John 13:34-35

13:34 “I give you a new commandment – to love ¹  one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. ²  13:35 Everyone ³  will know by this that you are my disciples – if you have love for one another.”

Romans 12:10

12:10 Be devoted to one another with mutual love, showing eagerness in honoring one another.

Romans 12:1

Consecration of the Believer’s Life

12:1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, ⁴  by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to God ⁵  – which is your reasonable service.

Romans 3:12

3:12 All have turned away,

together they have become worthless;

there is no one who shows kindness, not even one.” ⁶ 

Romans 4:9-10

4:9 Is this blessedness ⁷  then for ⁸  the circumcision ⁹  or also for ¹⁰  the uncircumcision? For we say, “faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” ¹¹  4:10 How then was it credited to him? Was he circumcised at the time, or not? No, he was not circumcised but uncircumcised!

Hebrews 13:1

Final Exhortations

13:1 Brotherly love must continue.

Hebrews 13:1

Final Exhortations

13:1 Brotherly love must continue.

Hebrews 1:1

Introduction: God Has Spoken Fully and Finally in His Son

1:1 After God spoke long ago ¹²  in various portions ¹³  and in various ways ¹⁴  to our ancestors ¹⁵  through the prophets,

Hebrews 2:17

2:17 Therefore he had ¹⁶  to be made like his brothers and sisters ¹⁷  in every respect, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in things relating to God, to make atonement ¹⁸  for the sins of the people.

Hebrews 2:1

Warning Against Drifting Away

2:1 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

Hebrews 3:14

3:14 For we have become partners with Christ, if in fact we hold our initial confidence ¹⁹  firm until the end.

Hebrews 3:16

3:16 For which ones heard and rebelled? Was it not all who came out of Egypt under Moses’ leadership? ²⁰ 

[13:34]  ¹ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause gives the content of the commandment. This is indicated by a dash in the translation.

[13:34]  ² sn The idea that love is a commandment is interesting. In the OT the ten commandments have a setting in the covenant between God and Israel at Sinai; they were the stipulations that Israel had to observe if the nation were to be God’s chosen people. In speaking of love as the new commandment for those whom Jesus had chosen as his own (John 13:1, 15:16) and as a mark by which they could be distinguished from others (13:35), John shows that he is thinking of this scene in covenant terminology. But note that the disciples are to love “Just as I have loved you” (13:34). The love Jesus has for his followers cannot be duplicated by them in one sense, because it effects their salvation, since he lays down his life for them: It is an act of love that gives life to people. But in another sense, they can follow his example (recall to the end, 13:1; also 1 John 3:16, 4:16 and the interpretation of Jesus’ washing of the disciples’ feet). In this way Jesus’ disciples are to love one another: They are to follow his example of sacrificial service to one another, to death if necessary.

[13:35]  ³ tn Grk “All people,” although many modern translations have rendered πάντες (pantes) as “all men” (ASV, RSV, NASB, NIV). While the gender of the pronoun is masculine, it is collective and includes people of both genders.

[12:1]  ⁴ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[12:1]  ⁵ tn The participle and two adjectives “alive, holy, and pleasing to God” are taken as predicates in relation to “sacrifice,” making the exhortation more emphatic. See ExSyn 618-19.

[3:12]  ⁶ sn Verses 10-12 are a quotation from Ps 14:1-3.

[4:9]  ⁷ tn Or “happiness.”

[4:9]  ⁸ tn Grk “upon.”

[4:9]  ⁹ sn See the note on “circumcision” in 2:25.

[4:9]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “upon.”

[4:9]  ¹¹ sn A quotation from Gen 15:6.

[1:1]  ¹² tn Or “spoke formerly.”

[1:1]  ¹³ tn Or “parts.” The idea is that God’s previous revelation came in many parts and was therefore fragmentary or partial (L&N 63.19), in comparison with the final and complete revelation contained in God’s Son. However, some interpret πολυμερῶς (polumerw") in Heb 1:1 to mean “on many different occasions” and would thus translate “many times” (L&N 67.11). This is the option followed by the NIV: “at many times and in various ways.” Finally, this word is also understood to refer to the different manners in which something may be done, and would then be translated “in many different ways” (L&N 89.81). In this last case, the two words πολυμερῶς and πολυτρόπως (polutropw") mutually reinforce one another (“in many and various ways,” NRSV).

[1:1]  ¹⁴ tn These two phrases are emphasized in Greek by being placed at the beginning of the sentence and by alliteration.

[1:1]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “to the fathers.”

[2:17]  ¹⁶ tn Or “he was obligated.”

[2:17]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 2:11.

[2:17]  ¹⁸ tn Or “propitiation.”

[3:14]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “the beginning of the confidence.”

[3:16]  ²⁰ tn Grk “through Moses.”