Matthew 5:36

5:36 Do not take an oath by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black.

Psalms 39:6

39:6 Surely people go through life as mere ghosts. ¹ 

Surely they accumulate worthless wealth

without knowing who will eventually haul it away.” ² 

Ecclesiastes 3:14

God’s Sovereignty

3:14 I also know that whatever God does will endure forever;

nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken away from it.

God has made it this way, so that men will fear him.

Luke 12:25-26

12:25 And which of you by worrying ³  can add an hour to his life? ⁴  12:26 So if ⁵  you cannot do such a very little thing as this, why do you worry about ⁶  the rest?

Luke 12:1

Fear God, Not People

12:1 Meanwhile, ⁷  when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus ⁸  began to speak first to his disciples, “Be on your guard against ⁹  the yeast of the Pharisees, ¹⁰  which is hypocrisy. ¹¹ 

Colossians 1:18

1:18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn ¹²  from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. ¹³ 

[39:6]  ¹ tn Heb “surely, as an image man walks about.” The preposition prefixed to “image” indicates identity here.

[39:6]  ² tc Heb “Surely [in] vain they strive, he accumulates and does not know who gathers them.” The MT as it stands is syntactically awkward. The verb forms switch from singular (“walks about”) to plural (“they strive”) and then back to singular (“accumulates and does not know”), even though the subject (generic “man”) remains the same. Furthermore there is no object for the verb “accumulates” and no plural antecedent for the plural pronoun (“them”) attached to “gathers.” These problems can be removed if one emends the text from הֶבֶל יֶהֱמָיוּן (hevel yehemaun, “[in] vain they strive”) to הֶבְלֵי הָמוֹן (hevley hamon, “vain things of wealth”). This assumes a misdivision in the MT and a virtual dittography of vav (ו) between the mem and nun of המון. The present translation follows this emendation.

[12:25]  ³ tn Or “by being anxious.”

[12:25]  ⁴ tn Or “a cubit to his height.” A cubit (πῆχυς, phcu") can measure length (normally about 45 cm or 18 inches) or time (a small unit, “hour” is usually used [BDAG 812 s.v.] although “day” has been suggested [L&N 67.151]). The term ἡλικία (Jhlikia) is ambiguous in the same way as πῆχυς. Most scholars take the term to describe age or length of life here, although a few refer it to bodily stature (see BDAG 435-36 s.v. 1.a for discussion). Worry about length of life seems a more natural figure than worry about height. However, the point either way is clear: Worrying adds nothing to life span or height.

[12:26]  ⁵ tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text.

[12:26]  ⁶ tn Or “why are you anxious for.”

[12:1]  ⁷ tn The phrase ἐν οἷς (en Jois) can be translated “meanwhile.”

[12:1]  ⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:1]  ⁹ tn According to L&N 27.59, “to pay attention to, to keep on the lookout for, to be alert for, to be on your guard against.” This is another Lukan present imperative calling for constant vigilance.

[12:1]  ¹⁰ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[12:1]  ¹¹ sn The pursuit of popularity can lead to hypocrisy, if one is not careful.

[1:18]  ¹² tn See the note on the term “firstborn” in 1:15. Here the reference to Jesus as the “firstborn from among the dead” seems to be arguing for a chronological priority, i.e., Jesus was the first to rise from the dead.

[1:18]  ¹³ tn Grk “in order that he may become in all things, himself, first.”