Luke 12:47-48

12:47 That ¹  servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or do what his master asked ²  will receive a severe beating. 12:48 But the one who did not know his master’s will ³  and did things worthy of punishment ⁴  will receive a light beating. ⁵  From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, ⁶  and from the one who has been entrusted with much, ⁷  even more will be asked. ⁸ 

John 15:22-24

15:22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. ⁹  But they no longer have any excuse for their sin. 15:23 The one who hates me hates my Father too. 15:24 If I had not performed ¹⁰  among them the miraculous deeds ¹¹  that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. ¹²  But now they have seen the deeds ¹³  and have hated both me and my Father. ¹⁴ 

John 19:11

19:11 Jesus replied, “You would have no authority ¹⁵  over me at all, unless it was given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you ¹⁶  is guilty of greater sin.” ¹⁷ 

Acts 3:17

3:17 And now, brothers, I know you acted in ignorance, ¹⁸  as your rulers did too.

Acts 3:1

Peter and John Heal a Lame Man at the Temple

3:1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time ¹⁹  for prayer, ²⁰  at three o’clock in the afternoon. ²¹ 

Colossians 2:8

2:8 Be careful not to allow anyone to captivate you ²²  through an empty, deceitful philosophy ²³  that is according to human traditions and the elemental spirits ²⁴  of the world, and not according to Christ.

Colossians 2:1

2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, ²⁵  and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. ²⁶ 

Colossians 1:13

1:13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ²⁷ 

[12:47]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:47]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Grk “blows.”

[12:48]  ⁵ tn Grk “will receive few (blows).”

[12:48]  ⁶ tn Grk “required from him”; but the words “from him” are redundant in English and have not been translated.

[12:48]  ⁷ sn Entrusted with much. To be gifted with precious responsibility is something that requires faithfulness.

[12:48]  ⁸ tn Grk “they will ask even more.”

[15:22]  ⁹ tn Grk “they would not have sin” (an idiom).

[15:24]  ¹⁰ tn Or “If I had not done.”

[15:24]  ¹¹ tn Grk “the works.”

[15:24]  ¹² tn Grk “they would not have sin” (an idiom).

[15:24]  ¹³ tn The words “the deeds” are supplied to clarify from context what was seen. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.

[15:24]  ¹⁴ tn Or “But now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father.” It is possible to understand both the “seeing” and the “hating” to refer to both Jesus and the Father, but this has the world “seeing” the Father, which seems alien to the Johannine Jesus. (Some point out John 14:9 as an example, but this is addressed to the disciples, not to the world.) It is more likely that the “seeing” refers to the miraculous deeds mentioned in the first half of the verse. Such an understanding of the first “both – and” construction is apparently supported by BDF §444.3.

[19:11]  ¹⁵ tn Or “power.”

[19:11]  ¹⁶ tn Or “who delivered me over to you.”

[19:11]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “has the greater sin” (an idiom).

[3:17]  ¹⁸ sn The ignorance Peter mentions here does not excuse them from culpability. It was simply a way to say “you did not realize the great mistake you made.”

[3:1]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “hour.”

[3:1]  ²⁰ sn Going up to the temple at the time for prayer. The earliest Christians, being of Jewish roots, were still participating in the institutions of Judaism at this point. Their faith in Christ did not make them non-Jewish in their practices.

[3:1]  ²¹ tn Grk “at the ninth hour.” This is calculated from sunrise (Josephus, Ant. 14.4.3 [14.65]; Dan 9:21).

[2:8]  ²² tn The Greek construction here is somewhat difficult and can be literally rendered “Be careful, lest someone shall be the one who takes you captive.”

[2:8]  ²³ tn The Greek reads τῆς φιλοσοφίας καὶ κενῆς ἀπάτης (th" filosofia" kai kenh" apath"). The two nouns φιλοσοφίας and κενῆς are joined by one article and probably form a hendiadys. Thus the second noun was taken as modifying the first, as the translation shows.

[2:8]  ²⁴ tn The phrase κατὰ τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου (kata ta stoiceia tou kosmou) is difficult to translate because of problems surrounding the precise meaning of στοιχεῖα in this context. Originally it referred to the letters of the alphabet, with the idea at its root of “things in a row”; see C. Vaughn, “Colossians,” EBC 11:198. M. J. Harris (Colossians and Philemon [EGGNT], 93) outlines three probable options: (1) the material elements which comprise the physical world; (2) the elementary teachings of the world (so NEB, NASB, NIV); (3) the elemental spirits of the world (so NEB, RSV). The first option is highly unlikely because Paul is not concerned here with the physical elements, e.g., carbon or nitrogen. The last two options are both possible. Though the Gnostic-like heresy at Colossae would undoubtedly have been regarded by Paul as an “elementary teaching” at best, because the idea of “spirits” played such a role in Gnostic thought, he may very well have had in mind elemental spirits that operated in the world or controlled the world (i.e., under God’s authority and permission).

[2:1]  ²⁵ tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”

[2:1]  ²⁶ tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”

[1:13]  ²⁷ tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).