will prevail, ¹⁶ 

and all the morally upright ¹⁷  will be vindicated. ¹⁸ 

Hosea 3:5

3:5 Afterward, the Israelites will turn and seek the Lord their God and their Davidic king. ¹⁹  Then they will submit to the Lord in fear and receive his blessings ²⁰  in the future. ²¹ 

Hosea 3:1

An Illustration of God’s Love for Idolatrous Israel

3:1 The Lord said to me, “Go, show love to ²²  your wife ²³  again, even though she loves ²⁴  another man ²⁵  and continually commits adultery. ²⁶  Likewise, the Lord loves ²⁷  the Israelites ²⁸  although they turn to other gods and love to offer raisin cakes to idols.” ²⁹ 

Colossians 1:9-11

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ³⁰  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ³¹  to fill ³²  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 1:10 so that you may live ³³  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ³⁴  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, 1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of ³⁵  all patience and steadfastness, joyfully

Titus 2:11-12

2:11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. ³⁶  2:12 It trains us ³⁷  to reject godless ways ³⁸  and worldly desires and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

Titus 2:1

Conduct Consistent with Sound Teaching

2:1 But as for you, communicate the behavior that goes with ³⁹  sound teaching.

Titus 2:9-12

2:9 Slaves ⁴⁰  are to be subject to their own masters in everything, ⁴¹  to do what is wanted and not talk back, 2:10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith, ⁴²  in order to bring credit to ⁴³  the teaching of God our Savior in everything.

2:11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. ⁴⁴  2:12 It trains us ⁴⁵  to reject godless ways ⁴⁶  and worldly desires and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

Titus 1:1-4

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁴⁷  a slave ⁴⁸  of God and apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith ⁴⁹  of God’s chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth that is in keeping with godliness, 1:2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the ages began. ⁵⁰  1:3 But now in his own time ⁵¹  he has made his message evident through the preaching I was entrusted with according to the command of God our Savior. 1:4 To Titus, my genuine son in a common faith. Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior!

[35:8]  ¹ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and there will be there a road and a way, and the Way of Holiness it will be called.” וְדֶרֶךְ (vÿderekh, “and a/the way”) is accidentally duplicated; the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a does not reflect the repetition of the phrase.

[35:8]  ² tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The text reads literally “and it is for them, the one who walks [on the] way.” In this context those authorized to use the Way of Holiness would be morally upright people who are the recipients of God’s deliverance, in contrast to the morally impure and foolish who are excluded from the new covenant community.

[35:8]  ³ tn In this context “fools” are those who are morally corrupt, not those with limited intellectual capacity.

[42:4]  ⁴ tn For rhetorical effect the terms used to describe the “crushed (רָצַץ, ratsats) reed” and “dim (כָּהָה, kahah) wick” in v. 3 are repeated here.

[42:4]  ⁵ tn Or “islands” (NIV); NLT “distant lands beyond the sea.”

[42:4]  ⁶ tn Or “his law” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV) or “his instruction” (NLT).

[56:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “who attach themselves to.”

[56:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “and take hold of”; NAB “hold to”; NIV, NRSV “hold fast.”

[56:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “in the house of my prayer.”

[56:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for my house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations.”

[56:8]  ¹¹ tn The meaning of the statement is unclear. The text reads literally, “Still I will gather upon him to his gathered ones.” Perhaps the preposition -לְ (lamed) before “gathered ones” introduces the object of the verb, as in Jer 49:5. The third masculine singular suffix on both עָלָיו (’alayv) and נִקְבָּצָיו (niqbatsayv) probably refers to “Israel.” In this case one can translate literally, “Still I will gather to him his gathered ones.”

[60:21]  ¹² tn Or “righteous” (NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “just.”

[60:21]  ¹³ tn Heb “a shoot of his planting, the work of my hands, to reveal splendor.”

[94:14]  ¹⁴ tn Or “for.”

[94:14]  ¹⁵ tn Or “his inheritance.”

[94:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “for judgment will return to justice.”

[94:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “all the pure of heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of one’s moral character and motives. The “pure of heart” are God’s faithful followers who trust in and love the Lord and, as a result, experience his deliverance (see Pss 7:10; 11:2; 32:11; 36:10; 64:10; 97:11).

[94:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and after it [are] the pure of heart.”

[3:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “David their king”; cf. NCV “the king from David’s family”; TEV “a descendant of David their king”; NLT “David’s descendant, their king.”

[3:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “his goodness”; NLT “his good gifts.”

[3:5]  ²¹ tn Heb “in the end of the days.” Cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NCV, NLT “in the last days.”

[3:1]  ²² tn Heb “Go again! Love!” Cf. NAB “Give your love to.”

[3:1]  ²³ tn Heb “a woman.” The probable referent is Gomer. Some English translations (e.g., NIV, NLT) specify the referent as “your wife.”

[3:1]  ²⁴ tc The MT vocalizes אֲהֻבַת (’ahuvat) as a construct form of the Qal passive participle and takes רֵעַ (rea’) as a genitive of agent: “who is loved by רֵעַ.” However, the ancient versions (LXX, Syriac, Vulgate) all vocalize אֲהֻבַת as an absolute form of the Qal active participle, and take רֵעַ as the accusative direct object: “who loves רֵעַ.” The English translations consistently follow the MT. The editors of BHS suggest the revocalization but with some reservation. For discussion of the vocalization, see D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 5:230.

[3:1]  ²⁵ tn The meaning of the noun רֵעַ (rea’) is debated because it has a broad range of meanings: (1) “friend,” (2) “lover,” (3) “companion,” (4) “neighbor,” and (5) “another” (HALOT 1253-55 s.v. II רֵעַ; BDB 945-46 s.v. II רֵעַ). The Hebrew lexicons favor the nuance “lover; paramour” here (HALOT 1255 s.v. 2; BDB 946 s.v. 1). Most scholars adopt the same approach; however, a few suggest that רֵעַ does not refer to another man, but to her husband (Hosea). Both approaches are reflected in English translations: NASB “a woman who is loved by her husband”; NIV “though she is loved by another”; NAB “a woman beloved of a paramour”; KJV “a woman beloved of her friend”; NJPS “a woman who, while befriended by a companion”; TEV “a woman who is committing adultery with a lover”; CEV “an unfaithful woman who has a lover.”

[3:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “love a woman who is loved of a lover and is an adulteress.”

[3:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “like the love of the Lord.” The genitive after the construct functions as a subjective genitive.

[3:1]  ²⁸ tn Heb “sons of Israel” (so NASB); KJV “children of Israel”; NAB “people of Israel.”

[3:1]  ²⁹ tn Heb “they are lovers of cakes of raisins.” A number of English translations render this literally (e.g., ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[1:9]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ 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]  ³² 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]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ 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.”

[1:11]  ³⁵ 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.

[2:11]  ³⁶ tn Grk “all men”; but ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpois) is generic here, referring to both men and women.

[2:12]  ³⁷ tn Grk “training us” (as a continuation of the previous clause). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 12 by translating the participle παιδεύουσα (paideuousa) as a finite verb and supplying the pronoun “it” as subject.

[2:12]  ³⁸ tn Grk “ungodliness.”

[2:1]  ³⁹ tn Grk “say what is fitting for sound teaching” (introducing the behavior called for in this chapter.).

[2:9]  ⁴⁰ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 1:1.

[2:9]  ⁴¹ tn Or “to be subject to their own masters, to do what is wanted in everything.”

[2:10]  ⁴² 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]  ⁴³ tn Or “adorn,” “show the beauty of.”

[2:11]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “all men”; but ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpois) is generic here, referring to both men and women.

[2:12]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “training us” (as a continuation of the previous clause). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 12 by translating the participle παιδεύουσα (paideuousa) as a finite verb and supplying the pronoun “it” as subject.

[2:12]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “ungodliness.”

[1:1]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ⁴⁸ tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “for the faith,” possibly, “in accordance with the faith.”

[1:2]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “before eternal ages.”

[1:3]  ⁵¹ tn The Greek text emphasizes the contrast between vv. 2b and 3a: God promised this long ago but now has revealed it in his own time.