Discovery BoxIsaiah 40:1-2
Context40:1 “Comfort, comfort my people,”
says your 1 God.
40:2 “Speak kindly to 2 Jerusalem, 3 and tell her
that her time of warfare is over, 4
that her punishment is completed. 5
For the Lord has made her pay double 6 for all her sins.”
Luke 23:34
Context23:34 [But Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”] 7 Then 8 they threw dice 9 to divide his clothes. 10
Luke 23:2
Context23:2 They 11 began to accuse 12 him, saying, “We found this man subverting 13 our nation, forbidding 14 us to pay the tribute tax 15 to Caesar 16 and claiming that he himself is Christ, 17 a king.”
Colossians 2:7
Context2:7 rooted 18 and built up in him and firm 19 in your 20 faith just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Colossians 2:11
Context2:11 In him you also were circumcised – not, however, 21 with a circumcision performed by human hands, but by the removal 22 of the fleshly body, 23 that is, 24 through the circumcision done by Christ.
[40:1] 1 tn The pronominal suffix is second masculine plural. The identity of the addressee is uncertain: (1) God’s people may be addressed, or (2) the unidentified heralds commanded to comfort Jerusalem.
[40:2] 2 tn Heb “speak to the heart of Jerusalem.” Jerusalem is personified as a woman.
[40:2] 3 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[40:2] 4 tn Heb “that she is filled [with] her warfare.” Some understand צָבָא (tsavah, “warfare”) as meaning “hard service” or “compulsory labor” in this context.
[40:2] 5 tn Heb “that her punishment is accepted [as satisfactory].”
[40:2] 6 tn Heb “for she has received from the hand of the Lord double.” The principle of the double portion in punishment is also seen in Jer 16:18; 17:18 and Rev 18:6. For examples of the double portion in Israelite law, see Exod 22:4, 7, 9 (double restitution by a thief) and Deut 21:17 (double inheritance portion for the firstborn).
[23:34] 7 tc Many important
[23:34] 8 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[23:34] 9 tn Grk “cast lots” (probably by using marked pebbles or broken pieces of pottery). A modern equivalent “threw dice” was chosen here because of its association with gambling.
[23:34] 10 sn An allusion to Ps 22:18, which identifies Jesus as the suffering innocent one.
[23:2] 11 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
[23:2] 12 sn They began to accuse him. There were three charges: (1) disturbing Jewish peace; (2) fomenting rebellion through advocating not paying taxes (a lie – 20:20-26); and (3) claiming to be a political threat to Rome, by claiming to be a king, an allusion to Jesus’ messianic claims. The second and third charges were a direct challenge to Roman authority. Pilate would be forced to do something about them.
[23:2] 13 tn On the use of the term διαστρέφω (diastrefw) here, see L&N 31.71 and 88.264.
[23:2] 14 tn Grk “and forbidding.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated to suggest to the English reader that this and the following charge are specifics, while the previous charge was a summary one. See the note on the word “misleading” earlier in this verse.
[23:2] 15 tn This was a “poll tax.” L&N 57.182 states this was “a payment made by the people of one nation to another, with the implication that this is a symbol of submission and dependence – ‘tribute tax.’”
[23:2] 16 tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).
[23:2] 17 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
[2:7] 18 tn Or “having been rooted.”
[2:7] 19 sn The three participles rooted, built up, and firm belong together and reflect three different metaphors. The first participle “rooted” (perfect tense) indicates a settled condition on the part of the Colossian believers and refers to horticulture. The second participle “built up” (present passive) comes from the world of architecture. The third participle “firm [established]” (present passive) comes from the law courts. With these three metaphors (as well as the following comment on thankfulness) Paul explains what he means when he commands them to continue to live their lives in Christ. The use of the passive probably reflects God’s activity among them. It was he who had rooted them, had been building them up, and had established them in the faith (cf. 1 Cor 3:5-15 for the use of mixed metaphors).
[2:7] 20 tn The Greek text has the article τῇ (th), not the possessive pronoun ὑμῶν (Jumwn), but the article often functions as a possessive pronoun and was translated as such here (ExSyn 215).
[2:11] 21 tn The terms “however” and “but” in this sentence were supplied in order to emphasize the contrast.
[2:11] 22 tn The articular noun τῇ ἀπεκδύσει (th apekdusei) is a noun which ends in -σις (-sis) and therefore denotes action, i.e., “removal.” Since the head noun is a verbal noun, the following genitive τοῦ σώματος (tou swmatos) is understood as an objective genitive, receiving the action of the head noun.
[2:11] 23 tn Grk “in the removal of the body of flesh.” The genitive τῆς σαρκός (th" sarko") has been translated as an attributive genitive, “fleshly body.”
[2:11] 24 tn The second prepositional phrase beginning with ἐν τῇ περιτομῇ (en th peritomh) is parallel to the prepositional phrase ἐν τῇ ἀπεκδύσει (en th apekdusei) and gives a further explanation of it. The words “that is” were supplied to bring out this force in the translation.
