Matthew 5:20

5:20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law ¹  and the Pharisees, ²  you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Luke 1:74-75

1:74 that we, being rescued from the hand of our ³  enemies,

may serve him without fear, ⁴ 

1:75 in holiness and righteousness ⁵  before him for as long as we live. ⁶ 

Acts 10:35

10:35 but in every nation ⁷  the person who fears him ⁸  and does what is right ⁹  is welcomed before him.

Romans 6:11

6:11 So you too consider yourselves ¹⁰  dead to sin, but ¹¹  alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:16

6:16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves ¹²  as obedient slaves, ¹³  you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting in righteousness? ¹⁴ 

Romans 6:22

6:22 But now, freed ¹⁵  from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit ¹⁶  leading to sanctification, and the end is eternal life.

Ephesians 5:9

5:9 for the fruit of the light ¹⁷  consists in ¹⁸  all goodness, righteousness, and truth –

Philippians 1:11

1:11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul ¹⁹  and Timothy, slaves ²⁰  of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, ²¹  with the overseers ²²  and deacons.

Philippians 2:29

2:29 So welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him,

Philippians 3:7

3:7 But these assets I have come to regard as liabilities because of Christ.

[5:20]  ¹ tn Or “that of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[5:20]  ² sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[1:74]  ³ tc Many important early mss (א B L W [0130] Ë^1,13 565 892 pc) lack “our,” while most (A C D [K] Θ Ψ 0177 33 Ï pc) supply it. Although the addition is most likely not authentic, “our” has been included in the translation due to English stylistic requirements.

[1:74]  ⁴ tn This phrase in Greek is actually thrown forward to the front of the verse to give it emphasis.

[1:75]  ⁵ sn The phrases that we…might serve him…in holiness and righteousness from Luke 1:74-75 well summarize a basic goal for a believer in the eyes of Luke. Salvation frees us up to serve God without fear through a life full of ethical integrity.

[1:75]  ⁶ tn Grk “all our days.”

[10:35]  ⁷ sn See Luke 24:47.

[10:35]  ⁸ tn Or “shows reverence for him.”

[10:35]  ⁹ tn Grk “works righteousness”; the translation “does what is right” for this phrase in this verse is given by L&N 25.85.

[6:11]  ¹⁰ tc ‡ Some Alexandrian and Byzantine mss (Ì^94vid א* B C 81 365 1506 1739 1881 pc) have the infinitive “to be” (εἶναι, einai) following “yourselves”. The infinitive is lacking from some mss of the Alexandrian and Western texttypes (Ì^46vid A D*^,c F G 33^vid pc). The infinitive is found elsewhere in the majority of Byzantine mss, suggesting a scribal tendency toward clarification. The lack of infinitive best explains the rise of the other readings. The meaning of the passage is not significantly altered by inclusion or omission, but on internal grounds omission is more likely. NA²⁷ includes the infinitive in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.

[6:11]  ¹¹ tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.

[6:16]  ¹² tn Grk “to whom you present yourselves.”

[6:16]  ¹³ tn Grk “as slaves for obedience.” See the note on the word “slave” in 1:1.

[6:16]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “either of sin unto death, or obedience unto righteousness.”

[6:22]  ¹⁵ tn The two aorist participles translated “freed” and “enslaved” are causal in force; their full force is something like “But now, since you have become freed from sin and since you have become enslaved to God….”

[6:22]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “fruit.”

[5:9]  ¹⁷ tc Several mss (Ì⁴⁶ D² Ψ Ï) have πνεύματος (pneumatos, “Spirit”) instead of φωτός (fwtos, “light”). Although most today regard φωτός as obviously original (UBS⁴ gives it an “A” rating), a case could be made that πνεύματος is what the author wrote. First, although this is largely a Byzantine reading (D² often, if not normally, assimilates to the Byzantine text), Ì⁴⁶ gives the reading much greater credibility. Internally, the φωτός at the end of v. 8 could have lined up above the πνεύματος in v. 9 in a scribe’s exemplar, thus occasioning dittography. (It is interesting to note that in both Ì⁴⁹ and א the two instances of φωτός line up.) However, written in a contracted form, as a nomen sacrum (pMnMs) – a practice found even in the earliest mss – πνεύματος would not have been easily confused with fwtos (there being only the last letter to occasion homoioteleuton rather than the last three). Further, the external evidence for φωτός is quite compelling (Ì⁴⁹ א A B D* F G P 33 81 1739 1881 2464 pc latt co); it is rather doubtful that the early and widespread witnesses all mistook πνεύματος for φωτός. In addition, πνεύματος can be readily explained as harking back to Gal 5:22 (“the fruit of the Spirit”). Thus, on balance, φωτός appears to be original, giving rise to the reading πνεύματος.

[5:9]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “in.” The idea is that the fruit of the light is “expressed in” or “consists of.”

[1:1]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ²⁰ tn Traditionally, “servants” or “bondservants.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ²¹ map For location see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.

[1:1]  ²² sn The overseers (or “church leaders,” L&N 53.71) is another term for the same official position of leadership as the “elder.” This is seen in the interchange of the two terms in Titus 1:6-7 and in Acts 20:17, 28, as well as in the parallels between Titus 1:6-7 and 1 Tim 3:1-7.