Matthew 22:11-12

22:11 But when the king came in to see the wedding guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 22:12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But he had nothing to say. ¹ 

Matthew 13:38

13:38 The field is the world and the good seed are the people ²  of the kingdom. The weeds are the people ³  of the evil one,

Matthew 13:47-48

13:47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea that caught all kinds of fish. 13:48 When it was full, they pulled it ashore, sat down, and put the good fish into containers and threw the bad away.

Matthew 25:1-2

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

25:1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 25:2 Five ⁴  of the virgins ⁵  were foolish, and five were wise.

Matthew 25:1

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

25:1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

Colossians 1:9-11

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ⁶  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ⁷  to fill ⁸  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 1:10 so that you may live ⁹  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ¹⁰  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, 1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of ¹¹  all patience and steadfastness, joyfully

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ¹²  brothers and sisters ¹³  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ¹⁴  from God our Father! ¹⁵ 

Colossians 1:21

Paul’s Goal in Ministry

1:21 And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your ¹⁶  minds ¹⁷  as expressed through ¹⁸  your evil deeds,

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹⁹  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 2:19

2:19 He has not held fast ²⁰  to the head from whom the whole body, supported ²¹  and knit together through its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God. ²² 

Revelation 2:14-15

2:14 But I have a few things against you: You have some people there who follow the teaching of Balaam, ²³  who instructed Balak to put a stumbling block ²⁴  before the people ²⁵  of Israel so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality. ²⁶  2:15 In the same way, there are also some among you who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ²⁷ 

Revelation 2:20-23

2:20 But I have this against you: You tolerate that ²⁸  woman ²⁹  Jezebel, ³⁰  who calls herself a prophetess, and by her teaching deceives ³¹  my servants ³²  to commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. ³³  2:21 I ³⁴  have given her time to repent, but ³⁵  she is not willing to repent of her sexual immorality. 2:22 Look! I am throwing her onto a bed of violent illness, ³⁶  and those who commit adultery with her into terrible suffering, ³⁷  unless they repent of her deeds. 2:23 Furthermore, I will strike her followers ³⁸  with a deadly disease, ³⁹  and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay ⁴⁰  each one of you ⁴¹  what your deeds deserve. ⁴² 

[22:12]  ¹ tn Grk “he was silent.”

[13:38]  ² tn Grk “the sons of the kingdom.” This idiom refers to people who should properly be, or were traditionally regarded as, a part of God’s kingdom. L&N 11.13 translates the phrase: “people of God’s kingdom, God’s people.”

[13:38]  ³ tn Grk “the sons of the evil one.” See the preceding note on the phrase “people of the kingdom” earlier in this verse, which is the opposite of this phrase. See also L&N 9.4; 11.13; 11.14.

[25:2]  ⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[25:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “Five of them.”

[1:9]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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.

[1:10]  ⁹ tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”

[1:10]  ¹⁰ tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”

[1:11]  ¹¹ tn The expression “for the display of” is an attempt to convey in English the force of the Greek preposition εἰς (eis) in this context.

[1:2]  ¹² tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

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

[1:2]  ¹⁵ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.

[1:21]  ¹⁶ tn The article τῇ (th) has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[1:21]  ¹⁷ tn Although διανοία (dianoia) is singular in Greek, the previous plural noun ἐχθρούς (ecqrous) indicates that all those from Colossae are in view here.

[1:21]  ¹⁸ tn The dative ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τοῖς πονηροῖς (en toi" ergoi" toi" ponhroi") is taken as means, indicating the avenue through which hostility in the mind is revealed and made known.

[1:1]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[2:19]  ²⁰ tn The Greek participle κρατῶν (kratwn) was translated as a finite verb to avoid an unusually long and pedantic sentence structure in English.

[2:19]  ²¹ tn See BDAG 387 s.v. ἐπιχορηγέω 3.

[2:19]  ²² tn The genitive τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou) has been translated as a genitive of source, “from God.”

[2:14]  ²³ sn See Num 22-24; 31:16.

[2:14]  ²⁴ tn That is, a cause for sinning. An alternate translation is “who instructed Balak to cause the people of Israel to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols…”

[2:14]  ²⁵ tn Grk “sons,” but the expression υἱοὶ ᾿Ισραήλ (Juioi Israhl) is an idiom for the people of Israel as an ethnic entity (see L&N 11.58).

[2:14]  ²⁶ tn Due to the actual events in the OT (Num 22-24; 31:16), πορνεῦσαι (porneusai) is taken to mean “sexual immorality.” BDAG 854 s.v. πορνεύω 1 states, “engage in illicit sex, to fornicate, to whore…W. φαγεῖν εἰδωλόθυτα ‘eat meat offered to idols’ Rv 2:14, 20.”

[2:15]  ²⁷ tn The term ὁμοίως (Jomoiws, “likewise”) is left untranslated because it is quite redundant.

[2:20]  ²⁸ tn The Greek article has been translated here with demonstrative force.

[2:20]  ²⁹ tc The ms evidence for γυναῖκα (gunaika, “woman”) alone includes {א C P 1611 2053 pc lat}. The ms evidence for the addition of “your” (σου, sou) includes A 1006 2351 Ï^K pc sy. With the pronoun, the text reads “your wife, Jezebel” instead of “that woman, Jezebel.” In Revelation, A C are the most important mss, along with א Ì⁴⁷ (which only reads in portions of chapters 9-17) 1006 1611 2053; in this instance, the external evidence slightly favors the shorter reading. But internally, it gains strength. The longer reading implies the idea that the angel in 2:18 is the bishop or leader of the church in Thyatira. The pronoun “your” (σου) is used four times in vv. 19-20 and may have been the cause for the scribe copying it again. Further, once the monarchical episcopate was in vogue (beginning in the 2nd century) scribes might have been prone to add “your” here.

[2:20]  ³⁰ sn Jezebel was the name of King Ahab’s idolatrous and wicked queen in 1 Kgs 16:31; 18:1-5; 19:1-3; 21:5-24. It is probable that the individual named here was analogous to her prototype in idolatry and immoral behavior, since those are the items singled out for mention.

[2:20]  ³¹ tn Grk “teaches and deceives” (διδάσκει καὶ πλανᾷ, didaskei kai plana), a construction in which the first verb appears to specify the means by which the second is accomplished: “by her teaching, deceives…”

[2:20]  ³² tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[2:20]  ³³ sn To commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. Note the conclusions of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15:29, which specifically prohibits Gentile Christians from engaging in these activities.

[2:21]  ³⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and contemporary English style.

[2:21]  ³⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to bring out the contrast present in this woman’s obstinate refusal to repent.

[2:22]  ³⁶ tn Grk “onto a bed,” in this context an idiom for severe illness (L&N 23.152).

[2:22]  ³⁷ tn Or “into great distress.” The suffering here is not specified as physical or emotional, and could involve persecution.

[2:23]  ³⁸ tn Grk “her children,” but in this context a reference to this woman’s followers or disciples is more likely meant.

[2:23]  ³⁹ tn Grk “I will kill with death.” θάνατος (qanatos) can in particular contexts refer to a manner of death, specifically a contagious disease (see BDAG 443 s.v. 3; L&N 23.158).

[2:23]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “I will give.” The sense of δίδωμι (didwmi) in this context is more “repay” than “give.”

[2:23]  ⁴¹ sn This pronoun and the following one are plural in the Greek text.

[2:23]  ⁴² tn Grk “each one of you according to your works.”