Matthew 22:3-4

22:3 He sent his slaves ¹  to summon those who had been invited to the banquet, but they would not come. 22:4 Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look! The feast I have prepared for you is ready. ²  My oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.”’

Matthew 22:9

22:9 So go into the main streets and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’

Luke 11:49

11:49 For this reason also the wisdom ³  of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’

Luke 14:17

14:17 At ⁴  the time for the banquet ⁵  he sent his slave ⁶  to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’

Luke 14:21-23

14:21 So ⁷  the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the master of the household was furious ⁸  and said to his slave, ‘Go out quickly ⁹  to the streets and alleys of the city, ¹⁰  and bring in the poor, ¹¹  the crippled, ¹²  the blind, and the lame.’ 14:22 Then ¹³  the slave said, ‘Sir, what you instructed has been done, and there is still room.’ ¹⁴  14:23 So ¹⁵  the master said to his ¹⁶  slave, ‘Go out to the highways ¹⁷  and country roads ¹⁸  and urge ¹⁹  people ²⁰  to come in, so that my house will be filled. ²¹ 

Romans 10:15

10:15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How timely ²²  is the arrival ²³  of those who proclaim the good news.” ²⁴ 

Romans 10:2

10:2 For I can testify that they are zealous for God, ²⁵  but their zeal is not in line with the truth. ²⁶ 

Colossians 1:20-21

1:20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross – through him, ²⁷  whether things on earth or things in heaven.

Paul’s Goal in Ministry

1:21 And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your ²⁸  minds ²⁹  as expressed through ³⁰  your evil deeds,

[22:3]  ¹ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.

[22:4]  ² tn Grk “Behold, I have prepared my dinner.” In some contexts, however, to translate ἄριστον (ariston) as “dinner” somewhat misses the point. L&N 23.22 here suggests, “See now, the feast I have prepared (for you is ready).”

[11:49]  ³ sn The expression the wisdom of God is a personification of an attribute of God that refers to his wise will.

[14:17]  ⁴ tn Grk “And at.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[14:17]  ⁵ tn Or “dinner.”

[14:17]  ⁶ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.

[14:21]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the preceding responses.

[14:21]  ⁸ tn Grk “being furious, said.” The participle ὀργισθείς (orgisqei") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[14:21]  ⁹ sn It was necessary to go out quickly because the banquet was already prepared. All the food would spoil if not eaten immediately.

[14:21]  ¹⁰ tn Or “town.”

[14:21]  ¹¹ sn The poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. Note how the list matches v. 13, illustrating that point. Note also how the party goes on; it is not postponed until a later date. Instead new guests are invited.

[14:21]  ¹² tn Grk “and the crippled.” Normally crippled as a result of being maimed or mutilated (L&N 23.177). Καί (kai) has not been translated here and before the following category (Grk “and the blind and the lame”) since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[14:22]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the order of events within the parable.

[14:22]  ¹⁴ sn And still there is room. This comment suggests the celebration was quite a big one, picturing the openness of God’s grace.

[14:23]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the master’s response to the slave’s report.

[14:23]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[14:23]  ¹⁷ sn Go out to the highways and country roads. This suggests the inclusion of people outside the town, even beyond the needy (poor, crippled, blind, and lame) in the town, and so is an allusion to the inclusion of the Gentiles.

[14:23]  ¹⁸ tn The Greek word φραγμός (fragmo") refers to a fence, wall, or hedge surrounding a vineyard (BDAG 1064 s.v. 1). “Highways” and “country roads” probably refer not to separate places, but to the situation outside the town where the rural roads run right alongside the hedges or fences surrounding the fields (cf. J. A. Fitzmyer, Luke [AB], 1057).

[14:23]  ¹⁹ tn Traditionally “force” or “compel,” but according to BDAG 60 s.v. ἀναγκάζω 2 this is a weakened nuance: “strongly urge/invite.” The meaning in this context is more like “persuade.”

[14:23]  ²⁰ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[14:23]  ²¹ sn So that my house will be filled. God will bless many people.

[10:15]  ²² tn The word in this context seems to mean “coming at the right or opportune time” (see BDAG 1103 s.v. ὡραῖος 1); it may also mean “beautiful, attractive, welcome.”

[10:15]  ²³ tn Grk “the feet.” The metaphorical nuance of “beautiful feet” is that such represent timely news.

[10:15]  ²⁴ sn A quotation from Isa 52:7; Nah 1:15.

[10:2]  ²⁵ tn Grk “they have a zeal for God.”

[10:2]  ²⁶ tn Grk “in accord with knowledge.”

[1:20]  ²⁷ 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.

[1:21]  ²⁸ tn The article τῇ (th) has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[1:21]  ²⁹ tn Although διανοία (dianoia) is singular in Greek, the previous plural noun ἐχθρούς (ecqrous) indicates that all those from Colossae are in view here.

[1:21]  ³⁰ tn The dative ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τοῖς πονηροῖς (en toi" ergoi" toi" ponhroi") is taken as means, indicating the avenue through which hostility in the mind is revealed and made known.