Jeremiah 23:32

23:32 I, the Lord, affirm ¹  that I am opposed to those prophets who dream up lies and report them. They are misleading my people with their reckless lies. ²  I did not send them. I did not commission them. They are not helping these people at all. ³  I, the Lord, affirm it!” ⁴ 

Matthew 9:38--10:6

9:38 Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest ⁵  to send out ⁶  workers into his harvest.”

Sending Out the Twelve Apostles

10:1 Jesus ⁷  called his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits ⁸  so they could cast them out and heal every kind of disease and sickness. ⁹  10:2 Now these are the names of the twelve apostles: ¹⁰  first, Simon ¹¹  (called Peter), and Andrew his brother; James son of Zebedee and John his brother; 10:3 Philip and Bartholomew; ¹²  Thomas ¹³  and Matthew the tax collector; ¹⁴  James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; ¹⁵  10:4 Simon the Zealot ¹⁶  and Judas Iscariot, ¹⁷  who betrayed him. ¹⁸ 

10:5 Jesus sent out these twelve, instructing them as follows: ¹⁹  “Do not go to Gentile regions ²⁰  and do not enter any Samaritan town. ²¹  10:6 Go ²²  instead to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Matthew 28:18-20

28:18 Then Jesus came up and said to them, ²³  “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 28:19 Therefore go ²⁴  and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁵  28:20 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, ²⁶  I am with you ²⁷  always, to the end of the age.” ²⁸ 

Luke 10:1

The Mission of the Seventy-Two

10:1 After this ²⁹  the Lord appointed seventy-two ³⁰  others and sent them on ahead of him two by two into every town ³¹  and place where he himself was about to go.

John 20:21

20:21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. Just as the Father has sent me, I also send you.”

Acts 9:15

9:15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, because this man is my chosen instrument ³²  to carry my name before Gentiles and kings and the people of Israel. ³³ 

Acts 13:2-4

13:2 While they were serving ³⁴  the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart ³⁵  for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 13:3 Then, after they had fasted ³⁶  and ³⁷  prayed and placed their hands ³⁸  on them, they sent them off.

Paul and Barnabas Preach in Cyprus

13:4 So Barnabas and Saul, ³⁹  sent out by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia, ⁴⁰  and from there they sailed to Cyprus. ⁴¹ 

Acts 22:21

22:21 Then ⁴²  he said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

Acts 22:1

Paul’s Defense

22:1 “Brothers and fathers, listen to my defense ⁴³  that I now ⁴⁴  make to you.”

Colossians 1:28-29

1:28 We proclaim him by instructing ⁴⁵  and teaching ⁴⁶  all people ⁴⁷  with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature ⁴⁸  in Christ. 1:29 Toward this goal ⁴⁹  I also labor, struggling according to his power that powerfully ⁵⁰  works in me.

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ⁵¹  brothers and sisters ⁵²  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ⁵³  from God our Father! ⁵⁴ 

Colossians 1:18-20

1:18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn ⁵⁵  from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. ⁵⁶ 

1:19 For God ⁵⁷  was pleased to have all his ⁵⁸  fullness dwell ⁵⁹  in the Son ⁶⁰ 

1:20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross – through him, ⁶¹  whether things on earth or things in heaven.

Ephesians 3:8

3:8 To me – less than the least of all the saints ⁶²  – this grace was given, ⁶³  to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ

Ephesians 4:11-12

4:11 It was he ⁶⁴  who gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, ⁶⁵  4:12 to equip ⁶⁶  the saints for the work of ministry, that is, ⁶⁷  to build up the body of Christ,

Ephesians 4:1

Live in Unity

4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, ⁶⁸  urge you to live ⁶⁹  worthily of the calling with which you have been called, ⁷⁰ 

Ephesians 1:12

1:12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope ⁷¹  on Christ, ⁷²  would be to the praise of his glory.

[23:32]  ¹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:32]  ² tn Heb “with their lies and their recklessness.” This is an example of hendiadys where two nouns (in this case a concrete and an abstract one) are joined by “and” but one is intended to be the adjectival modifier of the other.

[23:32]  ³ sn In the light of what has been said this is a rhetorical understatement; they are not only “not helping,” they are leading them to their doom (cf. vv. 19-22). This figure of speech is known as litotes.

[23:32]  ⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[9:38]  ⁵ sn The phrase Lord of the harvest recognizes God’s sovereignty over the harvest process.

[9:38]  ⁶ tn Grk “to thrust out.”

[10:1]  ⁷ tn Grk “And he.”

[10:1]  ⁸ sn Unclean spirits refers to evil spirits.

[10:1]  ⁹ tn Grk “and every [kind of] sickness.” Here “every” was not repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[10:2]  ¹⁰ sn The term apostles is rare in the gospels, found only here, Mark 3:14, and six more times in Luke (6:13; 9:10; 11:49; 17:5; 22:14; 24:10).

[10:2]  ¹¹ sn In the various lists of the twelve, Simon (that is, Peter) is always mentioned first (see also Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:13-16; Acts 1:13) and the first four are always the same, though not in the same order after Peter.

[10:3]  ¹² sn Bartholomew (meaning “son of Tolmai” in Aramaic) could be another name for Nathanael mentioned in John 1:45.

[10:3]  ¹³ sn This is the “doubting Thomas” of John 20:24-29.

[10:3]  ¹⁴ sn See the note on tax collectors in 5:46.

[10:3]  ¹⁵ tc Witnesses differ on the identification of the last disciple mentioned in v. 3: He is called Λεββαῖος (Lebbaio", “Lebbaeus”) in D, Judas Zelotes in it, and not present in sy^s. The Byzantine text, along with a few others (C^[*^],2 L W Θ Ë¹ 33 Ï), conflates earlier readings by calling him “Lebbaeus, who was called Thaddaeus,” while codex 13 pc conflate by way of transposition (“Thaddaeus, who was called Lebbaeus”). But excellent witnesses of the earliest texttypes (א B ˹³ 892 pc lat co) call him merely Θαδδαῖος (Qaddaio", “Thaddaeus”), a reading which, because of this support, is most likely correct.

[10:4]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “the Cananean,” but according to both BDAG 507 s.v. Καναναῖος and L&N 11.88, this term has no relation at all to the geographical terms for Cana or Canaan, but is derived from the Aramaic term for “enthusiast, zealot” (see Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13), possibly because of an earlier affiliation with the party of the Zealots. He may not have been technically a member of the particular Jewish nationalistic party known as “Zealots” (since according to some scholars this party had not been organized at that time), but simply someone who was zealous for Jewish independence from Rome, in which case the term would refer to his temperament.

[10:4]  ¹⁷ sn There is some debate about what the name Iscariot means. It probably alludes to a region in Judea and thus might make Judas the only non-Galilean in the group. Several explanations for the name Iscariot have been proposed, but it is probably transliterated Hebrew with the meaning “man of Kerioth” (there are at least two villages that had that name). For further discussion see D. L. Bock, Luke (BECNT), 1:546; also D. A. Carson, John, 304.

[10:4]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “who even betrayed him.”

[10:5]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “instructing them, saying.”

[10:5]  ²⁰ tn Grk “on the road of the Gentiles.” That is, a path that leads to Gentile regions.

[10:5]  ²¹ tn Grk “town [or city] of the Samaritans.”

[10:6]  ²² tn Grk “But go.” The Greek μᾶλλον (mallon, “rather, instead”) conveys the adversative nuance here so that δέ (de) has not been translated.

[28:18]  ²³ tn Grk “coming, Jesus spoke to them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn, “saying”) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[28:19]  ²⁴ tn “Go…baptize…teach” are participles modifying the imperative verb “make disciples.” According to ExSyn 645 the first participle (πορευθέντες, poreuqentes, “Go”) fits the typical structural pattern for the attendant circumstance participle (aorist participle preceding aorist main verb, with the mood of the main verb usually imperative or indicative) and thus picks up the mood (imperative in this case) from the main verb (μαθητεύσατε, maqhteusate, “make disciples”). This means that semantically the action of “going” is commanded, just as “making disciples” is. As for the two participles that follow the main verb (βαπτίζοντες, baptizontes, “baptizing”; and διδάσκοντες, didaskontes, “teaching”), these do not fit the normal pattern for attendant circumstance participles, since they are present participles and follow the aorist main verb. However, some interpreters do see them as carrying additional imperative force in context. Others regard them as means, manner, or even result.

[28:19]  ²⁵ tc Although some scholars have denied that the trinitarian baptismal formula in the Great Commission was a part of the original text of Matthew, there is no ms support for their contention. F. C. Conybeare, “The Eusebian Form of the Text of Mt. 28:19,” ZNW 2 (1901): 275-88, based his view on a faulty reading of Eusebius’ quotations of this text. The shorter reading has also been accepted, on other grounds, by a few other scholars. For discussion (and refutation of the conjecture that removes this baptismal formula), see B. J. Hubbard, The Matthean Redaction of a Primitive Apostolic Commissioning (SBLDS 19), 163-64, 167-75; and Jane Schaberg, The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (SBLDS 61), 27-29.

[28:20]  ²⁶ tn The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has been translated here as “remember” (BDAG 468 s.v. 1.c).

[28:20]  ²⁷ sn I am with you. Matthew’s Gospel begins with the prophecy that the Savior’s name would be “Emmanuel, that is, ‘God with us,’” (1:23, in which the author has linked Isa 7:14 and 8:8, 10 together) and it ends with Jesus’ promise to be with his disciples forever. The Gospel of Matthew thus forms an inclusio about Jesus in his relationship to his people that suggests his deity.

[28:20]  ²⁸ tc Most mss (A^c Θ Ë¹³ Ï it sy) have ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”) at the end of v. 20. Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Further, no good reason exists for the omission of the particle in significant and early witnesses such as א A* B D W ˹ 33 al lat sa.

[10:1]  ²⁹ tn Grk “And after these things.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:1]  ³⁰ tc There is a difficult textual problem here and in v. 17, where the number is either “seventy” (א A C L W Θ Ξ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï and several church fathers and early versions) or “seventy-two” (Ì⁷⁵ B D 0181 pc lat as well as other versions and fathers). The more difficult reading is “seventy-two,” since scribes would be prone to assimilate this passage to several OT passages that refer to groups of seventy people (Num 11:13-17; Deut 10:22; Judg 8:30; 2 Kgs 10:1 et al.); this reading also has slightly better ms support. “Seventy” could be the preferred reading if scribes drew from the tradition of the number of translators of the LXX, which the Letter of Aristeas puts at seventy-two (TCGNT 127), although this is far less likely. All things considered, “seventy-two” is a much more difficult reading and accounts for the rise of the other. Only Luke notes a second larger mission like the one in 9:1-6.

[10:1]  ³¹ tn Or “city.”

[9:15]  ³² tn Or “tool.”

[9:15]  ³³ tn Grk “the sons of Israel.” In Acts, Paul is a minister to all nations, including Israel (Rom 1:16-17).

[13:2]  ³⁴ tn This term is frequently used in the LXX of the service performed by priests and Levites in the tabernacle (Exod 28:35, 43; 29:30; 30:20; 35:19; 39:26; Num 1:50; 3:6, 31) and the temple (2 Chr 31:2; 35:3; Joel 1:9, 13; 2:17, and many more examples). According to BDAG 591 s.v. λειτουργέω 1.b it is used “of other expression of religious devotion.” Since the previous verse described the prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch, it is probable that the term here describes two of them (Barnabas and Saul) as they were serving in that capacity. Since they were not in Jerusalem where the temple was located, general religious service is referred to here.

[13:2]  ³⁵ tn Or “Appoint.”

[13:3]  ³⁶ tn The three aorist participles νηστεύσαντες (nhsteusante"), προσευξάμενοι (proseuxamenoi), and ἐπιθέντες (epiqente") are translated as temporal participles. Although they could indicate contemporaneous time when used with an aorist main verb, logically here they are antecedent. On fasting and prayer, see Matt 6:5, 16; Luke 2:37; 5:33; Acts 14:23.

[13:3]  ³⁷ tn Normally English style, which uses a coordinating conjunction between only the last two elements of a series of three or more, would call for omission of “and” here. However, since the terms “fasting and prayer” are something of a unit, often linked together, the conjunction has been retained here.

[13:3]  ³⁸ sn The placing of hands on Barnabas and Saul (traditionally known as “the laying on of hands”) refers to an act picturing the commission of God and the church for the task at hand.

[13:4]  ³⁹ tn Grk “they”; the referents (Barnabas and Saul) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:4]  ⁴⁰ sn Seleucia was the port city of Antioch in Syria.

[13:4]  ⁴¹ sn Cyprus was a large island in the Mediterranean off the south coast of Asia Minor.

[22:21]  ⁴² tn Grk “And.” Since this represents a response to Paul’s reply in v. 19, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[22:1]  ⁴³ sn Listen to my defense. This is the first of several speeches Paul would make in his own defense: Acts 24:10ff.; 25:8, 16; and 26:1ff. For the use of such a speech (“apologia”) in Greek, see Josephus, Ag. Ap. 2.15 [2.147]; Wis 6:10.

[22:1]  ⁴⁴ tn The adverb νυνί (nuni, “now”) is connected with the phrase τῆς πρὸς ὑμᾶς νυνὶ ἀπολογίας (th" pro" Juma" nuni apologia") rather than the verb ἀκούσατε (akousate), and the entire construction (prepositional phrase plus adverb) is in first attributive position and thus translated into English by a relative clause.

[1:28]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “admonishing,” or “warning.” BDAG 679 s.v. νουθετέω states, “to counsel about avoidance or cessation of an improper course of conduct,, admonish, warn, instruct.” After the participle νουθετοῦντες (nouqetounte", “instructing”) the words πάντα ἄνθρωπον (panta anqrwpon, “all men”) occur in the Greek text, but since the same phrase appears again after διδάσκοντες (didaskontes) it was omitted in translation to avoid redundancy in English.

[1:28]  ⁴⁶ tn The two participles “instructing” (νουθετοῦντες, nouqetounte") and “teaching” (διδάσκοντες, didaskonte") are translated as participles of means (“by”) related to the finite verb “we proclaim” (καταγγέλλομεν, katangellomen).

[1:28]  ⁴⁷ tn Here ἄνθρωπον (anqrwpon) is twice translated as a generic (“people” and “person”) since both men and women are clearly intended in this context.

[1:28]  ⁴⁸ tn Since Paul’s focus is on the present experience of the Colossians, “mature” is a better translation of τέλειον (teleion) than “perfect,” since the latter implies a future, eschatological focus.

[1:29]  ⁴⁹ tn The Greek phrase εἴς ὅ (eis Jo, “toward which”) implies “movement toward a goal” and has been rendered by the English phrase “Toward this goal.”

[1:29]  ⁵⁰ tn The prepositional phrase ἐν δυνάμει (en dunamei) seems to be functioning adverbially, related to the participle, and has therefore been translated “powerfully.”

[1:2]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ⁵² tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:2]  ⁵³ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ⁵⁴ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.

[1:18]  ⁵⁵ tn See the note on the term “firstborn” in 1:15. Here the reference to Jesus as the “firstborn from among the dead” seems to be arguing for a chronological priority, i.e., Jesus was the first to rise from the dead.

[1:18]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “in order that he may become in all things, himself, first.”

[1:19]  ⁵⁷ tn The noun “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but since God is the one who reconciles the world to himself (cf. 2 Cor 5:19), he is clearly the subject of εὐδόκησεν (eudokhsen).

[1:19]  ⁵⁸ tn The Greek article τό (to), insofar as it relates to God, may be translated as a possessive pronoun, i.e., “his.” BDAG 404 s.v. εὐδοκέω 1 translates the phrase as “all the fullness willed to dwell in him” thus leaving the referent as impersonal. Insofar as Paul is alluding to the so-called emanations from God this is acceptable. But the fact that “the fullness” dwells in a person (i.e., “in him”) seems to argue for the translation “his fullness” where “his” refers to God.

[1:19]  ⁵⁹ tn The aorist verb κατοικῆσαι (katoikhsai) could be taken as an ingressive, in which case it refers to the incarnation and may be translated as “begin to dwell, to take up residence.” It is perhaps better, though, to take it as a constative aorist and simply a reference to the fact that the fullness of God dwells in Jesus Christ. This is a permanent dwelling, though, not a temporary one, as the present tense in 2:9 makes clear.

[1:19]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the Son; see v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:20]  ⁶¹ tc The presence or absence of the second occurrence of the phrase δι᾿ αὐτοῦ (di’ autou, “through him”) is a difficult textual problem to solve. External evidence is fairly evenly divided. Many ancient and excellent witnesses lack the phrase (B D* F G I 0278 81 1175 1739 1881 2464 al latt sa), but equally important witnesses have it (Ì⁴⁶ א A C D¹ Ψ 048^vid 33 Ï). Both readings have strong Alexandrian support, which makes the problem difficult to decide on external evidence alone. Internal evidence points to the inclusion of the phrase as original. The word immediately preceding the phrase is the masculine pronoun αὐτοῦ (autou); thus the possibility of omission through homoioteleuton in various witnesses is likely. Scribes might have deleted the phrase because of perceived redundancy or awkwardness in the sense: The shorter reading is smoother and more elegant, so scribes would be prone to correct the text in that direction. As far as style is concerned, repetition of key words and phrases for emphasis is not foreign to the corpus Paulinum (see, e.g., Rom 8:23, Eph 1:13, 2 Cor 12:7). In short, it is easier to account for the shorter reading arising from the longer reading than vice versa, so the longer reading is more likely original.

[3:8]  ⁶² sn In Pauline writings saints means any true believer. Thus for Paul to view himself as less than the least of all the saints is to view himself as the most unworthy object of Christ’s redemption.

[3:8]  ⁶³ sn The parallel phrases to proclaim and to enlighten which follow indicate why God’s grace was manifested to Paul. Grace was not something just to be received, but to be shared with others (cf. Acts 13:47).

[4:11]  ⁶⁴ tn The emphasis on Christ is continued through the use of the intensive pronoun, αὐτός (autos), and is rendered in English as “it was he” as this seems to lay emphasis on the “he.”

[4:11]  ⁶⁵ sn Some interpreters have understood the phrase pastors and teachers to refer to one and the same group. This would mean that all pastors are teachers and that all teachers are pastors. This position is often taken because it is recognized that both nouns (i.e., pastors and teachers) are governed by one article in Greek. But because the nouns are plural, it is extremely unlikely that they refer to the same group, but only that the author is linking them closely together. It is better to regard the pastors as a subset of teachers. In other words, all pastors are teachers, but not all teachers are pastors. See ExSyn 284.

[4:12]  ⁶⁶ tn On the translation of πρὸς τὸν καταρτισμὸν τῶν ἁγίων (pro" ton katartismon twn Jagiwn) as “to equip the saints” see BDAG 526 s.v. καταρτισμός. In this case the genitive is taken as objective and the direct object of the verbal idea implied in καταρτισμός (katartismo").

[4:12]  ⁶⁷ tn The εἰς (eis) clause is taken as epexegetical to the previous εἰς clause, namely, εἰς ἔργον διακονίας (ei" ergon diakonia").

[4:1]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “prisoner in the Lord.”

[4:1]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “walk.” The verb “walk” in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.

[4:1]  ⁷⁰ sn With which you have been called. The calling refers to the Holy Spirit’s prompting that caused them to believe. The author is thus urging his readers to live a life that conforms to their saved status before God.

[1:12]  ⁷¹ tn Or “who had already hoped.”

[1:12]  ⁷² tn Or “the Messiah.”