Matthew 6:7

6:7 When ¹  you pray, do not babble repetitiously like the Gentiles, because they think that by their many words they will be heard.

Ezra 6:21

6:21 The Israelites who were returning from the exile ate it, along with all those who had joined them ²  in separating themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the land to seek the Lord God of Israel.

Ezekiel 11:12

11:12 Then you will know that I am the Lord, whose statutes you have not followed and whose regulations you have not carried out. Instead you have behaved according to the regulations of the nations around you!’”

Ezekiel 11:2

11:2 The Lord ³  said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who plot evil and give wicked advice in this city.

Colossians 1:14-17

1:14 in whom we have redemption, ⁴  the forgiveness of sins.

The Supremacy of Christ

1:15 ⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn ⁶  over all creation, ⁷ 

1:16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him – all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, ⁸  whether principalities or powers – all things were created through him and for him.

1:17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together ⁹  in him.

Ephesians 4:17-19

Live in Holiness

4:17 So I say this, and insist ¹⁰  in the Lord, that you no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility ¹¹  of their thinking. ¹²  4:18 They are darkened in their understanding, ¹³  being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts. 4:19 Because they are callous, they have given themselves over to indecency for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. ¹⁴ 

Ephesians 5:11-12

5:11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather ¹⁵  expose them. ¹⁶  5:12 For the things they do ¹⁷  in secret are shameful even to mention.

[6:7]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[6:21]  ² tn Heb “who had separated from the uncleanness of the nations of the land to them.”

[11:2]  ³ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:14]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn BDAG 579 s.v. κυριότης 3 suggests “bearers of the ruling powers, dominions” here.

[1:17]  ⁹ tn BDAG 973 s.v. συνίστημι B.3 suggests “continue, endure, exist, hold together” here.

[4:17]  ¹⁰ tn On the translation of μαρτύρομαι (marturomai) as “insist” see BDAG 619 s.v. 2.

[4:17]  ¹¹ tn On the translation of ματαιότης (mataioth") as “futility” see BDAG 621 s.v.

[4:17]  ¹² tn Or “thoughts,” “mind.”

[4:18]  ¹³ tn In the Greek text this clause is actually subordinate to περιπατεῖ (peripatei) in v. 17. It was broken up in the English translation so as to avoid an unnecessarily long and cumbersome statement.

[4:19]  ¹⁴ sn Greediness refers to an increasing desire for more and more. The point is that sinful passions and desires are never satisfied.

[5:11]  ¹⁵ tn The Greek conjunction καὶ (kai) seems to be functioning here ascensively, (i.e., “even”), but is difficult to render in this context using good English. It may read something like: “but rather even expose them!”

[5:11]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “rather even expose.”

[5:12]  ¹⁷ tn The participle τὰ…γινόμενα (ta…ginomena) usually refers to “things happening” or “things which are,” but with the following genitive phrase ὑπ᾿ αὐτῶν (Jup’ autwn), which indicates agency, the idea seems to be “things being done.” This passive construction was translated as an active one to simplify the English style.