Luke 11:39-41

11:39 But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean ¹  the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. ²  11:40 You fools! ³  Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside as well? ⁴  11:41 But give from your heart to those in need, ⁵  and ⁶  then everything will be clean for you. ⁷ 

Acts 10:15

10:15 The voice ⁸  spoke to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you must not consider ⁹  ritually unclean!” ¹⁰ 

Romans 14:14

14:14 I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean in itself; still, it is unclean to the one who considers it unclean.

Romans 14:20

14:20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. For although all things are clean, ¹¹  it is wrong to cause anyone to stumble by what you eat.

Romans 14:1

Exhortation to Mutual Forbearance

14:1 Now receive the one who is weak in the faith, and do not have disputes over differing opinions. ¹² 

Colossians 1:12-13

1:12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share ¹³  in the saints’ ¹⁴  inheritance in the light. 1:13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁵ 

Colossians 1:23

1:23 if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, ¹⁶  without shifting ¹⁷  from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant.

Colossians 1:25

1:25 I became a servant of the church according to the stewardship ¹⁸  from God – given to me for you – in order to complete ¹⁹  the word of God,

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ²⁰  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ²¹  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 4:3-4

4:3 At the same time pray ²²  for us too, that ²³  God may open a door for the message ²⁴  so that we may proclaim ²⁵  the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. ²⁶  4:4 Pray that I may make it known as I should. ²⁷ 

[11:39]  ¹ sn The allusion to washing (clean the outside of the cup) shows Jesus knew what they were thinking and deliberately set up a contrast that charged them with hypocrisy and majoring on minors.

[11:39]  ² tn Or “and evil.”

[11:40]  ³ sn You fools is a rebuke which in the OT refers to someone who is blind to God (Ps 14:1, 53:1; 92:6; Prov 6:12).

[11:40]  ⁴ tn The question includes a Greek particle, οὐ (ou), that expects a positive reply. God, the maker of both, is concerned for what is both inside and outside.

[11:41]  ⁵ tn Grk “Give the things inside as alms.” Three different approaches have been taken to the syntax and meaning of this phrase: (1) τὰ ἐνόντα (ta enonta, “the things inside”) is an accusative of respect (“give alms with respect to the things inside”); (2) τὰ ἐνόντα is an adverbial accusative (“give alms inwardly,” i.e., from the heart); (3) the word translated “alms” represents a mistranslation of the original Aramaic term “cleanse,” so the statement urges the hearers to “cleanse the things inside.” According to D. L. Bock (Luke [BECNT], 2:1115) the latter meaning is unlikely because the present verse is independent of Matt 23:26, not parallel to it, and makes good sense as it stands.

[11:41]  ⁶ tn Grk “and behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this clause has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[11:41]  ⁷ sn The expression everything will be clean for you refers to the agreement that should exist between the overt practice of one’s religious duties, such as almsgiving, and the inner condition of one’s heart, including true love for God and the poor; one is not only to wash the outside of the cup and plate, but the inside as well, since as Jesus said, God created the inside too. Religious duties are not to be performed hypocritically, i.e., for the applause and esteem of people, but rather they are to be done out of a deep love for God and a sensitivity to and concern for the needs of others. Then, everything will be clean, both hearts and lives.

[10:15]  ⁷ tn Grk “And the voice.” 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.

[10:15]  ⁸ tn Or “declare.”

[10:15]  ⁹ sn For the significance of this vision see Mark 7:14-23; Rom 14:14; Eph 2:11-22. God directed this change in practice.

[14:20]  ⁹ sn Here clean refers to food being ceremonially clean.

[14:1]  ¹¹ tn Grk “over opinions.” The qualifier “differing” has been supplied to clarify the meaning.

[1:12]  ¹³ tn BDAG 473 s.v. ἱκανόω states, “τινὰ εἴς τι someone for someth. Col 1:12.” The point of the text is that God has qualified the saints for a “share” or “portion” in the inheritance of the saints.

[1:12]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “the inheritance of the saints.” The genitive noun τῶν ἁγίων (twn Jagiwn) is a possessive genitive: “the saints’ inheritance.”

[1:13]  ¹⁵ tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).

[1:23]  ¹⁷ tn BDAG 276 s.v. ἑδραῖος suggests “firm, steadfast.”

[1:23]  ¹⁸ tn BDAG 639 s.v. μετακινέω suggests “without shifting from the hope” here.

[1:25]  ¹⁹ tn BDAG 697 s.v. οἰκονομία 1.b renders the term here as “divine office.”

[1:25]  ²⁰ tn See BDAG 828 s.v. πληρόω 3. The idea here seems to be that the apostle wants to “complete the word of God” in that he wants to preach it to every person in the known world (cf. Rom 15:19). See P. T. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon (WBC), 82.

[1:1]  ²¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ²³ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[4:3]  ²⁵ tn Though προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi) is an adverbial participle related to the previous imperative, προσκαρτερεῖτε (proskartereite), it is here translated as an independent clause due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[4:3]  ²⁶ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been rendered as substantival here, indicating the content of the prayer rather than the purpose for it. These two ideas are very similar and difficult to differentiate in this passage, but the conjunction ἵνα following a verb of praying is generally regarded as giving the content of the prayer.

[4:3]  ²⁷ tn Grk “that God may open for us a door of the word to speak the mystery of Christ.” The construction in Greek is somewhat awkward in this clause. The translation attempts to simplify this structure somewhat and yet communicate exactly what Paul is asking for.

[4:3]  ²⁸ tn Or “so that we may speak.”

[4:3]  ²⁹ tn Or “in prison.”

[4:4]  ²⁷ tn The phrase begins with the ἵνα (Jina) clause and is subordinate to the imperative προσκαρτερεῖτε (proskartereite) in v. 2. The reference to the idea that Paul must make it known indicates that this clause is probably best viewed as purpose and not content, like the ἵνα of v. 3. It is the second purpose stated in the context; the first is expressed through the infinitive λαλῆσαι (lalhsai) in v. 3. The term “pray” at the beginning of the sentence is intended to pick up the imperative of v. 3.