Job 12:11

12:11 Does not the ear test words,

as ¹  the tongue ²  tastes food? ³ 

Job 34:3

34:3 For the ear assesses ⁴  words

as the mouth ⁵  tastes food.

Romans 12:2

12:2 Do not be conformed ⁶  to this present world, ⁷  but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve ⁸  what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

Romans 12:2

12:2 Do not be conformed ⁹  to this present world, ¹⁰  but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve ¹¹  what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

Colossians 1:13-15

1:13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹²  1:14 in whom we have redemption, ¹³  the forgiveness of sins.

The Supremacy of Christ

1:15 ¹⁴ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn ¹⁵  over all creation, ¹⁶ 

Ephesians 5:10

5:10 trying to learn ¹⁷  what is pleasing to the Lord.

Ephesians 5:1

Live in Love

5:1 Therefore, be ¹⁸  imitators of God as dearly loved children

Ephesians 5:21

5:21 and submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. ¹⁹ 

Hebrews 5:12-14

5:12 For though you should in fact be teachers by this time, ²⁰  you need someone to teach you the beginning elements of God’s utterances. ²¹  You have gone back to needing ²²  milk, not ²³  solid food. 5:13 For everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced in the message of righteousness, because he is an infant. 5:14 But solid food is for the mature, whose perceptions are trained by practice to discern both good and evil.

Hebrews 5:1

5:1 For every high priest is taken from among the people ²⁴  and appointed ²⁵  to represent them before God, ²⁶  to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.

Hebrews 4:1

God’s Promised Rest

4:1 Therefore we must be wary ²⁷  that, while the promise of entering his rest remains open, none of you may seem to have come short of it.

Revelation 2:2

2:2 ‘I know your works as well as your ²⁸  labor and steadfast endurance, and that you cannot tolerate ²⁹  evil. You have even put to the test ³⁰  those who refer to themselves as apostles (but are not), and have discovered that they are false.

[12:11]  ¹ tn The ו (vav) introduces the comparison here (see 5:7; 11:12); see GKC 499 §161.a.

[12:11]  ² tn Heb “the palate.”

[12:11]  ³ tn The final preposition with its suffix is to be understood as a pleonastic dativus ethicus and not translated (see GKC 439 §135.i).

[34:3]  ⁴ tn Or “examines; tests; tries; discerns.”

[34:3]  ⁵ tn Or “palate”; the Hebrew term refers to the tongue or to the mouth in general.

[12:2]  ⁶ tn Although συσχηματίζεσθε (suschmatizesqe) could be either a passive or middle, the passive is more likely since it would otherwise have to be a direct middle (“conform yourselves”) and, as such, would be quite rare for NT Greek. It is very telling that being “conformed” to the present world is viewed as a passive notion, for it may suggest that it happens, in part, subconsciously. At the same time, the passive could well be a “permissive passive,” suggesting that there may be some consciousness of the conformity taking place. Most likely, it is a combination of both.

[12:2]  ⁷ tn Grk “to this age.”

[12:2]  ⁸ sn The verb translated test and approve (δοκιμάζω, dokimazw) carries the sense of “test with a positive outcome,” “test so as to approve.”

[12:2]  ⁹ tn Although συσχηματίζεσθε (suschmatizesqe) could be either a passive or middle, the passive is more likely since it would otherwise have to be a direct middle (“conform yourselves”) and, as such, would be quite rare for NT Greek. It is very telling that being “conformed” to the present world is viewed as a passive notion, for it may suggest that it happens, in part, subconsciously. At the same time, the passive could well be a “permissive passive,” suggesting that there may be some consciousness of the conformity taking place. Most likely, it is a combination of both.

[12:2]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “to this age.”

[12:2]  ¹¹ sn The verb translated test and approve (δοκιμάζω, dokimazw) carries the sense of “test with a positive outcome,” “test so as to approve.”

[1:13]  ¹² tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).

[1:14]  ¹³ tc διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ (dia tou {aimato" autou, “through his blood”) is read at this juncture by several minuscule mss (614 630 1505 2464 al) as well as a few, mostly secondary, versional and patristic witnesses. But the reading was prompted by the parallel in Eph 1:7 where the wording is solid. If these words had been in the original of Colossians, why would scribes omit them here but not in Eph 1:7? Further, the testimony on behalf of the shorter reading is quite overwhelming: {א A B C D F G Ψ 075 0150 6 33 1739 1881 Ï latt co as well as several other versions and fathers}. The conviction that “through his blood” is not authentic in Col 1:14 is as strong as the conviction that these words are authentic in Eph 1:7.

[1:15]  ¹⁴ sn This passage has been typeset as poetry because many scholars regard this passage as poetic or hymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for determining if a passage is poetic or hymnic: “(a) stylistic: a certain rhythmical lilt when the passages are read aloud, the presence of parallelismus membrorum (i.e., an arrangement into couplets), the semblance of some metre, and the presence of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, chiasmus, and antithesis; and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary, particularly the presence of theological terms, which is different from the surrounding context” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 188-89). Classifying a passage as hymnic or poetic is important because understanding this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree that the above criteria are present in this passage, so the decision to typeset it as poetry should be viewed as a tentative decision about its genre.

[1:15]  ¹⁵ tn The Greek term πρωτότοκος (prwtotokos) could refer either to first in order of time, such as a first born child, or it could refer to one who is preeminent in rank. M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 43, expresses the meaning of the word well: “The ‘firstborn’ was either the eldest child in a family or a person of preeminent rank. The use of this term to describe the Davidic king in Ps 88:28 LXX (=Ps 89:27 EVV), ‘I will also appoint him my firstborn (πρωτότοκον), the most exalted of the kings of the earth,’ indicates that it can denote supremacy in rank as well as priority in time. But whether the πρωτό- element in the word denotes time, rank, or both, the significance of the -τοκος element as indicating birth or origin (from τίκτω, give birth to) has been virtually lost except in ref. to lit. birth.” In Col 1:15 the emphasis is on the priority of Jesus’ rank as over and above creation (cf. 1:16 and the “for” clause referring to Jesus as Creator).

[1:15]  ¹⁶ tn The genitive construction πάσης κτίσεως (pash" ktisew") is a genitive of subordination and is therefore translated as “over all creation.” See ExSyn 103-4.

[5:10]  ¹⁷ tn BDAG 255 s.v. δοκιμάζω 1 translates δοκιμάζοντες (dokimazonte") in Eph 5:10 as “try to learn.”

[5:1]  ¹⁸ tn Or “become.”

[5:21]  ¹⁹ sn Eph 5:19-21. In Eph 5:18 the author gives the command to be filled by means of the Holy Spirit. In 5:19-21 there follows five participles: (1) speaking; (2) singing; (3) making music; (4) giving thanks; (5) submitting. These participles have been variously interpreted, but perhaps the two most likely interpretations are (1) the participles indicate the means by which one is filled by the Spirit; (2) the participles indicate the result of being filled by the Spirit. The fact that the participles are present tense and follow the command (i.e., “be filled”) would tend to support both of these options. But it seems out of Paul’s character to reduce the filling of the Spirit to a formula of some kind. To the extent that this is true, it is unlikely then that the author is here stating the means for being filled by the Spirit. Because it is in keeping with Pauline theology and has good grammatical support, it is better to take the participles as indicating certain results of being filled by the Spirit. See ExSyn 639.

[5:12]  ²⁰ tn Grk “because of the time.”

[5:12]  ²¹ tn Grk “the elements of the beginning of the oracles of God.”

[5:12]  ²² tn Grk “you have come to have a need for.”

[5:12]  ²³ tc ‡ Most texts, including some early and important ones (א² A B* D Ψ 0122 0278 1881 Ï sy Cl), have καί (kai, “and”) immediately preceding οὐ (ou, “not”), but other equally significant witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ א* B² C 33 81 1739 lat Or Did) lack the conjunction. As it was a natural tendency for scribes to add a coordinating conjunction, the καί appears to be a motivated reading. On balance, it is probably best to regard the shorter reading as authentic. NA²⁷ has καί in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[5:1]  ²⁴ tn Grk “from among men,” but since the point in context is shared humanity (rather than shared maleness), the plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) has been translated “people.”

[5:1]  ²⁵ tn Grk “who is taken from among people is appointed.”

[5:1]  ²⁶ tn Grk “appointed on behalf of people in reference to things relating to God.”

[4:1]  ²⁷ tn Grk “let us fear.”

[2:2]  ²⁸ tn Although the first possessive pronoun σου (sou) is connected to τὰ ἔργα (ta erga) and the second σου is connected to ὑπομονήν (Jupomonhn), semantically κόπον (kopon) is also to be understood as belonging to the Ephesian church. The translation reflects this.

[2:2]  ²⁹ tn The translation “tolerate” seems to capture the sense of βαστάσαι (bastasai) here. BDAG 171 s.v. βαστάζω 2.b.β says, “bear, endure…κακούς Rv 2:2.…bear patiently, put up with: weaknesses of the weak Ro 15:1; cf. IPol 1:2; evil Rv 2:3.”

[2:2]  ³⁰ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the participle was broken off from the previous sentence and translated as an indicative verb beginning a new sentence here in the translation.