Matthew 6:24

6:24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate ¹  the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise ²  the other. You cannot serve God and money. ³ 

Joshua 5:13

Israel Conquers Jericho

5:13 When Joshua was near ⁴  Jericho, ⁵  he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him holding a drawn sword. ⁶  Joshua approached him and asked him, “Are you on our side or allied with our enemies?” ⁷ 

Joshua 24:15

24:15 If you have no desire ⁸  to worship ⁹  the Lord, choose today whom you will worship, ¹⁰  whether it be the gods whom your ancestors ¹¹  worshiped ¹²  beyond the Euphrates, ¹³  or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But I and my family ¹⁴  will worship ¹⁵  the Lord!”

Joshua 24:1

Israel Renews its Commitment to the Lord

24:1 Joshua assembled all the Israelite tribes at Shechem. He summoned Israel’s elders, rulers, judges, and leaders, and they appeared before God.

Joshua 12:17-18

12:17 the king of Tappuah (one),

the king of Hepher (one),

12:18 the king of Aphek (one),

the king of Lasharon (one),

Mark 9:40

9:40 For whoever is not against us is for us.

Luke 9:50

9:50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for whoever is not against you is for you.”

Luke 11:23

11:23 Whoever is not with me is against me, ¹⁶  and whoever does not gather with me scatters. ¹⁷ 

Luke 11:2

11:2 So he said to them, “When you pray, ¹⁸  say:

Father, ¹⁹  may your name be honored; ²⁰ 

may your kingdom come. ²¹ 

Colossians 1:15-16

The Supremacy of Christ

1:15 ²² He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn ²³  over all creation, ²⁴ 

1:16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him – all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, ²⁵  whether principalities or powers – all things were created through him and for him.

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ²⁶  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 2:19

2:19 He has not held fast ²⁷  to the head from whom the whole body, supported ²⁸  and knit together through its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God. ²⁹ 

Revelation 3:15-16

3:15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. ³⁰  I wish you were either cold or hot! 3:16 So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going ³¹  to vomit ³²  you out of my mouth!

[6:24]  ¹ sn The contrast between hate and love here is rhetorical. The point is that one will choose the favorite if a choice has to be made.

[6:24]  ² tn Or “and treat [the other] with contempt.”

[6:24]  ³ tn Grk “God and mammon.”

[5:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “in.”

[5:13]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[5:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “he lifted up his eyes and looked. And look, a man was standing in front of him, and his sword was drawn in his hand.” The verb הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) invites the reader to view the scene through Joshua’s eyes. By calling the stranger “a man,” the author reflects Joshua’s perspective. The text shortly reveals his true identity (vv. 14-15).

[5:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

[24:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “if it is bad in your eyes.”

[24:15]  ⁹ tn Or “to serve.”

[24:15]  ¹⁰ tn Or “will serve.”

[24:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “your fathers.”

[24:15]  ¹² tn Or “served.”

[24:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity; see v. 3.

[24:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “house.”

[24:15]  ¹⁵ tn Or “will serve.”

[11:23]  ¹⁶ sn Whoever is not with me is against me. The call here is to join the victor. Failure to do so means that one is being destructive. Responding to Jesus is the issue.

[11:23]  ¹⁷ sn For the image of scattering, see Pss. Sol. 17:18.

[11:2]  ¹⁸ sn When you pray. What follows, although traditionally known as the Lord’s prayer, is really the disciples’ prayer. It represents how they are to approach God, by acknowledging his uniqueness and their need for his provision and protection.

[11:2]  ¹⁹ tc Most mss, including later majority (A C D W Θ Ψ 070 ˹³ 33^vid Ï it), add ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς (Jhmwn Jo en toi" oujranoi", “our [Father] in heaven”) here. This makes the prayer begin like the version in Matt 6:9. The shorter version is read by Ì⁷⁵ א B (L: + ἡμῶν) 1 700 pc as well as some versions and fathers. Given this more weighty external evidence, combined with the scribal tendency to harmonize Gospel parallels, the shorter reading is preferred.

[11:2]  ²⁰ tn Grk “hallowed be your name.”

[11:2]  ²¹ tc Most mss (א A C D W Θ Ψ 070 ˹³ 33^vid Ï it) read at the end of the verse “may your will be done on earth as [it is] in heaven,” making this version parallel to Matt 6:10. The shorter reading is found, however, in weighty mss (Ì⁷⁵ B L pc), and cannot be easily explained as arising from the longer reading.

[1:15]  ²² 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]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ 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.

[1:16]  ²⁵ tn BDAG 579 s.v. κυριότης 3 suggests “bearers of the ruling powers, dominions” here.

[1:1]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ tn See BDAG 387 s.v. ἐπιχορηγέω 3.

[2:19]  ²⁹ tn The genitive τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou) has been translated as a genitive of source, “from God.”

[3:15]  ³⁰ sn Laodicea was near two other towns, each of which had a unique water source. To the north was Hierapolis which had a natural hot spring, often used for medicinal purposes. To the east was Colossae which had cold, pure waters. In contrast to these towns, Laodicea had no permanent supply of good water. Efforts to pipe water to the city from nearby springs were successful, but it would arrive lukewarm. The metaphor in the text is not meant to relate spiritual fervor to temperature. This would mean that Laodicea would be commended for being spiritually cold, but it is unlikely that Jesus would commend this. Instead, the metaphor condemns Laodicea for not providing spiritual healing (being hot) or spiritual refreshment (being cold) to those around them. It is a condemnation of their lack of works and lack of witness.

[3:16]  ³¹ tn Or “I intend.”

[3:16]  ³² tn This is the literal meaning of the Greek verb ἐμέω (emew). It is usually translated with a much weaker term like “spit out” due to the unpleasant connotations of the English verb “vomit,” as noted by L&N 23.44. The situation confronting the Laodicean church is a dire one, however, and such a term is necessary if the modern reader is to understand the gravity of the situation.