John 16:33

16:33 I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble and suffering, ¹  but take courage ²  – I have conquered the world.” ³ 

Romans 8:35-37

8:35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ⁴  8:36 As it is written, “For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” ⁵  8:37 No, in all these things we have complete victory ⁶  through him ⁷  who loved us!

Romans 8:1

The Believer’s Relationship to the Holy Spirit

8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ⁸ 

Colossians 4:9-14

4:9 I sent him ⁹  with Onesimus, the faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. ¹⁰  They will tell ¹¹  you about everything here.

4:10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions; if he comes to you, welcome him). 4:11 And Jesus who is called Justus also sends greetings. In terms of Jewish converts, ¹²  these are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a slave ¹³  of Christ, ¹⁴  greets you. He is always struggling in prayer on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured ¹⁵  in all the will of God. 4:13 For I can testify that he has worked hard ¹⁶  for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis. 4:14 Our dear friend Luke the physician and Demas greet you.

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹⁷  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Ephesians 6:11-18

6:11 Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes ¹⁸  of the devil. 6:12 For our struggle ¹⁹  is not against flesh and blood, ²⁰  but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, ²¹  against the spiritual forces ²²  of evil in the heavens. ²³  6:13 For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground ²⁴  on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand. 6:14 Stand firm therefore, by fastening ²⁵  the belt of truth around your waist, ²⁶  by putting on the breastplate of righteousness, 6:15 by fitting your ²⁷  feet with the preparation that comes from the good news ²⁸  of peace, ²⁹  6:16 and in all of this, ³⁰  by taking up the shield ³¹  of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation ³²  and the sword ³³  of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 6:18 With every prayer and petition, pray ³⁴  at all times in the Spirit, and to this end ³⁵  be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints.

Colossians 2:1

2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, ³⁶  and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. ³⁷ 

Colossians 2:1

2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, ³⁸  and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. ³⁹ 

Colossians 2:14-15

2:14 He has destroyed ⁴⁰  what was against us, a certificate of indebtedness ⁴¹  expressed in decrees opposed to us. He has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. 2:15 Disarming ⁴²  the rulers and authorities, he has made a public disgrace of them, triumphing over them by the cross. ⁴³ 

Colossians 3:2-4

3:2 Keep thinking about things above, not things on the earth, 3:3 for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 3:4 When Christ (who is your ⁴⁴  life) appears, then you too will be revealed in glory with him.

Colossians 3:2

3:2 Keep thinking about things above, not things on the earth,

Colossians 2:10-12

2:10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head over every ruler and authority. 2:11 In him you also were circumcised – not, however, ⁴⁵  with a circumcision performed by human hands, but by the removal ⁴⁶  of the fleshly body, ⁴⁷  that is, ⁴⁸  through the circumcision done by Christ. 2:12 Having been buried with him in baptism, you also have been raised with him through your ⁴⁹  faith in the power ⁵⁰  of God who raised him from the dead.

Colossians 4:7

Personal Greetings and Instructions

4:7 Tychicus, a dear brother, faithful minister, and fellow slave ⁵¹  in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. ⁵² 

Hebrews 10:32-33

10:32 But remember the former days when you endured a harsh conflict of suffering after you were enlightened. 10:33 At times you were publicly exposed to abuse and afflictions, and at other times you came to share with others who were treated in that way.

Hebrews 12:4

12:4 You have not yet resisted to the point of bloodshed ⁵³  in your struggle against sin.

Revelation 2:10-11

2:10 Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. The devil is about to have some of you thrown ⁵⁴  into prison so you may be tested, ⁵⁵  and you will experience suffering ⁵⁶  for ten days. Remain faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown that is life itself. ⁵⁷  2:11 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers ⁵⁸  will in no way be harmed by the second death.’

Revelation 12:11

12:11 But ⁵⁹  they overcame him

by the blood of the Lamb

and by the word of their testimony,

and they did not love their lives ⁶⁰  so much that they were afraid to die.

[16:33]  ¹ tn The one Greek term θλῖψις (qliyis) has been translated by an English hendiadys (two terms that combine for one meaning) “trouble and suffering.” For modern English readers “tribulation” is no longer clearly understandable.

[16:33]  ² tn Or “but be courageous.”

[16:33]  ³ tn Or “I am victorious over the world,” or “I have overcome the world.”

[8:35]  ⁴ tn Here “sword” is a metonymy that includes both threats of violence and acts of violence, even including death (although death is not necessarily the only thing in view here).

[8:36]  ⁵ sn A quotation from Ps 44:22.

[8:37]  ⁶ tn BDAG 1034 s.v. ὑπερνικάω states, “as a heightened form of νικᾶν prevail completely ὑπερνικῶμεν we are winning a most glorious victory Ro 8:37.”

[8:37]  ⁷ tn Here the referent could be either God or Christ, but in v. 39 it is God’s love that is mentioned.

[8:1]  ⁸ tc The earliest and best witnesses of the Alexandrian and Western texts, as well as a few others (א* B D* F G 6 1506 1739 1881 pc co), have no additional words for v. 1. Later scribes (A D¹ Ψ 81 365 629 pc vg) added the words μὴ κατὰ σάρκα περιπατοῦσιν (mh kata sarka peripatousin, “who do not walk according to the flesh”), while even later ones (א² D² 33^vid Ï) added ἀλλὰ κατὰ πνεῦμα (alla kata pneuma, “but [who do walk] according to the Spirit”). Both the external evidence and the internal evidence are compelling for the shortest reading. The scribes were evidently motivated to add such qualifications (interpolated from v. 4) to insulate Paul’s gospel from charges that it was characterized too much by grace. The KJV follows the longest reading found in Ï.

[4:9]  ⁹ tn The Greek sentence continues v. 9 with the phrase “with Onesimus,” but this is awkward in English, so the verb “I sent” was inserted and a new sentence started at the beginning of v. 9 in the translation.

[4:9]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “is of you.”

[4:9]  ¹¹ tn Grk “will make known to you.” This has been simplified in the translation to “will tell.”

[4:11]  ¹² tn Grk “those of the circumcision.” The verse as a whole is difficult to translate because it is unclear whether Paul is saying (1) that the only people working with him are Jewish converts at the time the letter is being written or previously, or (2) that Aristarchus, Mark, and Jesus Justus were the only Jewish Christians who ever worked with him. Verses 12-14 appear to indicate that Luke and Demas, who were Gentiles, were also working currently with Paul. This is the view adopted in the translation. See M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 207-8.

[4:12]  ¹³ tn See the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.

[4:12]  ¹⁴ tc ‡ Strong Alexandrian testimony, along with some other witnesses, suggests that ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou, “Jesus”) follows Χριστοῦ (Cristou, “Christ”; so א A B C I L 0278 33 81 365 629 1175 2464 al lat), but the evidence for the shorter reading is diverse (Ì⁴⁶ D F G Ψ 075 1739 1881 Ï it sy Hier), cutting across all major texttypes. There can be little motivation for omitting the name of Jesus; hence, the shorter reading is judged to be original. NA²⁷ has ᾿Ιησοῦ in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[4:12]  ¹⁵ tn Or “filled.”

[4:13]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “pain.” This word appears only three times in the NT outside of this verse (Rev 16:10, 11; 21:4) where the translation “pain” makes sense. For the present verse it has been translated “worked hard.” See BDAG 852 s.v. πόνος 1.

[1:1]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[6:11]  ¹⁸ tn Or “craftiness.” See BDAG 625 s.v. μεθοδεία.

[6:12]  ¹⁹ tn BDAG 752 s.v. πάλη says, “struggle against…the opponent is introduced by πρός w. the acc.”

[6:12]  ²⁰ tn Grk “blood and flesh.”

[6:12]  ²¹ tn BDAG 561 s.v. κοσμοκράτωρ suggests “the rulers of this sinful world” as a gloss.

[6:12]  ²² tn BDAG 837 s.v. πνευματικός 3 suggests “the spirit-forces of evil” in Ephesians 6:12.

[6:12]  ²³ sn The phrase spiritual forces of evil in the heavens serves to emphasize the nature of the forces which oppose believers as well as to indicate the locality from which they originate.

[6:13]  ²⁴ tn The term ἀνθίστημι (anqisthmi) carries the idea of resisting or opposing something or someone (BDAG 80 s.v.). In Eph 6:13, when used in combination with στῆναι (sthnai; cf. also στῆτε [sthte] in v. 14) and in a context of battle imagery, it seems to have the idea of resisting, standing firm, and being able to stand your ground.

[6:14]  ²⁵ sn The four participles fastening… putting on…fitting…taking up… indicate the means by which believers can take their stand against the devil and his schemes. The imperative take in v. 17 communicates another means by which to accomplish the standing, i.e., by the word of God.

[6:14]  ²⁶ tn Grk “girding your waist with truth.” In this entire section the author is painting a metaphor for his readers based on the attire of a Roman soldier prepared for battle and its similarity to the Christian prepared to do battle against spiritually evil forces. Behind the expression “with truth” is probably the genitive idea “belt of truth.” Since this is an appositional genitive (i.e., belt which is truth), the author simply left unsaid the idea of the belt and mentioned only his real focus, namely, the truth. (The analogy would have been completely understandable to his 1st century readers.) The idea of the belt is supplied in the translation to clarify the sense in English.

[6:15]  ²⁷ tn The definite article τοῖς (tois) was taken as a possessive pronoun, i.e., “your,” since it refers to a part of the physical body.

[6:15]  ²⁸ tn Grk “gospel.” However, this is not a technical term here.

[6:15]  ²⁹ tn Grk “in preparation of the gospel of peace.” The genitive τοῦ εὐαγγελίου (tou euangeliou) was taken as a genitive of source, i.e., “that comes from….”

[6:16]  ³⁰ tn Grk “in everything.”

[6:16]  ³¹ sn The Greek word translated shield (θυρεός, qureos) refers to the Roman soldier’s large rectangular wooden shield, called in Latin scutum, about 4 ft (1.2 m) high, covered with leather on the outside. Before a battle in which flaming arrows might be shot at them, the soldiers wet the leather covering with water to extinguish the arrows. The Roman legionaries could close ranks with these shields, the first row holding theirs edge to edge in front, and the rows behind holding the shields above their heads. In this formation they were practically invulnerable to arrows, rocks, and even spears.

[6:17]  ³² sn An allusion to Isa 59:17.

[6:17]  ³³ sn The Greek term translated sword (μάχαιρα, macaira) refers to the Roman gladius, a short sword about 2 ft (60 cm) long, used for close hand-to-hand combat. This is the only clearly offensive weapon in the list of armor mentioned by the author (he does not, for example, mention the lance [Latin pilum]).

[6:18]  ³⁴ tn Both “pray” and “be alert” are participles in the Greek text (“praying…being alert”). Both are probably instrumental, loosely connected with all of the preceding instructions. As such, they are not additional commands to do but instead are the means through which the prior instructions are accomplished.

[6:18]  ³⁵ tn Grk “and toward it.”

[2:1]  ³⁶ tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”

[2:1]  ³⁷ tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”

[2:1]  ³⁸ tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”

[2:1]  ³⁹ tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”

[2:14]  ⁴⁰ tn The participle ἐξαλείψας (exaleiyas) is a temporal adverbial participle of contemporaneous time related to the previous verb συνεζωοποίησεν (sunezwopoihsen), but has been translated as a finite verb because of the complexity of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences. For the meaning “destroy” see BDAG 344-45 s.v. ἐξαλείφω 2.

[2:14]  ⁴¹ tn On the translation of χειρόγραφον (ceirografon), see BDAG 1083 s.v. which refers to it as “a certificate of indebtedness.”

[2:15]  ⁴² tn See BDAG 100 s.v. ἀπεκδύομαι 2.

[2:15]  ⁴³ tn The antecedent of the Greek pronoun αὐτῷ (autw) could either be “Christ” or the “cross.” There are several reasons for choosing “the cross” as the antecedent for αὐτῷ in verse 15: (1) The nearest antecedent is τῷ σταυρῷ (tw staurw) in v. 14; (2) the idea of ἐδειγμάτισεν ἐν παρρησία (edeigmatisen en parrhsia, “made a public disgrace”) seems to be more in keeping with the idea of the cross; (3) a reference to Christ seems to miss the irony involved in the idea of triumph – the whole point is that where one would expect defeat, there came the victory; (4) if Christ is the subject of the participles in v. 15 then almost certainly the cross is the referent for αὐτῷ. Thus the best solution is to see αὐτῷ as a reference to the cross and the preposition ἐν (en) indicating “means” (i.e., by means of the cross) or possibly (though less likely) location (on the cross).

[3:4]  ⁴⁴ tc Certain mss (B^[*^] D¹ H 0278 1739 Ï sy sa) read ἡμῶν (Jhmwn, “our”), while others (Ì⁴⁶ א C D* F G P Ψ 075 33 81 1881 al latt bo) read ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”). Internally, it is possible that the second person pronoun arose through scribal conformity to the second person pronoun used previously in v. 3 (i.e., ὑμῶν) and following in v. 4 (ὑμεῖς, Jumeis). But in terms of external criteria, the second person pronoun has superior ms support (though there is an Alexandrian split) and ἡμῶν may have arisen through accident (error of sight) or scribal attempt to universalize the statement since all Christians have Jesus as their life. See TCGNT 557.

[2:11]  ⁴⁵ tn The terms “however” and “but” in this sentence were supplied in order to emphasize the contrast.

[2:11]  ⁴⁶ tn The articular noun τῇ ἀπεκδύσει (th apekdusei) is a noun which ends in -σις (-sis) and therefore denotes action, i.e., “removal.” Since the head noun is a verbal noun, the following genitive τοῦ σώματος (tou swmatos) is understood as an objective genitive, receiving the action of the head noun.

[2:11]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “in the removal of the body of flesh.” The genitive τῆς σαρκός (th" sarko") has been translated as an attributive genitive, “fleshly body.”

[2:11]  ⁴⁸ tn The second prepositional phrase beginning with ἐν τῇ περιτομῇ (en th peritomh) is parallel to the prepositional phrase ἐν τῇ ἀπεκδύσει (en th apekdusei) and gives a further explanation of it. The words “that is” were supplied to bring out this force in the translation.

[2:12]  ⁴⁹ tn The article with the genitive modifier τῆς πίστεως (th" pistew") is functioning as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[2:12]  ⁵⁰ tn The genitive τῆς ἐνεργείας (th" energeia") has been translated as an objective genitive, “faith in the power.”

[4:7]  ⁵¹ tn See the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.

[4:7]  ⁵² tn Grk “all things according to me.”

[12:4]  ⁵³ tn Grk “until blood.”

[2:10]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “is about to throw some of you,” but the force is causative in context.

[2:10]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “tempted.”

[2:10]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “experience persecution,” “will be in distress” (see L&N 22.2).

[2:10]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “crown of life,” with the genitive “of life” (τῆς ζωῆς, th" zwh") functioning in apposition to “crown” (στέφανον, stefanon): “the crown that consists of life.”

[2:11]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.”

[12:11]  ⁵⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast.

[12:11]  ⁶⁰ sn They did not love their lives. See Matt 16:25; Luke 17:33; John 12:25.