Matthew 18:2-4

18:2 He called a child, had him stand among them, 18:3 and said, “I tell you the truth, ¹  unless you turn around and become like little children, ²  you will never ³  enter the kingdom of heaven! 18:4 Whoever then humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 19:13-15

Jesus and Little Children

19:13 Then little children were brought to him for him to lay his hands on them and pray. ⁴  But the disciples scolded those who brought them. ⁵  19:14 But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” ⁶  19:15 And he placed his hands on them and went on his way. ⁷ 

Mark 10:14-15

10:14 But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ⁸  10:15 I tell you the truth, ⁹  whoever does not receive ¹⁰  the kingdom of God like a child ¹¹  will never ¹²  enter it.”

Mark 10:1

Divorce

10:1 Then ¹³  Jesus ¹⁴  left that place and went to the region of Judea and ¹⁵  beyond the Jordan River. ¹⁶  Again crowds gathered to him, and again, as was his custom, he taught them.

Colossians 1:20

1:20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross – through him, ¹⁷  whether things on earth or things in heaven.

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹⁸  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 2:1-2

2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, ¹⁹  and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. ²⁰  2:2 My goal is that ²¹  their hearts, having been knit together ²²  in love, may be encouraged, and that ²³  they may have all the riches that assurance brings in their understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely, Christ, ²⁴ 

[18:3]  ¹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[18:3]  ² sn The point of the comparison become like little children has more to do with a child’s trusting spirit, as well as willingness to be dependent and receive from others, than any inherent humility the child might possess.

[18:3]  ³ tn The negation in Greek (οὐ μή, ou mh) is very strong here.

[19:13]  ⁴ tn Grk “so that he would lay his hands on them and pray.”

[19:13]  ⁵ tn Grk “the disciples scolded them.” In the translation the referent has been specified as “those who brought them,” since otherwise the statement could be understood to mean that the disciples scolded the children rather than their parents who brought them.

[19:14]  ⁶ sn The kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. Children are a picture of those whose simple trust illustrates what faith is all about. The remark illustrates how everyone is important to God, even those whom others regard as insignificant.

[19:15]  ⁷ tn Grk “went from there.”

[10:14]  ⁸ sn The kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Children are a picture of those whose simple trust illustrates what faith is all about. The remark illustrates how everyone is important to God, even those whom others regard as insignificant.

[10:15]  ⁹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[10:15]  ¹⁰ sn On receive see John 1:12.

[10:15]  ¹¹ sn The point of the comparison receive the kingdom of God like a child has more to do with a child’s trusting spirit and willingness to be dependent and receive from others than any inherent humility the child might possess.

[10:15]  ¹² tn The negation in Greek (οὐ μή, ou mh) is very strong here.

[10:1]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[10:1]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:1]  ¹⁵ tc Alexandrian and other witnesses (א B C* L Ψ 0274 892 2427 pc co) read καὶ πέραν (kai peran, “and beyond”), while Western and Caesarean witnesses (C² D W Δ Θ Ë^1,13 28 565 579 1241 al) read πέραν (simply “beyond”). It is difficult to decide between the Alexandrian and Western readings here, but since the parallel in Matt 19:1 omits καί the weight is slightly in favor of including it here; scribes may have omitted the word here to harmonize this passage to the Matthean passage. Because of the perceived geographical difficulties found in the earlier readings (omission of the word “and” would make it seem as though Judea is beyond the Jordan), the majority of the witnesses (A Ï) read διὰ τοῦ πέραν (dia tou peran, “through the other side”), perhaps trying to indicate the direction of Jesus’ travel.

[10:1]  ¹⁶ tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity. The region referred to here is sometimes known as Transjordan (i.e., “across the Jordan”).

[1:20]  ¹⁷ tc The presence or absence of the second occurrence of the phrase δι᾿ αὐτοῦ (di’ autou, “through him”) is a difficult textual problem to solve. External evidence is fairly evenly divided. Many ancient and excellent witnesses lack the phrase (B D* F G I 0278 81 1175 1739 1881 2464 al latt sa), but equally important witnesses have it (Ì⁴⁶ א A C D¹ Ψ 048^vid 33 Ï). Both readings have strong Alexandrian support, which makes the problem difficult to decide on external evidence alone. Internal evidence points to the inclusion of the phrase as original. The word immediately preceding the phrase is the masculine pronoun αὐτοῦ (autou); thus the possibility of omission through homoioteleuton in various witnesses is likely. Scribes might have deleted the phrase because of perceived redundancy or awkwardness in the sense: The shorter reading is smoother and more elegant, so scribes would be prone to correct the text in that direction. As far as style is concerned, repetition of key words and phrases for emphasis is not foreign to the corpus Paulinum (see, e.g., Rom 8:23, Eph 1:13, 2 Cor 12:7). In short, it is easier to account for the shorter reading arising from the longer reading than vice versa, so the longer reading is more likely original.

[1:1]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[2:1]  ¹⁹ tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”

[2:1]  ²⁰ tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”

[2:2]  ²¹ tn Verse two begins a subordinate ἵνα (Jina) clause which was divided up into two sentences for the sake of clarity in English. Thus the phrase “My goal is that” is an attempt to reflect in the translation the purpose expressed through the ἵνα clauses.

[2:2]  ²² tn BDAG 956 s.v. συμβιβάζω 1.b reads “unite, knit together.” Some commentators take the verb as a reference to instruction, “instructed in love.” See P. T. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon (WBC), 93.

[2:2]  ²³ tn The phrase “and that” translates the first εἰς (eis) clause of v. 2 and reflects the second goal of Paul’s striving and struggle for the Colossians – the first is “encouragement” and the second is “full assurance.”

[2:2]  ²⁴ tc There are at least a dozen variants here, almost surely generated by the unusual wording τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ (tou qeou, Cristou, “of God, Christ”; so Ì⁴⁶ B Hil). Scribes would be prone to conform this to more common Pauline expressions such as “of God, who is in Christ” (33), “of God, the Father of Christ” (א* A C 048^vid 1175 bo), and “of the God and Father of Christ” (א² Ψ 075 0278 365 1505 pc). Even though the external support for the wording τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ is hardly overwhelming, it clearly best explains the rise of the other readings and should thus be regarded as authentic.