Matthew 11:12

11:12 From ¹  the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and forceful people lay hold of it. ² 

Luke 13:24

13:24 “Exert every effort ³  to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.

Ephesians 6:12

6:12 For our struggle ⁴  is not against flesh and blood, ⁵  but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, ⁶  against the spiritual forces ⁷  of evil in the heavens. ⁸ 

Colossians 1:29

1:29 Toward this goal ⁹  I also labor, struggling according to his power that powerfully ¹⁰  works in me.

[11:12]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[11:12]  ² tn Or “the kingdom of heaven is forcibly entered and violent people take hold of it.” For a somewhat different interpretation of this passage, see the note on the phrase “urged to enter in” in Luke 16:16.

[13:24]  ³ tn Or “Make every effort” (L&N 68.74; cf. NIV); “Do your best” (TEV); “Work hard” (NLT); Grk “Struggle.” The idea is to exert one’s maximum effort (cf. BDAG 17 s.v. ἀγωνίζομαι 2.b, “strain every nerve to enter”) because of the supreme importance of attaining entry into the kingdom of God.

[6:12]  ⁴ tn BDAG 752 s.v. πάλη says, “struggle against…the opponent is introduced by πρός w. the acc.”

[6:12]  ⁵ tn Grk “blood and flesh.”

[6:12]  ⁶ tn BDAG 561 s.v. κοσμοκράτωρ suggests “the rulers of this sinful world” as a gloss.

[6:12]  ⁷ tn BDAG 837 s.v. πνευματικός 3 suggests “the spirit-forces of evil” in Ephesians 6:12.

[6:12]  ⁸ sn The phrase spiritual forces of evil in the heavens serves to emphasize the nature of the forces which oppose believers as well as to indicate the locality from which they originate.

[1:29]  ⁹ tn The Greek phrase εἴς ὅ (eis Jo, “toward which”) implies “movement toward a goal” and has been rendered by the English phrase “Toward this goal.”

[1:29]  ¹⁰ tn The prepositional phrase ἐν δυνάμει (en dunamei) seems to be functioning adverbially, related to the participle, and has therefore been translated “powerfully.”