Matthew 8:8

8:8 But the centurion replied, ¹  “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Instead, just say the word and my servant will be healed.

Genesis 32:10

32:10 I am not worthy of all the faithful love ²  you have shown ³  your servant. With only my walking stick ⁴  I crossed the Jordan, ⁵  but now I have become two camps.

Job 40:4-5

40:4 “Indeed, I am completely unworthy ⁶  – how could I reply to you?

I put ⁷  my hand over my mouth to silence myself. ⁸ 

40:5 I have spoken once, but I cannot answer;

twice, but I will say no more.” ⁹ 

Job 42:2-6

42:2 “I know that you can do all things;

no purpose of yours can be thwarted;

42:3 you asked, ¹⁰ 

‘Who is this who darkens counsel

without knowledge?’

But ¹¹  I have declared without understanding ¹² 

things too wonderful for me to know. ¹³ 

42:4 You said, ¹⁴ 

‘Pay attention, and I will speak;

I will question you, and you will answer me.’

42:5 I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,

but now my eye has seen you. ¹⁵ 

42:6 Therefore I despise myself, ¹⁶ 

and I repent in dust and ashes!

Psalms 51:4-5

51:4 Against you – you above all ¹⁷  – I have sinned;

I have done what is evil in your sight.

So ¹⁸  you are just when you confront me; ¹⁹ 

you are right when you condemn me. ²⁰ 

51:5 Look, I was guilty of sin from birth,

a sinner the moment my mother conceived me. ²¹ 

Ezekiel 16:63

16:63 Then you will remember, be ashamed, and remain silent ²²  when I make atonement for all you have done, ²³  declares the sovereign Lord.’”

Daniel 9:18

9:18 Listen attentively, ²⁴  my God, and hear! Open your eyes and look on our desolated ruins ²⁵  and the city called by your name. ²⁶  For it is not because of our own righteous deeds that we are praying to you, ²⁷  but because your compassion is abundant.

Luke 7:6-7

7:6 So ²⁸  Jesus went with them. When ²⁹  he was not far from the house, the centurion ³⁰  sent friends to say to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, ³¹  for I am not worthy ³²  to have you come under my roof. 7:7 That is why ³³  I did not presume ³⁴  to come to you. Instead, say the word, and my servant must be healed. ³⁵ 

Luke 15:18-19

15:18 I will get up and go to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned ³⁶  against heaven ³⁷  and against ³⁸  you. 15:19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me ³⁹  like one of your hired workers.”’

Luke 18:13

18:13 The tax collector, however, stood ⁴⁰  far off and would not even look up ⁴¹  to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful ⁴²  to me, sinner that I am!’ ⁴³ 

Luke 23:40-42

23:40 But the other rebuked him, saying, ⁴⁴  “Don’t ⁴⁵  you fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴⁶  23:41 And we rightly so, for we are getting what we deserve for what we did, but this man has done nothing ⁴⁷  wrong.” 23:42 Then ⁴⁸  he said, “Jesus, remember me ⁴⁹  when you come in ⁵⁰  your kingdom.”

Romans 3:4

3:4 Absolutely not! Let God be proven true, and every human being ⁵¹  shown up as a liar, ⁵²  just as it is written: “so that you will be justified ⁵³  in your words and will prevail when you are judged.” ⁵⁴ 

Romans 3:19

3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under ⁵⁵  the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

Romans 3:1

3:1 Therefore what advantage does the Jew have, or what is the value of circumcision?

Colossians 1:8-9

1:8 who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ⁵⁶  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ⁵⁷  to fill ⁵⁸  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁵⁹  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:13-15

1:13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ⁶⁰  1:14 in whom we have redemption, ⁶¹  the forgiveness of sins.

The Supremacy of Christ

1:15 ⁶² He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn ⁶³  over all creation, ⁶⁴ 

[8:8]  ¹ tn Grk “But answering, the centurion replied.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.

[32:10]  ² tn Heb “the loving deeds and faithfulness” (see 24:27, 49).

[32:10]  ³ tn Heb “you have done with.”

[32:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “for with my staff.” The Hebrew word מַקֵל (maqel), traditionally translated “staff,” has been rendered as “walking stick” because a “staff” in contemporary English refers typically to the support personnel in an organization.

[32:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “this Jordan.”

[40:4]  ⁶ tn The word קַלֹּתִי (qalloti) means “to be light; to be of small account; to be unimportant.” From this comes the meaning “contemptible,” which in the causative stem would mean “to treat with contempt; to curse.” Dhorme tries to make the sentence a conditional clause and suggests this meaning: “If I have been thoughtless.” There is really no “if” in Job’s mind.

[40:4]  ⁷ tn The perfect verb here should be classified as an instantaneous perfect; the action is simultaneous with the words.

[40:4]  ⁸ tn The words “to silence myself” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[40:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “I will not add.”

[42:3]  ¹⁰ tn The expression “you asked” is added here to clarify the presence of the line to follow. Many commentators delete it as a gloss from Job 38:2. If it is retained, then Job has to be recalling God’s question before he answers it.

[42:3]  ¹¹ tn The word לָכֵן (lakhen) is simply “but,” as in Job 31:37.

[42:3]  ¹² tn Heb “and I do not understand.” The expression serves here in an adverbial capacity. It also could be subordinated as a complement: “I have declared [things that] I do not understand.”

[42:3]  ¹³ tn The last clause is “and I do not know.” This is also subordinated to become a dependent clause.

[42:4]  ¹⁴ tn This phrase, “you said,” is supplied in the translation to introduce the recollection of God’s words.

[42:5]  ¹⁵ sn This statement does not imply there was a vision. He is simply saying that this experience of God was real and personal. In the past his knowledge of God was what he had heard – hearsay. This was real.

[42:6]  ¹⁶ tn Or “despise what I said.” There is no object on the verb; Job could be despising himself or the things he said (see L. J. Kuyper, “Repentance of Job,” VT 9 [1959]: 91-94).

[51:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “only you,” as if the psalmist had sinned exclusively against God and no other. Since the Hebrew verb חָטָא (hata’, “to sin”) is used elsewhere of sinful acts against people (see BDB 306 s.v. 2.a) and David (the presumed author) certainly sinned when he murdered Uriah (2 Sam 12:9), it is likely that the psalmist is overstating the case to suggest that the attack on Uriah was ultimately an attack on God himself. To clarify the point of the hyperbole, the translation uses “especially,” rather than the potentially confusing “only.”

[51:4]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew term לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) normally indicates purpose (“in order that”), but here it introduces a logical consequence of the preceding statement. (Taking the clause as indicating purpose here would yield a theologically preposterous idea – the psalmist purposely sinned so that God’s justice might be vindicated!) For other examples of לְמַעַן indicating result, see 2 Kgs 22:17; Jer 27:15; Amos 2:7, as well as IBHS 638-40 §38.3.

[51:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “when you speak.” In this context the psalmist refers to God’s word of condemnation against his sin delivered through Nathan (cf. 2 Sam 12:7-12).

[51:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “when you judge.”

[51:5]  ²¹ tn Heb “Look, in wrongdoing I was brought forth, and in sin my mother conceived me.” The prefixed verbal form in the second line is probably a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive), stating a simple historical fact. The psalmist is not suggesting that he was conceived through an inappropriate sexual relationship (although the verse has sometimes been understood to mean that, or even that all sexual relationships are sinful). The psalmist’s point is that he has been a sinner from the very moment his personal existence began. By going back beyond the time of birth to the moment of conception, the psalmist makes his point more emphatically in the second line than in the first.

[16:63]  ²² tn Heb “and your mouth will not be open any longer.”

[16:63]  ²³ tn Heb “when I make atonement for you for all which you have done.”

[9:18]  ²⁴ tn Heb “turn your ear.”

[9:18]  ²⁵ tn Heb “desolations.” The term refers here to the ruined condition of Judah’s towns.

[9:18]  ²⁶ tn Heb “over which your name is called.” Cf. v. 19. This expression implies that God is the owner of his city, Jerusalem. Note the use of the idiom in 2 Sam 12:28; Isa 4:1; Amos 9:12.

[9:18]  ²⁷ tn Heb “praying our supplications before you.”

[7:6]  ²⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the resultative action.

[7:6]  ²⁹ tn The participle ἀπέχοντος (apeconto") has been taken temporally.

[7:6]  ³⁰ sn See the note on the word centurion in 7:2.

[7:6]  ³¹ tn Or “do not be bothered.”

[7:6]  ³² sn Note the humility in the centurion’s statement I am not worthy in light of what others think (as v. 4 notes). See Luke 5:8 for a similar example of humility.

[7:7]  ³³ tn Or “roof; therefore.”

[7:7]  ³⁴ tn Grk “I did not consider myself worthy to come to you.” See BDAG 94 s.v. ἀξιόω 1. “Presume” assumes this and expresses the idea in terms of offense.

[7:7]  ³⁵ tc The aorist imperative ἰαθήτω (iaqhtw, “must be healed”) is found in Ì^75vid B L 1241 sa. Most mss (א A C D W Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï latt bo) have instead a future indicative, ἰαθήσεται (iaqhsetai, “will be healed”). This is most likely an assimilation to Matt 8:8, and thus, as a motivated reading, should be considered secondary. The meaning either way is essentially the same.

[15:18]  ³⁶ sn In the confession “I have sinned” there is a recognition of wrong that pictures the penitent coming home and “being found.”

[15:18]  ³⁷ sn The phrase against heaven is a circumlocution for God.

[15:18]  ³⁸ tn According to BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνωπιον 4.a, “in relation to ἁμαρτάνειν ἐ. τινος sin against someone Lk 15:18, 21 (cf. Jdth 5:17; 1 Km 7:6; 20:1).”

[15:19]  ³⁹ tn Or “make me.” Here is a sign of total humility.

[18:13]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “standing”; the Greek participle has been translated as a finite verb.

[18:13]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “even lift up his eyes” (an idiom).

[18:13]  ⁴² tn The prayer is a humble call for forgiveness. The term for mercy (ἱλάσκομαι, Jilaskomai) is associated with the concept of a request for atonement (BDAG 473-74 s.v. 1; Ps 51:1, 3; 25:11; 34:6, 18).

[18:13]  ⁴³ tn Grk “the sinner.” The tax collector views himself not just as any sinner but as the worst of all sinners. See ExSyn 222-23.

[23:40]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “But answering, the other rebuking him, said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[23:40]  ⁴⁵ tn The particle used here (οὐδέ, oude), which expects a positive reply, makes this a rebuke – “You should fear God and not speak!”

[23:40]  ⁴⁶ tn The words “of condemnation” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[23:41]  ⁴⁷ sn This man has done nothing wrong is yet another declaration that Jesus was innocent of any crime.

[23:42]  ⁴⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[23:42]  ⁴⁹ sn Jesus, remember me is a statement of faith from the cross, as Jesus saves another even while he himself is dying. This man’s faith had shown itself when he rebuked the other thief. He hoped to be with Jesus sometime in the future in the kingdom.

[23:42]  ⁵⁰ tc ‡ The alternate readings of some mss make the reference to Jesus’ coming clearer. “Into your kingdom” – with εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν (ei" thn basileian), read by Ì⁷⁵ B L – is a reference to his entering into God’s presence at the right hand. “In your kingdom” – with ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ (en th basileia), read by א A C*^,2 W Θ Ψ 070 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat sy – looks at his return. It could be argued that the reading with εἰς is more in keeping with Luke’s theology elsewhere, but the contrast with Jesus’ reply, “Today,” slightly favors the reading “in your kingdom.” Codex Bezae (D), in place of this short interchange between the criminal and Jesus, reads “Then he turned to the Lord and said to him, ‘Remember me in the day of your coming.’ Then the Lord said in reply to [him], ‘Take courage; today you will be with me in paradise.’” This reading emphasizes the future aspect of the coming of Christ; it has virtually no support in any other mss.

[3:4]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “every man”; but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense here to stress humanity rather than masculinity.

[3:4]  ⁵² tn Grk “Let God be true, and every man a liar.” The words “proven” and “shown up” are supplied in the translation to clarify the meaning.

[3:4]  ⁵³ tn Grk “might be justified,” a subjunctive verb, but in this type of clause it carries the same sense as the future indicative verb in the latter part. “Will” is more idiomatic in contemporary English.

[3:4]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “prevail when you judge.” A quotation from Ps 51:4.

[3:19]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “in,” “in connection with.”

[1:9]  ⁵⁶ 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]  ⁵⁷ 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]  ⁵⁸ 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.

[1:1]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:13]  ⁶⁰ tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).

[1:14]  ⁶¹ tc διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ (dia tou {aimato" autou, “through his blood”) is read at this juncture by several minuscule mss (614 630 1505 2464 al) as well as a few, mostly secondary, versional and patristic witnesses. But the reading was prompted by the parallel in Eph 1:7 where the wording is solid. If these words had been in the original of Colossians, why would scribes omit them here but not in Eph 1:7? Further, the testimony on behalf of the shorter reading is quite overwhelming: {א A B C D F G Ψ 075 0150 6 33 1739 1881 Ï latt co as well as several other versions and fathers}. The conviction that “through his blood” is not authentic in Col 1:14 is as strong as the conviction that these words are authentic in Eph 1:7.

[1:15]  ⁶² 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.

[1:15]  ⁶³ tn The Greek term πρωτότοκος (prwtotokos) could refer either to first in order of time, such as a first born child, or it could refer to one who is preeminent in rank. M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 43, expresses the meaning of the word well: “The ‘firstborn’ was either the eldest child in a family or a person of preeminent rank. The use of this term to describe the Davidic king in Ps 88:28 LXX (=Ps 89:27 EVV), ‘I will also appoint him my firstborn (πρωτότοκον), the most exalted of the kings of the earth,’ indicates that it can denote supremacy in rank as well as priority in time. But whether the πρωτό- element in the word denotes time, rank, or both, the significance of the -τοκος element as indicating birth or origin (from τίκτω, give birth to) has been virtually lost except in ref. to lit. birth.” In Col 1:15 the emphasis is on the priority of Jesus’ rank as over and above creation (cf. 1:16 and the “for” clause referring to Jesus as Creator).

[1:15]  ⁶⁴ tn The genitive construction πάσης κτίσεως (pash" ktisew") is a genitive of subordination and is therefore translated as “over all creation.” See ExSyn 103-4.