Isaiah 53:2

53:2 He sprouted up like a twig before God, ¹ 

like a root out of parched soil; ² 

he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, ³ 

no special appearance that we should want to follow him. ⁴ 

Matthew 16:13-17

Peter’s Confession

16:13 When ⁵  Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, ⁶  he asked his disciples, ⁷  “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 16:14 They answered, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, ⁸  and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 16:15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16:16 Simon Peter answered, ⁹  “You are the Christ, ¹⁰  the Son of the living God.” 16:17 And Jesus answered him, ¹¹  “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood ¹²  did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven!

Matthew 21:10

21:10 As he entered Jerusalem the whole city was thrown into an uproar, ¹³  saying, “Who is this?”

John 1:14

1:14 Now ¹⁴  the Word became flesh ¹⁵  and took up residence ¹⁶  among us. We ¹⁷  saw his glory – the glory of the one and only, ¹⁸  full of grace and truth, who came from the Father.

John 1:2

1:2 The Word ¹⁹  was with God in the beginning.

Colossians 4:3-6

4:3 At the same time pray ²⁰  for us too, that ²¹  God may open a door for the message ²²  so that we may proclaim ²³  the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. ²⁴  4:4 Pray that I may make it known as I should. ²⁵  4:5 Conduct yourselves ²⁶  with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunities. 4:6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer everyone.

[53:2]  ¹ tn Heb “before him.” Some suggest an emendation to “before us.” If the third singular suffix of the Hebrew text is retained, it probably refers to the Lord (see v. 1b). For a defense of this reading, see R. Whybray, Isaiah 40-66 (NCBC), 173-74.

[53:2]  ² sn The metaphor in this verse suggests insignificance.

[53:2]  ³ tn Heb “that we might see him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.

[53:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “that we should desire him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.

[16:13]  ⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[16:13]  ⁶ map For location see Map1 C1; Map2 F4.

[16:13]  ⁷ tn Grk “he asked his disciples, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has been left untranslated.

[16:14]  ⁸ sn The appearance of Elijah would mean that the end time had come. According to 2 Kgs 2:11, Elijah was still alive. In Mal 4:5 it is said that Elijah would be the precursor of Messiah.

[16:16]  ⁹ tn Grk “And answering, Simon Peter said.”

[16:16]  ¹⁰ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[16:17]  ¹¹ tn Grk “answering, Jesus said to him.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant, but the syntax of this phrase has been modified for clarity.

[16:17]  ¹² tn The expression “flesh and blood” could refer to “any human being” (so TEV, NLT; cf. NIV “man”), but it could also refer to Peter himself (i.e., his own intuition; cf. CEV “You didn’t discover this on your own”). Because of the ambiguity of the referent, the phrase “flesh and blood” has been retained in the translation.

[21:10]  ¹³ tn Grk “was shaken.” The translation “thrown into an uproar” is given by L&N 25.233.

[1:14]  ¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic, the incarnation of the Word. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

[1:14]  ¹⁵ tn This looks at the Word incarnate in humility and weakness; the word σάρξ (sarx) does not carry overtones of sinfulness here as it frequently does in Pauline usage. See also John 3:6.

[1:14]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “and tabernacled.”

[1:14]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “and we saw.”

[1:14]  ¹⁸ tn Or “of the unique one.” Although this word is often translated “only begotten,” such a translation is misleading, since in English it appears to express a metaphysical relationship. The word in Greek was used of an only child (a son [Luke 7:12, 9:38] or a daughter [Luke 8:42]). It was also used of something unique (only one of its kind) such as the mythological Phoenix (1 Clem. 25:2). From here it passes easily to a description of Isaac (Heb 11:17 and Josephus, Ant., 1.13.1 [1.222]) who was not Abraham’s only son, but was one-of-a-kind because he was the child of the promise. Thus the word means “one-of-a-kind” and is reserved for Jesus in the Johannine literature of the NT. While all Christians are children of God, Jesus is God’s Son in a unique, one-of-a-kind sense. The word is used in this way in all its uses in the Gospel of John (1:14, 1:18, 3:16, and 3:18).

[1:2]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the Word) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:3]  ²⁰ tn Though προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi) is an adverbial participle related to the previous imperative, προσκαρτερεῖτε (proskartereite), it is here translated as an independent clause due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[4:3]  ²¹ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been rendered as substantival here, indicating the content of the prayer rather than the purpose for it. These two ideas are very similar and difficult to differentiate in this passage, but the conjunction ἵνα following a verb of praying is generally regarded as giving the content of the prayer.

[4:3]  ²² tn Grk “that God may open for us a door of the word to speak the mystery of Christ.” The construction in Greek is somewhat awkward in this clause. The translation attempts to simplify this structure somewhat and yet communicate exactly what Paul is asking for.

[4:3]  ²³ tn Or “so that we may speak.”

[4:3]  ²⁴ tn Or “in prison.”

[4:4]  ²⁵ tn The phrase begins with the ἵνα (Jina) clause and is subordinate to the imperative προσκαρτερεῖτε (proskartereite) in v. 2. The reference to the idea that Paul must make it known indicates that this clause is probably best viewed as purpose and not content, like the ἵνα of v. 3. It is the second purpose stated in the context; the first is expressed through the infinitive λαλῆσαι (lalhsai) in v. 3. The term “pray” at the beginning of the sentence is intended to pick up the imperative of v. 3.

[4:5]  ²⁶ tn Grk “walk.” The verb περιπατέω (peripatew) is a common NT idiom for one’s lifestyle, behavior, or manner of conduct (L&N 41.11).