Luke 1:6

1:6 They ¹  were both righteous in the sight of God, following ²  all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. ³ 

Galatians 5:16

5:16 But I say, live ⁴  by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. ⁵ 

Galatians 5:25

5:25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with ⁶  the Spirit.

Ephesians 4:1

Live in Unity

4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, ⁷  urge you to live ⁸  worthily of the calling with which you have been called, ⁹ 

Ephesians 4:17

Live in Holiness

4:17 So I say this, and insist ¹⁰  in the Lord, that you no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility ¹¹  of their thinking. ¹² 

Ephesians 5:2

5:2 and live ¹³  in love, just as Christ also loved us ¹⁴  and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering ¹⁵  to God.

Ephesians 5:8

5:8 for you were at one time darkness, but now you are ¹⁶  light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light –

Ephesians 5:15

Live Wisely

5:15 Therefore be very careful how you live – not as unwise but as wise,

Philippians 1:27

1:27 Only conduct yourselves ¹⁷  in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ so that – whether I come and see you or whether I remain absent – I should hear that ¹⁸  you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, by contending side by side for the faith of the gospel, ¹⁹ 

Philippians 3:16-20

3:16 Nevertheless, let us live up to the standard ²⁰  that we have already attained. ²¹ 

3:17 Be imitators of me, ²²  brothers and sisters, ²³  and watch carefully those who are living this way, just as you have us as an example. 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. 3:19 Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, they exult in their shame, and they think about earthly things. ²⁴  3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven – and we also await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

Philippians 4:8-9

4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, ²⁵  whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things. 4:9 And what you learned and received and heard and saw in me, do these things. And the God of peace will be with you.

Colossians 1:10

1:10 so that you may live ²⁶  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ²⁷  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ²⁸  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 2:12

2:12 Having been buried with him in baptism, you also have been raised with him through your ²⁹  faith in the power ³⁰  of God who raised him from the dead.

Colossians 4:12

4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a slave ³¹  of Christ, ³²  greets you. He is always struggling in prayer on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured ³³  in all the will of God.

Colossians 4:1

4:1 Masters, treat your slaves with justice and fairness, because you know that you also have a master in heaven.

Colossians 2:12

2:12 Having been buried with him in baptism, you also have been raised with him through your ³⁴  faith in the power ³⁵  of God who raised him from the dead.

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 2:6

Warnings Against the Adoption of False Philosophies

2:6 Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, ³⁸  continue to live your lives ³⁹  in him,

Colossians 2:2

2:2 My goal is that ⁴⁰  their hearts, having been knit together ⁴¹  in love, may be encouraged, and that ⁴²  they may have all the riches that assurance brings in their understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely, Christ, ⁴³ 

Colossians 1:4

1:4 since ⁴⁴  we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints.

[1:6]  ¹ tn Grk “And they.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[1:6]  ² tn Grk “walking in” (an idiom for one’s lifestyle).

[1:6]  ³ tn The predicate adjective has the effect of an adverb here (BDF §243).

[5:16]  ⁴ tn Grk “walk” (a common NT idiom for how one conducts one’s life or how one behaves).

[5:16]  ⁵ tn On the term “flesh” (once in this verse and twice in v. 17) see the note on the same word in Gal 5:13.

[5:25]  ⁶ tn Or “let us also follow,” “let us also walk by.”

[4:1]  ⁷ tn Grk “prisoner in the Lord.”

[4:1]  ⁸ tn Grk “walk.” The verb “walk” in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.

[4:1]  ⁹ sn With which you have been called. The calling refers to the Holy Spirit’s prompting that caused them to believe. The author is thus urging his readers to live a life that conforms to their saved status before God.

[4:17]  ¹⁰ tn On the translation of μαρτύρομαι (marturomai) as “insist” see BDAG 619 s.v. 2.

[4:17]  ¹¹ tn On the translation of ματαιότης (mataioth") as “futility” see BDAG 621 s.v.

[4:17]  ¹² tn Or “thoughts,” “mind.”

[5:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “walk.” The NT writers often used the verb “walk” (περιπατέω, peripatew) to refer to ethical conduct (cf. Rom 8:4; Gal 5:16; Col 4:5).

[5:2]  ¹⁴ tc A number of important witnesses have ὑμᾶς (Jumas, “you”; e.g., א* A B P 0159 81 1175 al it co as well as several fathers). Other, equally important witnesses read ἡμᾶς (Jhmas, “us”; Ì⁴⁶ א² D F G Ψ 0278 33 1739 1881 al lat sy). It is possible that ἡμᾶς was accidentally introduced via homoioarcton with the previous word (ἠγάπησεν, hgaphsen). On the other hand, ὑμᾶς may have been motivated by the preceding ὑμῖν (Jumin) in 4:32 and second person verbs in 5:1, 2. Further, the flow of argument seems to require the first person pronoun. A decision is difficult to make, but the first person pronoun has a slightly greater probability of being original.

[5:2]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “an offering and sacrifice to God as a smell of fragrance.” The first expression, προσφορὰν καὶ θυσίαν (prosforan kai qusian), is probably a hendiadys and has been translated such that “sacrificial” modifies “offering.” The second expression, εἰς ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας (ei" osmhn euwdia", “as a smell of fragrance”) has been translated as “a fragrant offering”; see BDAG 728-29 s.v. ὀσμή 2. Putting these two together in a clear fashion in English yields the translation: “a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.”

[5:8]  ¹⁶ tn The verb “you are” is implied in the Greek text, but is supplied in the English translation to make it clear.

[1:27]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “live as citizens.” The verb πολιτεύεσθε (politeuesqe) connotes the life of a freeman in a free Roman colony.

[1:27]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “the things concerning you, [namely,] that.” The ὅτι (Joti) clause is appositional to τὰ περὶ ὑμῶν (ta peri Jumwn) and therefore “the things concerning you” was not translated.

[1:27]  ¹⁹ tn The phrase “the faith of the gospel” could mean one of three things: “the faith that is the gospel” (genitive of apposition), “the faith that originates from the gospel” (genitive of source), or “faith in the gospel” (objective genitive).

[3:16]  ²⁰ tc Although κανόνι (kanoni, “standard, rule”) is found in most witnesses, though in various locations in this verse (א² D² Ψ 075 Ï), it is almost surely a motivated reading, for it clarifies the cryptic τῷ αὐτῷ (tw autw, “the same”). Both the fact that the word floats, and that there are other variants which accomplish greater clarity by other means, strongly suggests the secondary nature of any of the longer readings here. Further, the shortest text has excellent and early support in Ì^16,46 א* A B I^vid 6 33 1739 co, rendering it decidedly the preferred reading. The translation adds “standard” because of English requirements, not because of textual basis.

[3:16]  ²¹ tn Grk “Nevertheless, to what we have attained, to the same hold fast.”

[3:17]  ²² tn Or “become fellow imitators with me [of Christ].”

[3:17]  ²³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.

[3:19]  ²⁴ tn Grk “whose end is destruction, whose god is the belly and glory is their shame, these who think of earthly things.”

[4:8]  ²⁵ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.

[1:10]  ²⁶ tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”

[1:10]  ²⁷ tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”

[1:1]  ²⁸ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[2:12]  ²⁹ tn The article with the genitive modifier τῆς πίστεως (th" pistew") is functioning as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[2:12]  ³⁰ tn The genitive τῆς ἐνεργείας (th" energeia") has been translated as an objective genitive, “faith in the power.”

[4:12]  ³¹ tn See the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.

[4:12]  ³² 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]  ³³ tn Or “filled.”

[2:12]  ³⁴ tn The article with the genitive modifier τῆς πίστεως (th" pistew") is functioning as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[2:12]  ³⁵ tn The genitive τῆς ἐνεργείας (th" energeia") has been translated as an objective genitive, “faith in the power.”

[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.”

[2:6]  ³⁸ tn Though the verb παρελάβετε (parelabete) does not often take a double accusative, here it seems to do so. Both τὸν Χριστὸν ᾿Ιησοῦν (ton Criston Ihsoun) and τὸν κύριον (ton kurion) are equally definite insofar as they both have an article, but both the word order and the use of “Christ Jesus” as a proper name suggest that it is the object (cf. Rom 10:9, 10). Thus Paul is affirming that the tradition that was delivered to the Colossians by Epaphras was Christ-centered and focused on him as Lord.

[2:6]  ³⁹ tn The present imperative περιπατεῖτε (peripateite) implies, in this context, a continuation of something already begun. This is evidenced by the fact that Paul has already referred to their faith as “orderly” and “firm” (2:5), despite the struggles of some of them with this deceptive heresy (cf. 2:16-23). The verb is used literally to refer to a person “walking” and is thus used metaphorically (i.e., ethically) to refer to the way a person lives his or her life.

[2:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Verse two begins a subordinate ἵνα (Jina) clause which was divided up into two sentences for the sake of clarity in English. Thus the phrase “My goal is that” is an attempt to reflect in the translation the purpose expressed through the ἵνα clauses.

[2:2]  ⁴¹ tn BDAG 956 s.v. συμβιβάζω 1.b reads “unite, knit together.” Some commentators take the verb as a reference to instruction, “instructed in love.” See P. T. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon (WBC), 93.

[2:2]  ⁴² tn The phrase “and that” translates the first εἰς (eis) clause of v. 2 and reflects the second goal of Paul’s striving and struggle for the Colossians – the first is “encouragement” and the second is “full assurance.”

[2:2]  ⁴³ tc There are at least a dozen variants here, almost surely generated by the unusual wording τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ (tou qeou, Cristou, “of God, Christ”; so Ì⁴⁶ B Hil). Scribes would be prone to conform this to more common Pauline expressions such as “of God, who is in Christ” (33), “of God, the Father of Christ” (א* A C 048^vid 1175 bo), and “of the God and Father of Christ” (א² Ψ 075 0278 365 1505 pc). Even though the external support for the wording τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ is hardly overwhelming, it clearly best explains the rise of the other readings and should thus be regarded as authentic.

[1:4]  ⁴⁴ tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).