Luke 9:61-62

9:61 Yet ¹  another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say goodbye to my family.” ²  9:62 Jesus ³  said to him, “No one who puts his ⁴  hand to the plow and looks back ⁵  is fit for the kingdom of God.” ⁶ 

Luke 14:26-27

14:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate ⁷  his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, ⁸  he cannot be my disciple. 14:27 Whoever does not carry his own cross ⁹  and follow ¹⁰  me cannot be my disciple.

Luke 14:33

14:33 In the same way therefore not one of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all his own possessions. ¹¹ 

Luke 16:13

16:13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate ¹²  the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise ¹³  the other. You cannot serve God and money.” ¹⁴ 

Luke 17:32

17:32 Remember Lot’s wife! ¹⁵ 

Philippians 2:21

2:21 Others are busy with their own concerns, not those of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 2:1

Christian Unity and Christ’s Humility

2:1 Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, ¹⁶  any affection or mercy, ¹⁷ 

Philippians 1:10

1:10 so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ,

Philippians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul ¹⁸  and Timothy, slaves ¹⁹  of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, ²⁰  with the overseers ²¹  and deacons.

Philippians 2:15-16

2:15 so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish though you live in a crooked and perverse society, in which you shine as lights in the world ²²  2:16 by holding on to ²³  the word of life so that on the day of Christ I will have a reason to boast that I did not run in vain nor labor in vain.

Philippians 1:4-5

1:4 I always pray with joy in my every prayer for all of you 1:5 because of your participation ²⁴  in the gospel from the first day until now. ²⁵ 

[9:61]  ¹ tn Grk “And another also said.”

[9:61]  ² tn Grk “to those in my house.”

[9:62]  ³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[9:62]  ⁴ tn Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[9:62]  ⁵ sn Jesus warns that excessive concern for family ties (looks back) will make the kingdom a lesser priority, which is not appropriate for discipleship. The image is graphic, for who can plow straight ahead toward a goal while looking back? Discipleship cannot be double-minded.

[9:62]  ⁶ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[14:26]  ⁷ tn This figurative use operates on a relative scale. God is to be loved more than family or self.

[14:26]  ⁸ tn Grk “his own soul,” but ψυχή (yuch) is frequently used of one’s physical life. It clearly has that meaning in this context.

[14:27]  ⁹ sn It was customary practice in a Roman crucifixion for the prisoner to be made to carry his own cross. Jesus is speaking figuratively here in the context of rejection. If the priority is not one’s allegiance to Jesus, then one will not follow him in the face of possible rejection; see Luke 9:23.

[14:27]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “and come after.” In combination with the verb ἔρχομαι (ercomai) the improper preposition ὀπίσω (opisw) means “follow.”

[14:33]  ¹¹ tn Grk “Likewise therefore every one of you who does not renounce all his own possessions cannot be my disciple.” The complex double negation is potentially confusing to the modern reader and has been simplified in the translation. See L&N 57.70.

[16:13]  ¹² sn The contrast between hate and love here is rhetorical. The point is that one will choose the favorite if a choice has to be made.

[16:13]  ¹³ tn Or “and treat [the other] with contempt.”

[16:13]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “God and mammon.” This is the same word (μαμωνᾶς, mamwnas; often merely transliterated as “mammon”) translated “worldly wealth” in vv. 9, 11.

[17:32]  ¹⁵ sn An allusion to Gen 19:26. The warning about Lot’s wife is not to look back and long to be where one used to be. The world is being judged, and the person who delays or turns back will be destroyed.

[2:1]  ¹⁶ tn Or “spiritual fellowship” if πνεύματος (pneumato") is an attributive genitive; or “fellowship brought about by the Spirit” if πνεύματος is a genitive of source or production.

[2:1]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “and any affection and mercy.” The Greek idea, however, is best expressed by “or” in English.

[1:1]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ tn Traditionally, “servants” or “bondservants.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ²⁰ map For location see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.

[1:1]  ²¹ sn The overseers (or “church leaders,” L&N 53.71) is another term for the same official position of leadership as the “elder.” This is seen in the interchange of the two terms in Titus 1:6-7 and in Acts 20:17, 28, as well as in the parallels between Titus 1:6-7 and 1 Tim 3:1-7.

[2:15]  ²² tn Or “as stars in the universe.”

[2:16]  ²³ tn Or “holding out, holding forth.”

[1:5]  ²⁴ sn Your participation (Grk “fellowship”) could refer to Paul rejoicing because of the Philippian converts’ “fellowship” in the gospel along with him, but it is more likely that this refers to their active “participation” with him in the gospel by means of the financial support they sent to Paul on more than one occasion, discussed later in this letter (4:10-19, esp. 4:15-16).

[1:5]  ²⁵ tn Several alternatives for translating vv. 3-5 are possible: (1) “I thank my God every time I remember you, yes, always in my every prayer for all of you. I pray with joy because of your participation…” (see NAB; also M. Silva, Philippians [BECNT], 43-44; G. D. Fee, Philippians [NICNT], 76-80); (2) “I thank my God because of your every remembrance of me. Always in my every prayer for all of you I pray with joy. [I am grateful] for your participation…” (see Moffatt; also P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 58-61). Option (1) is quite similar to the translation above, but sees v. 4a as more or less parenthetical. Option (2) is significantly different in that Paul thanks God because the Philippians remember him rather than when he remembers them.