John 15:14

15:14 You are my friends ¹  if you do what I command you.

Genesis 6:22

6:22 And Noah did all ²  that God commanded him – he did indeed. ³ 

Exodus 40:16

40:16 This is what Moses did, according to all the Lord had commanded him – so he did.

Psalms 19:11

19:11 Yes, your servant finds moral guidance there; ⁴ 

those who obey them receive a rich reward. ⁵ 

Psalms 119:1-5

Psalm 119 ⁶ 

א (Alef)

119:1 How blessed are those whose actions are blameless, ⁷ 

who obey ⁸  the law of the Lord.

119:2 How blessed are those who observe his rules,

and seek him with all their heart,

119:3 who, moreover, do no wrong,

but follow in his footsteps. ⁹ 

119:4 You demand that your precepts

be carefully kept. ¹⁰ 

119:5 If only I were predisposed ¹¹ 

to keep your statutes!

Ezekiel 36:27

36:27 I will put my Spirit within you; ¹²  I will take the initiative and you will obey my statutes ¹³  and carefully observe my regulations. ¹⁴ 

Matthew 7:24-25

Hearing and Doing

7:24 “Everyone ¹⁵  who hears these words of mine and does them is like ¹⁶  a wise man ¹⁷  who built his house on rock. 7:25 The rain fell, the flood ¹⁸  came, and the winds beat against that house, but it did not collapse because it had been founded on rock.

Matthew 12:50

12:50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is ¹⁹  my brother and sister and mother.”

Matthew 22:38-41

22:38 This is the first and greatest ²⁰  commandment. 22:39 The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ²¹  22:40 All the law and the prophets depend ²²  on these two commandments.”

The Messiah: David’s Son and Lord

22:41 While ²³  the Pharisees ²⁴  were assembled, Jesus asked them a question: ²⁵ 

Luke 12:47-48

12:47 That ²⁶  servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or do what his master asked ²⁷  will receive a severe beating. 12:48 But the one who did not know his master’s will ²⁸  and did things worthy of punishment ²⁹  will receive a light beating. ³⁰  From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, ³¹  and from the one who has been entrusted with much, ³²  even more will be asked. ³³ 

Luke 12:2

12:2 Nothing is hidden ³⁴  that will not be revealed, ³⁵  and nothing is secret that will not be made known.

Colossians 1:14-15

1:14 in whom we have redemption, ³⁶  the forgiveness of sins.

The Supremacy of Christ

1:15 ³⁷ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn ³⁸  over all creation, ³⁹ 

Galatians 5:6

5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision carries any weight – the only thing that matters is faith working through love. ⁴⁰ 

Hebrews 11:7-8

11:7 By faith Noah, when he was warned about things not yet seen, with reverent regard ⁴¹  constructed an ark for the deliverance of his family. Through faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

11:8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, and he went out without understanding where he was going.

James 1:25

1:25 But the one who peers into the perfect law of liberty and fixes his attention there, ⁴²  and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out – he ⁴³  will be blessed in what he does. ⁴⁴ 

James 2:20-24

2:20 But would you like evidence, ⁴⁵  you empty fellow, ⁴⁶  that faith without works is useless? ⁴⁷  2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 2:22 You see that his faith was working together with his works and his faith was perfected by works. 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Now Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness,” ⁴⁸  and he was called God’s friend. ⁴⁹  2:24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

James 4:17

4:17 So whoever knows what is good to do ⁵⁰  and does not do it is guilty of sin. ⁵¹ 

Revelation 22:14

22:14 Blessed are those who wash their robes so they can have access ⁵²  to the tree of life and can enter into the city by the gates.

[15:14]  ¹ sn This verse really explains John 15:10 in another way. Those who keep Jesus’ commandments are called his friends, those friends for whom he lays down his life (v. 13). It is possible to understand this verse as referring to a smaller group within Christianity as a whole, perhaps only the apostles who were present when Jesus spoke these words. Some have supported this by comparing it to the small group of associates and advisers to the Roman Emperor who were called “Friends of the Emperor.” Others would see these words as addressed only to those Christians who as disciples were obedient to Jesus. In either case the result would be to create a sort of “inner circle” of Christians who are more privileged than mere “believers” or average Christians. In context, it seems clear that Jesus’ words must be addressed to all true Christians, not just some narrower category of believers, because Jesus’ sacrificial death, which is his act of love toward his friends (v. 13) applies to all Christians equally (cf. John 13:1).

[6:22]  ² tn Heb “according to all.”

[6:22]  ³ tn The last clause seems redundant: “and thus (כֵּן, ken) he did.” It underscores the obedience of Noah to all that God had said.

[19:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “moreover your servant is warned by them.”

[19:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “in the keeping of them [there is] a great reward.”

[119:1]  ⁶ sn Psalm 119. The psalmist celebrates God’s law and the guidance it provides his people. He expresses his desire to know God’s law thoroughly so that he might experience the blessings that come to those who obey it. This lengthy psalm exhibits an elaborate acrostic pattern. The psalm is divided into twenty-two sections (corresponding to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet), each of which is comprised of eight verses. Each of the verses in the first section (vv. 1-8) begins with the letter alef (א), the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This pattern continues throughout the psalm as each new section highlights a successive letter of the alphabet. Each verse in section two (vv. 9-16) begins with the second letter of the alphabet, each verse in section three (vv. 17-24) with the third letter, etc. This rigid pattern creates a sense of order and completeness and may have facilitated memorization.

[119:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness of those who are blameless of way.”

[119:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “walk in.”

[119:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “walk in his ways.”

[119:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “you, you commanded your precepts, to keep, very much.”

[119:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “if only my ways were established.”

[36:27]  ¹² tn Or “in the midst of you.” The word “you” is plural.

[36:27]  ¹³ tn Heb “and I will do that which in my statutes you will walk.” The awkward syntax (verb “to do, act” + accusative sign + relative clause + prepositional phrase + second person verb) is unique, though Eccl 3:14 contains a similar construction. In the last line of that verse we read that “God acts so that (relative pronoun) they fear before him.” However, unlike Ezek 36:27, the statement has no accusative sign before the relative pronoun.

[36:27]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and my laws you will guard and you will do them.” Jer 31:31-34 is parallel to this passage.

[7:24]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “Therefore everyone.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated.

[7:24]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “will be like.” The same phrase occurs in v. 26.

[7:24]  ¹⁷ tn Here and in v. 26 the Greek text reads ἀνήρ (anhr), while the parallel account in Luke 6:47-49 uses ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") in vv. 48 and 49.

[7:25]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “the rivers.”

[12:50]  ¹⁹ tn The pleonastic pronoun αὐτός (autos, “he”) which precedes this verb has not been translated.

[22:38]  ²⁰ tn Grk “the great and first.”

[22:39]  ²¹ sn A quotation from Lev 19:18.

[22:40]  ²² tn Grk “hang.” The verb κρεμάννυμι (kremannumi) is used here with a figurative meaning (cf. BDAG 566 s.v. 2.b).

[22:41]  ²³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[22:41]  ²⁴ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[22:41]  ²⁵ tn Grk “asked them a question, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is somewhat redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[12:47]  ²⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:47]  ²⁷ tn Grk “or do according to his will”; the referent (the master) has been specified in the translation for clarity. This example deals with the slave who knew what the command was and yet failed to complete it.

[12:48]  ²⁸ tn Grk “did not know”; the phrase “his master’s will” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the contemporary English reader.

[12:48]  ²⁹ tn Grk “blows.”

[12:48]  ³⁰ tn Grk “will receive few (blows).”

[12:48]  ³¹ tn Grk “required from him”; but the words “from him” are redundant in English and have not been translated.

[12:48]  ³² sn Entrusted with much. To be gifted with precious responsibility is something that requires faithfulness.

[12:48]  ³³ tn Grk “they will ask even more.”

[12:2]  ³⁴ tn Or “concealed.”

[12:2]  ³⁵ sn I.e., be revealed by God. The passive voice verbs here (“be revealed,” be made known”) see the revelation as coming from God. The text is both a warning about bad things being revealed and an encouragement that good things will be made known, though the stress with the images of darkness and what is hidden in vv. 2-3 is on the attempt to conceal.

[1:14]  ³⁶ 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]  ³⁷ 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]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ 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.

[5:6]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “but faith working through love.”

[11:7]  ⁴¹ tn Cf. BDAG 407 s.v. εὐλαβέομαι 2, “out of reverent regard (for God’s command).”

[1:25]  ⁴² tn Grk “continues.”

[1:25]  ⁴³ tn Grk “this one.”

[1:25]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “in his doing.”

[2:20]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “do you want to know.”

[2:20]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “O empty man.” Here the singular vocative ἄνθρωπε (anqrwpe, “man”) means “person” or even “fellow.” Cf. BDAG 82 s.v. ἄνθρωπος 8 which views this as an instance of rhetorical address in a letter; the pejorative sense is also discussed under the previous heading (7).

[2:20]  ⁴⁷ tc Most witnesses, including several important ones (א A C² P Ψ 33 Ï sy bo), have νεκρά (nekra, “dead”) here, while Ì⁷⁴ reads κενή (kenh, “empty”). Both variants are most likely secondary, derived from ἀργή (argh, “useless”). The reading of the majority is probably an assimilation to the statements in vv. 17 and 26, while Ì⁷⁴’s reading picks up on κενέ (kene) earlier in the verse. The external evidence (B C* 323 945 1739 sa) for ἀργή is sufficient for authenticity; coupled with the strong internal evidence for the reading (if νεκρά were original, how would ἀργή have arisen here and not in vv. 17 or 26?), it is strongly preferred.

[2:23]  ⁴⁸ sn A quotation from Gen 15:6.

[2:23]  ⁴⁹ sn An allusion to 2 Chr 20:7; Isa 41:8; 51:2; Dan 3:35 (LXX), in which Abraham is called God’s “beloved.”

[4:17]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “knows how to do what is good.”

[4:17]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “to him it is sin.”

[22:14]  ⁵² tn Grk “so that there will be to them authority over the tree of life.”