Isaiah 57:14

57:14 He says, ¹ 

“Build it! Build it! Clear a way!

Remove all the obstacles out of the way of my people!”

Jeremiah 6:21

6:21 So, this is what the Lord says:

‘I will assuredly ²  make these people stumble to their doom. ³ 

Parents and children will stumble and fall to their destruction. ⁴ 

Friends and neighbors will die.’

Ezekiel 3:20

3:20 “When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I set an obstacle ⁵  before him, he will die. If you have not warned him, he will die for his sin. The righteous deeds he performed will not be considered, but I will hold you accountable for his death.

Ezekiel 44:12

44:12 Because they used to minister to them before their idols, and became a sinful obstacle ⁶  to the house of Israel, consequently I have made a vow ⁷  concerning them, declares the sovereign Lord, that they will be responsible ⁸  for their sin.

Matthew 18:7

18:7 Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! It ⁹  is necessary that stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom they come.

Romans 9:32

9:32 Why not? Because they pursued ¹⁰  it not by faith but (as if it were possible) by works. ¹¹  They stumbled over the stumbling stone, ¹² 

Romans 11:9

11:9 And David says,

“Let their table become a snare and trap,

a stumbling block and a retribution for them;

Romans 14:13

Exhortation for the Strong not to Destroy the Weak

14:13 Therefore we must not pass judgment on one another, but rather determine never to place an obstacle or a trap before a brother or sister. ¹³ 

Romans 14:21

14:21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything that causes your brother to stumble. ¹⁴ 

Romans 14:1

Exhortation to Mutual Forbearance

14:1 Now receive the one who is weak in the faith, and do not have disputes over differing opinions. ¹⁵ 

Colossians 1:23

1:23 if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, ¹⁶  without shifting ¹⁷  from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant.

Colossians 1:9

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,

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ²¹  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 2:8

2:8 Be careful not to allow anyone to captivate you ²²  through an empty, deceitful philosophy ²³  that is according to human traditions and the elemental spirits ²⁴  of the world, and not according to Christ.

[57:14]  ¹ tn Since God is speaking throughout this context, perhaps we should emend the text to “and I say.” However, divine speech is introduced in v. 15.

[6:21]  ² tn This is an attempt to render the Hebrew particle rendered “behold” joined to the first person pronoun.

[6:21]  ³ tn Heb “I will put stumbling blocks in front of these people.” In this context the stumbling blocks are the invading armies.

[6:21]  ⁴ tn The words “and fall to their destruction” are implicit in the metaphor and are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[3:20]  ⁵ tn Or “stumbling block.” The Hebrew term refers to an obstacle in the road in Lev 19:14.

[44:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “a stumbling block of iniquity.” This is a unique phrase of the prophet Ezekiel (cf. also Ezek 7:19; 14:3, 4, 7; 18:30).

[44:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”

[44:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “will bear.”

[18:7]  ⁹ tn Grk “For it.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

[9:32]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Why? Because not by faith but as though by works.” The verb (“they pursued [it]”) is to be supplied from the preceding verse for the sake of English style; yet a certain literary power is seen in Paul’s laconic style.

[9:32]  ¹¹ tc Most mss, especially the later ones (א² D Ψ 33 Ï sy), read νόμου (nomou, “of the law”) here, echoing Paul’s usage in Rom 3:20, 28 and elsewhere. The qualifying phrase is lacking in א* A B F G 6 629 630 1739 1881 pc lat co. The longer reading thus is weaker externally and internally, being motivated apparently by a need to clarify.

[9:32]  ¹² tn Grk “the stone of stumbling.”

[14:13]  ¹³ tn Grk “brother.”

[14:21]  ¹⁴ tc A large number of mss, some of them quite important (Ì^46vid א² B D F G Ψ 0209 33 1881 Ï lat sa), read “or to be offended or to be made weak” after “to stumble.” The shorter reading “to stumble” is found only in Alexandrian mss (א* A C 048 81 945 1506 1739 pc bo). Although external evidence favors inclusion, internal evidence points to a scribal expansion, perhaps reminiscent of 1 Cor 8:11-13. The shorter reading is therefore preferred.

[14:1]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “over opinions.” The qualifier “differing” has been supplied to clarify the meaning.

[1:23]  ¹⁶ tn BDAG 276 s.v. ἑδραῖος suggests “firm, steadfast.”

[1:23]  ¹⁷ tn BDAG 639 s.v. μετακινέω suggests “without shifting from the hope” here.

[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.

[1:1]  ²¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[2:8]  ²² tn The Greek construction here is somewhat difficult and can be literally rendered “Be careful, lest someone shall be the one who takes you captive.”

[2:8]  ²³ tn The Greek reads τῆς φιλοσοφίας καὶ κενῆς ἀπάτης (th" filosofia" kai kenh" apath"). The two nouns φιλοσοφίας and κενῆς are joined by one article and probably form a hendiadys. Thus the second noun was taken as modifying the first, as the translation shows.

[2:8]  ²⁴ tn The phrase κατὰ τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου (kata ta stoiceia tou kosmou) is difficult to translate because of problems surrounding the precise meaning of στοιχεῖα in this context. Originally it referred to the letters of the alphabet, with the idea at its root of “things in a row”; see C. Vaughn, “Colossians,” EBC 11:198. M. J. Harris (Colossians and Philemon [EGGNT], 93) outlines three probable options: (1) the material elements which comprise the physical world; (2) the elementary teachings of the world (so NEB, NASB, NIV); (3) the elemental spirits of the world (so NEB, RSV). The first option is highly unlikely because Paul is not concerned here with the physical elements, e.g., carbon or nitrogen. The last two options are both possible. Though the Gnostic-like heresy at Colossae would undoubtedly have been regarded by Paul as an “elementary teaching” at best, because the idea of “spirits” played such a role in Gnostic thought, he may very well have had in mind elemental spirits that operated in the world or controlled the world (i.e., under God’s authority and permission).