Luke 12:37

12:37 Blessed are those slaves ¹  whom their master finds alert ²  when he returns! I tell you the truth, ³  he will dress himself to serve, ⁴  have them take their place at the table, ⁵  and will come ⁶  and wait on them! ⁷ 

Luke 17:7

17:7 “Would any one of you say ⁸  to your slave ⁹  who comes in from the field after plowing or shepherding sheep, ‘Come at once and sit down for a meal’? ¹⁰ 

Luke 22:27

22:27 For who is greater, the one who is seated at the table, ¹¹  or the one who serves? Is it not ¹²  the one who is seated at the table? But I am among you as one ¹³  who serves.

Luke 22:2

22:2 The ¹⁴  chief priests and the experts in the law ¹⁵  were trying to find some way ¹⁶  to execute ¹⁷  Jesus, ¹⁸  for they were afraid of the people. ¹⁹ 

Colossians 1:9

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ²⁰  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ²¹  to fill ²²  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

Philippians 2:6-8

2:6 ²³ who though he existed in the form of God ²⁴ 

did not regard equality with God

as something to be grasped,

2:7 but emptied himself

by taking on the form of a slave, ²⁵ 

by looking like other men, ²⁶ 

and by sharing in human nature. ²⁷ 

2:8 He humbled himself,

by becoming obedient to the point of death

– even death on a cross!

[12:37]  ¹ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.

[12:37]  ² tn Or “watching”; Grk “awake,” but in context this is not just being awake but alert and looking out.

[12:37]  ³ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[12:37]  ⁴ tn See v. 35 (same verb).

[12:37]  ⁵ tn Grk “have them recline at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.

[12:37]  ⁶ tn The participle παρελθών (parelqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[12:37]  ⁷ sn He…will come and wait on them is a reversal of expectation, but shows that what Jesus asks for he is willing to do as well; see John 13:5 and 15:18-27, although those instances merely foreshadow what is in view here.

[17:7]  ⁸ tn Grk “Who among you, having a slave… would say to him.”

[17:7]  ⁹ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.

[17:7]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “and recline at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away. See BDAG 70 s.v. ἀναπίπτω 1.

[22:27]  ¹¹ tn Grk “who reclines at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.

[22:27]  ¹² tn The interrogative particle used here in the Greek text (οὐχί, ouci) expects a positive reply.

[22:27]  ¹³ sn Jesus’ example of humble service, as one who serves, shows that the standard for a disciple is different from that of the world. For an example see John 13:1-17.

[22:2]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[22:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

[22:2]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “were seeking how.”

[22:2]  ¹⁷ tn The Greek verb here means “to get rid of by execution” (BDAG 64 s.v. ἀναιρέω 2; cf. also L&N 20.71, which states, “to get rid of someone by execution, often with legal or quasi-legal procedures”).

[22:2]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:2]  ¹⁹ sn The suggestion here is that Jesus was too popular to openly arrest him. The verb were trying is imperfect. It suggests, in this context, that they were always considering the opportunities.

[1:9]  ²⁰ tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.

[1:9]  ²¹ tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ²² tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.

[2:6]  ²³ 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.

[2:6]  ²⁴ sn The Greek term translated form indicates a correspondence with reality. Thus the meaning of this phrase is that Christ was truly God.

[2:7]  ²⁵ tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 1:1.

[2:7]  ²⁶ tn Grk “by coming in the likeness of people.”

[2:7]  ²⁷ tn Grk “and by being found in form as a man.” The versification of vv. 7 and 8 (so also NRSV) is according to the versification in the NA²⁷ and UBS⁴ editions of the Greek text. Some translations, however, break the verses in front of this phrase (NKJV, NASB, NIV, NLT). The same material has been translated in each case; the only difference is the versification of that material.