Philippians 1:22

1:22 Now if I am to go on living in the body, ¹  this will mean productive work ²  for me, yet I don’t know which I prefer: ³ 

Philippians 1:25-26

1:25 And since I am sure of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for the sake of your progress ⁴  and joy in the faith, ⁵  1:26 so that what you can be proud of may increase ⁶  because of me in Christ Jesus, when I come back to you. ⁷ 

John 16:7

16:7 But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I am going away. For if I do not go away, the Advocate ⁸  will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you.

Acts 20:29-31

20:29 I know that after I am gone ⁹  fierce wolves ¹⁰  will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 20:30 Even from among your own group ¹¹  men ¹²  will arise, teaching perversions of the truth ¹³  to draw the disciples away after them. 20:31 Therefore be alert, ¹⁴  remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning ¹⁵  each one of you with tears.

[1:22]  ¹ tn Grk “flesh.”

[1:22]  ² tn Grk “fruit of work”; the genitive ἔργου (ergou) is taken as an attributed genitive in which the head noun, καρπός (karpos), functions attributively (cf. ExSyn 89-91).

[1:22]  ³ tn Grk “what I shall prefer.” The Greek verb αἱρέω (Jairew) could also mean “choose,” but in this context such a translation is problematic for it suggests that Paul could perhaps choose suicide (cf. L&N 30.86).

[1:25]  ⁴ tn Grk “for your progress.”

[1:25]  ⁵ sn Paul’s confidence in his release from prison (I know that I will remain and continue with all of you) implies that this Roman imprisonment did not end in his death. Hence, there is the likelihood that he experienced a second Roman imprisonment later on (since the belief of the early church was that Paul died under Nero in Rome). If so, then the pastoral letters (1-2 Tim, Titus) could well fit into a life of Paul that goes beyond any descriptions in the book of Acts (which ends with Paul’s first Roman imprisonment). Some have argued that the pastorals cannot be genuine because they cannot fit into the history of Acts. But this view presupposes that Paul’s first Roman imprisonment was also his last.

[1:26]  ⁶ tn Grk “your boasting may overflow in Christ Jesus because of me,” or possibly, “your boasting in me may overflow in Christ Jesus.” BDAG 536 s.v. καύχημα 1 translates the phrase τὸ καύχημα ὑμῶν (to kauchma jJumwn) in Phil 1:26 as “what you can be proud of.”

[1:26]  ⁷ tn Grk “through my coming again to you.”

[16:7]  ⁸ tn Or “Helper” or “Counselor”; Grk “Paraclete,” from the Greek word παράκλητος (paraklhto"). See the note on the word “Advocate” in John 14:16 for a discussion of how this word is translated.

[20:29]  ⁹ tn Grk “after my departure.”

[20:29]  ¹⁰ tn That is, people like fierce wolves. See BDAG 167-68 s.v. βαρύς 4 on the term translated “fierce.” The battle that will follow would be a savage one.

[20:30]  ¹¹ tn Grk “from among yourselves.”

[20:30]  ¹² tn The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which only rarely is used in a generic sense to refer to both males and females. Since Paul is speaking to the Ephesian elders at this point and there is nothing in the context to suggest women were included in that group (“from among your own group”), it is most likely Paul was not predicting that these false teachers would include women.

[20:30]  ¹³ tn Grk “speaking crooked things”; BDAG 237 s.v. διαστρέφω 2 has “λαλεῖν διεστραμμένα teach perversions (of the truth) Ac 20:30.”

[20:31]  ¹⁴ tn Or “be watchful.”

[20:31]  ¹⁵ tn Or “admonishing.”