Micah 2:1

Land Robbers Will Lose their Land

2:1 Those who devise sinful plans are as good as dead, ¹ 

those who dream about doing evil as they lie in bed. ² 

As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, ³ 

because they have the power to do so.

Luke 3:13-14

3:13 He told them, “Collect no more ⁴  than you are required to.” ⁵  3:14 Then some soldiers ⁶  also asked him, “And as for us – what should we do?” ⁷  He told them, “Take money from no one by violence ⁸  or by false accusation, ⁹  and be content with your pay.”

Luke 3:1

The Ministry of John the Baptist

3:1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, ¹⁰  when Pontius Pilate ¹¹  was governor of Judea, and Herod ¹²  was tetrarch ¹³  of Galilee, and his brother Philip ¹⁴  was tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ¹⁵  was tetrarch of Abilene,

Colossians 1:12-18

1:12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share ¹⁶  in the saints’ ¹⁷  inheritance in the light. 1:13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁸  1:14 in whom we have redemption, ¹⁹  the forgiveness of sins.

The Supremacy of Christ

1:15 ²⁰ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn ²¹  over all creation, ²² 

1:16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him – all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, ²³  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 ²⁴  in him.

1:18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn ²⁵  from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. ²⁶ 

[2:1]  ¹ tn Heb “Woe to those who plan sin.” The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “woe”; “ah”) was a cry used in mourning the dead.

[2:1]  ² tn Heb “those who do evil upon their beds.”

[2:1]  ³ tn Heb “at the light of morning they do it.”

[3:13]  ⁴ tn In the Greek text μηδὲν πλέον (mhden pleon, “no more”) is in an emphatic position.

[3:13]  ⁵ tn Or “than you are ordered to.”

[3:14]  ⁶ tn Grk “And soldiers.”

[3:14]  ⁷ tn Grk “And what should we ourselves do?”

[3:14]  ⁸ tn Or “Rob no one.” The term διασείσητε (diaseishte) here refers to “shaking someone.” In this context it refers to taking financial advantage of someone through violence, so it refers essentially to robbery. Soldiers are to perform their tasks faithfully. A changed person is to carry out his tasks in life faithfully and without grumbling.

[3:14]  ⁹ tn The term translated “accusation” (συκοφαντήσητε, sukofanthshte) refers to a procedure by which someone could bring charges against an individual and be paid a part of the fine imposed by the court. Soldiers could do this to supplement their pay, and would thus be tempted to make false accusations.

[3:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “Emperor Tiberius” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[3:1]  ¹¹ sn The rule of Pontius Pilate is also described by Josephus, J. W. 2.9.2-4 (2.169-177) and Ant. 18.3.1 (18.55-59).

[3:1]  ¹² sn Herod refers here to Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great. He ruled from 4 b.c.-a.d. 39, sharing the rule of his father’s realm with his two brothers. One brother, Archelaus (Matt 2:22) was banished in a.d. 6 and died in a.d. 18; the other brother, Herod Philip (mentioned next) died in a.d. 34.

[3:1]  ¹³ sn A tetrarch was a ruler with rank and authority lower than a king, who ruled only with the approval of the Roman authorities. This was roughly equivalent to being governor of a region. Several times in the NT, Herod tetrarch of Galilee is called a king (Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14-29), reflecting popular usage.

[3:1]  ¹⁴ sn Philip refers to Herod Philip, son of Herod the Great and brother of Herod Antipas. Philip ruled as tetrarch of Iturea and Trachonitis from 4 b.c.-a.d. 34.

[3:1]  ¹⁵ sn Nothing else is known about Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene.

[1:12]  ¹⁶ tn BDAG 473 s.v. ἱκανόω states, “τινὰ εἴς τι someone for someth. Col 1:12.” The point of the text is that God has qualified the saints for a “share” or “portion” in the inheritance of the saints.

[1:12]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “the inheritance of the saints.” The genitive noun τῶν ἁγίων (twn Jagiwn) is a possessive genitive: “the saints’ inheritance.”

[1:13]  ¹⁸ tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).

[1:14]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ 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]  ²² 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]  ²³ tn BDAG 579 s.v. κυριότης 3 suggests “bearers of the ruling powers, dominions” here.

[1:17]  ²⁴ tn BDAG 973 s.v. συνίστημι B.3 suggests “continue, endure, exist, hold together” here.

[1:18]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ tn Grk “in order that he may become in all things, himself, first.”