Matthew 25:34

25:34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

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 12:43

12:43 Blessed is that slave ⁸  whom his master finds at work ⁹  when he returns.

Philippians 1:21-23

1:21 For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. 1:22 Now if I am to go on living in the body, ¹⁰  this will mean productive work ¹¹  for me, yet I don’t know which I prefer: ¹²  1:23 I feel torn between the two, ¹³  because I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far,

Philippians 1:2

1:2 Grace and peace to you ¹⁴  from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Philippians 4:6-8

4:6 Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. 4:7 And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds ¹⁵  in Christ Jesus.

4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, ¹⁶  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.

Philippians 4:2

4:2 I appeal to Euodia and to Syntyche to agree in the Lord.

Philippians 1:13-15

1:13 The ¹⁷  whole imperial guard ¹⁸  and everyone else knows ¹⁹  that I am in prison ²⁰  for the sake of Christ, 1:14 and most of the brothers and sisters, ²¹  having confidence in the Lord ²²  because of my imprisonment, now more than ever ²³  dare to speak the word ²⁴  fearlessly.

1:15 Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill.

Revelation 2:19

2:19 ‘I know your deeds: your love, faith, ²⁵  service, and steadfast endurance. ²⁶  In fact, ²⁷  your more recent deeds are greater than your earlier ones.

Revelation 16:15

16:15 (Look! I will come like a thief!

Blessed is the one who stays alert and does not lose ²⁸  his clothes so that he will not have to walk around naked and his shameful condition ²⁹  be seen.) ³⁰ 

[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.

[12:43]  ⁸ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.

[12:43]  ⁹ tn That is, doing his job, doing what he is supposed to be doing.

[1:22]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “flesh.”

[1:22]  ¹¹ tn Grk “fruit of work”; the genitive ἔργου (ergou) is taken as an attributed genitive in which the head noun, καρπός (karpos), functions attributively (cf. ExSyn 89-91).

[1:22]  ¹² tn Grk “what I shall prefer.” The Greek verb αἱρέω (Jairew) could also mean “choose,” but in this context such a translation is problematic for it suggests that Paul could perhaps choose suicide (cf. L&N 30.86).

[1:23]  ¹³ tn Grk “I am hard-pressed between the two.” Cf. L&N 30.18.

[1:2]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “Grace to you and peace.”

[4:7]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “will guard the hearts of you and the minds of you.” To improve the English style, the second occurrence of ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “of you”) has not been translated, since it is somewhat redundant in English.

[4:8]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.

[1:13]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “so that the whole imperial guard.” The ὥστε (Jwste) clause that begins v. 13 indicates two results of the spread of the gospel: Outsiders know why Paul is imprisoned (v. 13) and believers are emboldened by his imprisonment (v. 14).

[1:13]  ¹⁸ sn The whole imperial guard (Grk “praetorium”) can refer to the elite troops stationed in Rome or the headquarters of administrators in the provinces (cf. Matt 27:27; Mark 15:16; John 18:28, 33; 19:9; Acts 23:35). In either case a metonymy is involved, with the place (the praetorium) put for those (soldiers or government officials) who were connected with it or stationed in it.

[1:13]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “it has become known by the whole imperial guard and all the rest.”

[1:13]  ²⁰ tn Grk “my bonds [are].”

[1:14]  ²¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.

[1:14]  ²² tn Or “most of the brothers and sisters in the Lord, having confidence.”

[1:14]  ²³ tn Grk “even more so.”

[1:14]  ²⁴ tc A number of significant mss have “of God” after “word.” Although τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou) is amply supported in the Alexandrian and Western texts (א A B [D*] P Ψ 048^vid 075 0278 33 81 1175 al lat co), the omission is difficult to explain as either an intentional deletion or unintentional oversight. To be sure, the pedigree of the witnesses is not nearly as great for the shorter reading (Ì⁴⁶ D² 1739 1881 Ï), but it explains well the rise of the other reading. Further, it explains the rise of κυρίου (kuriou, “of the Lord”), the reading of F and G (for if these mss had followed a Vorlage with τοῦ θεοῦ, κυρίου would not have been expected). Further, τοῦ θεοῦ is in different locations among the mss; such dislocations are usually signs of scribal additions to the text. Thus, the Byzantine text and a few other witnesses here have the superior reading, and it should be accepted as the original.

[2:19]  ²⁵ tn Grk “and faith.” Here and before the following term καί (kai) has not been translated because English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the next to last and last terms in a list.

[2:19]  ²⁶ tn Or “perseverance.”

[2:19]  ²⁷ tn The phrase “In fact” is supplied in the translation to bring out the ascensive quality of the clause. It would also be possible to supply here an understood repetition of the phrase “I know” from the beginning of the verse (so NRSV). Grk “and your last deeds [that are] greater than the first.”

[16:15]  ²⁸ tn Grk “and keeps.” BDAG 1002 s.v. τηρέω 2.c states “of holding on to someth. so as not to give it up or lose it…τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ Rv 16:15 (or else he will have to go naked).”

[16:15]  ²⁹ tn On the translation of ἀσχημοσύνη (aschmosunh) as “shameful condition” see L&N 25.202. The indefinite third person plural (“and they see”) has been translated as a passive here.

[16:15]  ³⁰ sn These lines are parenthetical, forming an aside to the narrative. The speaker here is the Lord Jesus Christ himself rather than the narrator. Many interpreters have seen this verse as so abrupt that it could not be an original part of the work, but the author has used such asides before (1:7; 14:13) and the suddenness here (on the eve of Armageddon) is completely parallel to Jesus’ warning in Mark 13:15-16 and parallels.