Job 17:9

17:9 But the righteous man holds to his way,

and the one with clean hands grows stronger. ¹ 

Proverbs 4:18

4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the bright morning light, ² 

growing brighter and brighter ³  until full day. ⁴ 

Hosea 6:3

6:3 So let us acknowledge him! ⁵ 

Let us seek ⁶  to acknowledge ⁷  the Lord!

He will come to our rescue as certainly as the appearance of the dawn,

as certainly as the winter rain comes,

as certainly as the spring rain that waters the land.”

John 15:2

15:2 He takes away ⁸  every branch that does not bear ⁹  fruit in me. He ¹⁰  prunes ¹¹  every branch that bears ¹²  fruit so that it will bear more fruit.

John 16:12-13

16:12 “I have many more things to say to you, ¹³  but you cannot bear ¹⁴  them now. 16:13 But when he, ¹⁵  the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide ¹⁶  you into all truth. ¹⁷  For he will not speak on his own authority, ¹⁸  but will speak whatever he hears, and will tell you ¹⁹  what is to come. ²⁰ 

Philippians 1:6

1:6 For I am sure of this very thing, ²¹  that the one ²²  who began a good work in ²³  you will perfect it ²⁴  until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:9

1:9 And I pray this, that your love may abound even more and more in knowledge and every kind of insight

Philippians 2:13-15

2:13 for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort – for the sake of his good pleasure – is God. 2:14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 2:15 so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish though you live in a crooked and perverse society, in which you shine as lights in the world ²⁵ 

Philippians 2:1

Christian Unity and Christ’s Humility

2:1 Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, ²⁶  any affection or mercy, ²⁷ 

Philippians 1:23-24

1:23 I feel torn between the two, ²⁸  because I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far, 1:24 but it is more vital for your sake that I remain ²⁹  in the body. ³⁰ 

Philippians 1:2

1:2 Grace and peace to you ³¹  from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Philippians 3:18

3:18 For many live, about whom I have often told you, and now, with tears, I tell you that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ.

[17:9]  ¹ tn The last two words are the imperfect verb יֹסִיף (yosif) which means “he adds,” and the abstract noun “energy, strength.” This noun is not found elsewhere; its Piel verb occurs in Job 4:4 and 16:5. “he increases strength.”

[4:18]  ² tn Heb “like light of brightness.” This construction is an attributive genitive: “bright light.” The word “light” (אוֹר, ’or) refers to the early morning light or the dawn (BDB 21 s.v.). The point of the simile is that the course of life that the righteous follow is like the clear, bright morning light. It is illumined, clear, easy to follow, and healthy and safe – the opposite of what darkness represents.

[4:18]  ³ tn The construction uses the Qal active participle of הָלַךְ (halakh) in a metaphorical sense to add the idea of continuance or continually to the participle הוֹלֵךְ (holekh). Here the path was growing light, but the added participle signifies continually.

[4:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “until the day is established.” This expression refers to the coming of the full day or the time of high noon.

[6:3]  ³ tn The object (“him”) is omitted in the Hebrew text, but supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “let us pursue in order to know.” The Hebrew term רָדַף (radaf, “to pursue”) is used figuratively: “to aim to secure” (BDB 923 s.v. רָדַף 2). It describes the pursuit of a moral goal: “Do not pervert justice…nor accept a bribe…pursue [רָדַף] justice” (Deut 16:20); “those who pursue [רָדַף] righteousness and who seek [בָּקַשׁ, baqash] the Lord” (Isa 51:1); “He who pursues [רָדַף] righteousness and love finds life, prosperity, and honor” (Prov 21:20); “Seek [בָּקַשׁ] peace and pursue [רָדַף] it” (Ps 34:15); “they slander me when I pursue [רָדַף] good” (Ps 38:21).

[6:3]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew infinitive construct with לְ (lamed) denotes purpose: “to know” (לָדַעַת, lada’at).

[15:2]  ⁴ tn Or “He cuts off.”

[15:2]  ⁵ tn Or “does not yield.”

[15:2]  ⁶ tn Grk “And he”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been omitted in the translation in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[15:2]  ⁷ tn Or “trims”; Grk “cleanses” (a wordplay with “clean” in v. 3). Καθαίρει (kaqairei) is not the word one would have expected here, but it provides the transition from the vine imagery to the disciples – there is a wordplay (not reproducible in English) between αἴρει (airei) and καθαίρει in this verse. While the purpose of the Father in cleansing his people is clear, the precise means by which he does so is not immediately obvious. This will become clearer, however, in the following verse.

[15:2]  ⁸ tn Or “that yields.”

[16:12]  ⁵ sn In what sense does Jesus have many more things to say to the disciples? Does this imply the continuation of revelation after his departure? This is probably the case, especially in light of v. 13 and following, which describe the work of the Holy Spirit in guiding the disciples into all truth. Thus Jesus was saying that he would continue to speak (to the twelve, at least) after his return to the Father. He would do this through the Holy Spirit whom he was going to send. It is possible that an audience broader than the twelve is addressed, and in the Johannine tradition there is evidence that later other Christians (or perhaps, professed Christians) claimed to be recipients of revelation through the Spirit-Paraclete (1 John 4:1-6).

[16:12]  ⁶ tn Or (perhaps) “you cannot accept.”

[16:13]  ⁶ tn Grk “that one.”

[16:13]  ⁷ tn Or “will lead.”

[16:13]  ⁸ sn Three important points must be noted here. (1) When the Holy Spirit comes, he will guide the disciples into all truth. What Jesus had said in 8:31-32, “If you continue to follow my teaching you are really my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free,” will ultimately be realized in the ongoing ministry of the Holy Spirit to the disciples after Jesus’ departure. (2) The things the Holy Spirit speaks to them will not be things which originate from himself (he will not speak on his own authority), but things he has heard. This could be taken to mean that no new revelation is involved, as R. E. Brown does (John [AB], 2:714-15). This is a possible but not a necessary inference. The point here concerns the source of the things the Spirit will say to the disciples and does not specifically exclude originality of content. (3) Part at least of what the Holy Spirit will reveal to the disciples will concern what is to come, not just fuller implications of previous sayings of Jesus and the like. This does seem to indicate that at least some new revelation is involved. But the Spirit is not the source or originator of these things – Jesus is the source, and he will continue to speak to his disciples through the Spirit who has come to indwell them. This does not answer the question, however, whether these words are addressed to all followers of Jesus, or only to his apostles. Different modern commentators will answer this question differently. Since in the context of the Farewell Discourse Jesus is preparing the twelve to carry on his ministry after his departure, it is probably best to take these statements as specifically related only to the twelve. Some of this the Holy Spirit does directly for all believers today; other parts of this statement are fulfilled through the apostles (e.g., in giving the Book of Revelation the Spirit speaks through the apostles to the church today of things to come). One of the implications of this is that a doctrine does not have to be traced back to an explicit teaching of Jesus to be authentic; all that is required is apostolic authority.

[16:13]  ⁹ tn Grk “speak from himself.”

[16:13]  ¹⁰ tn Or will announce to you.”

[16:13]  ¹¹ tn Grk “will tell you the things to come.”

[1:6]  ⁷ tn Grk “since I am sure of this very thing.” The verse begins with an adverbial participle that is dependent on the main verb in v. 3 (“I thank”). Paul here gives one reason for his thankfulness.

[1:6]  ⁸ tn The referent is clearly God from the overall context of the paragraph and the mention of “the day of Christ Jesus” at the end, which would be redundant if Christ were referred to here.

[1:6]  ⁹ tn Or “among.”

[1:6]  ¹⁰ tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[2:15]  ⁸ tn Or “as stars in the universe.”

[2:1]  ⁹ tn Or “spiritual fellowship” if πνεύματος (pneumato") is an attributive genitive; or “fellowship brought about by the Spirit” if πνεύματος is a genitive of source or production.

[2:1]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “and any affection and mercy.” The Greek idea, however, is best expressed by “or” in English.

[1:23]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “I am hard-pressed between the two.” Cf. L&N 30.18.

[1:24]  ¹¹ tn Grk “But to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you.”

[1:24]  ¹² tn Grk “the flesh.”

[1:2]  ¹² tn Grk “Grace to you and peace.”