Matthew 18:17

18:17 If ¹  he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If ²  he refuses to listen to the church, treat him like ³  a Gentile ⁴  or a tax collector. ⁵ 

Luke 12:47-48

12:47 That ⁶  servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or do what his master asked ⁷  will receive a severe beating. 12:48 But the one who did not know his master’s will ⁸  and did things worthy of punishment ⁹  will receive a light beating. ¹⁰  From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, ¹¹  and from the one who has been entrusted with much, ¹²  even more will be asked. ¹³ 

John 15:22

15:22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. ¹⁴  But they no longer have any excuse for their sin.

John 15:2

15:2 He takes away ¹⁵  every branch that does not bear ¹⁶  fruit in me. He ¹⁷  prunes ¹⁸  every branch that bears ¹⁹  fruit so that it will bear more fruit.

Colossians 2:15-16

2:15 Disarming ²⁰  the rulers and authorities, he has made a public disgrace of them, triumphing over them by the cross. ²¹ 

2:16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you with respect to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days –

Colossians 1:15

The Supremacy of Christ

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

[18:17]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[18:17]  ² tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[18:17]  ³ tn Grk “let him be to you as.”

[18:17]  ⁴ tn Or “a pagan.”

[18:17]  ⁵ sn To treat him like a Gentile or a tax collector means not to associate with such a person. See the note on tax collectors in 5:46.

[12:47]  ⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:47]  ⁷ tn Grk “or do according to his will”; the referent (the master) has been specified in the translation for clarity. This example deals with the slave who knew what the command was and yet failed to complete it.

[12:48]  ⁸ tn Grk “did not know”; the phrase “his master’s will” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the contemporary English reader.

[12:48]  ⁹ tn Grk “blows.”

[12:48]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “will receive few (blows).”

[12:48]  ¹¹ tn Grk “required from him”; but the words “from him” are redundant in English and have not been translated.

[12:48]  ¹² sn Entrusted with much. To be gifted with precious responsibility is something that requires faithfulness.

[12:48]  ¹³ tn Grk “they will ask even more.”

[15:22]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “they would not have sin” (an idiom).

[15:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or “He cuts off.”

[15:2]  ¹⁶ tn Or “does not yield.”

[15:2]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “And he”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been omitted in the translation in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[15:2]  ¹⁸ tn Or “trims”; Grk “cleanses” (a wordplay with “clean” in v. 3). Καθαίρει (kaqairei) is not the word one would have expected here, but it provides the transition from the vine imagery to the disciples – there is a wordplay (not reproducible in English) between αἴρει (airei) and καθαίρει in this verse. While the purpose of the Father in cleansing his people is clear, the precise means by which he does so is not immediately obvious. This will become clearer, however, in the following verse.

[15:2]  ¹⁹ tn Or “that yields.”

[2:15]  ²⁰ tn See BDAG 100 s.v. ἀπεκδύομαι 2.

[2:15]  ²¹ tn The antecedent of the Greek pronoun αὐτῷ (autw) could either be “Christ” or the “cross.” There are several reasons for choosing “the cross” as the antecedent for αὐτῷ in verse 15: (1) The nearest antecedent is τῷ σταυρῷ (tw staurw) in v. 14; (2) the idea of ἐδειγμάτισεν ἐν παρρησία (edeigmatisen en parrhsia, “made a public disgrace”) seems to be more in keeping with the idea of the cross; (3) a reference to Christ seems to miss the irony involved in the idea of triumph – the whole point is that where one would expect defeat, there came the victory; (4) if Christ is the subject of the participles in v. 15 then almost certainly the cross is the referent for αὐτῷ. Thus the best solution is to see αὐτῷ as a reference to the cross and the preposition ἐν (en) indicating “means” (i.e., by means of the cross) or possibly (though less likely) location (on the cross).

[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.