Proverbs 14:21

14:21 The one who despises his neighbor sins,

but whoever is kind to the needy is blessed.

Hosea 6:6

6:6 For I delight in faithfulness, not simply in sacrifice;

I delight ¹  in acknowledging God, not simply in whole burnt offerings. ² 

Micah 6:8

6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good,

and what the Lord really wants from you: ³ 

He wants you to ⁴  promote ⁵  justice, to be faithful, ⁶ 

and to live obediently before ⁷  your God.

Matthew 20:28

20:28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom ⁸  for many.”

Matthew 23:23

23:23 “Woe to you, experts in the law ⁹  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth ¹⁰  of mint, dill, and cumin, ¹¹  yet you neglect what is more important in the law – justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You ¹²  should have done these things without neglecting the others.

Matthew 23:2

23:2 “The ¹³  experts in the law ¹⁴  and the Pharisees ¹⁵  sit on Moses’ seat.

Colossians 1:9

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ¹⁶  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ¹⁷  to fill ¹⁸  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

Ephesians 3:18-19

3:18 you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹  3:19 and thus to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled up to ²⁰  all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 5:2

5:2 and live ²¹  in love, just as Christ also loved us ²²  and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering ²³  to God.

Hebrews 2:9-15

2:9 but we see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, ²⁴  now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, ²⁵  so that by God’s grace he would experience ²⁶  death on behalf of everyone. 2:10 For it was fitting for him, for whom and through whom all things exist, ²⁷  in bringing many sons to glory, to make the pioneer ²⁸  of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 2:11 For indeed he who makes holy and those being made holy all have the same origin, ²⁹  and so ³⁰  he is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, ³¹  2:12 saying, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers; ³²  in the midst of the assembly I will praise you.” ³³  2:13 Again he says, ³⁴  “I will be confident in him,” and again, “Here I am, ³⁵  with ³⁶  the children God has given me.” ³⁷  2:14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise shared in ³⁸  their humanity, ³⁹  so that through death he could destroy ⁴⁰  the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil), 2:15 and set free those who were held in slavery all their lives by their fear of death.

Revelation 1:5

1:5 and from Jesus Christ – the faithful ⁴¹  witness, ⁴²  the firstborn from among the dead, the ruler over the kings of the earth. To the one who loves us and has set us free ⁴³  from our sins at the cost of ⁴⁴  his own blood

[6:6]  ¹ tn The phrase “I delight” does not appear in the Hebrew text a second time in this verse, but is implied from the parallelism in the preceding line.

[6:6]  ² sn Contrary to popular misunderstanding, Hosea does not reject animal sacrifice nor cultic ritual, and advocate instead obedience only. Rather, God does not delight in ritual sacrifice without the accompanying prerequisite moral obedience (1 Sam 15:22; Pss 40:6-8; 51:16-17; Prov 21:3; Isa 1:11-17; Jer 7:21-23; Hos 6:6; Mic 6:6-8). However, if prerequisite moral obedience is present, he delights in sacrificial worship as an outward expression (Ps 51:19). Presented by a repentant obedient worshiper, whole burnt offerings were “an aroma pleasing” to the Lord (Lev 1:9, 13).

[6:8]  ³ sn What the Lord really wants from you. Now the prophet switches roles and answers the hypothetical worshiper’s question. He makes it clear that the Lord desires proper attitudes more than ritual and sacrifice.

[6:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “except.” This statement is actually linked with what precedes, “What does he want from you except….”

[6:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “to do,” in the sense of “promote.”

[6:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “to love faithfulness.”

[6:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “to walk humbly [or perhaps, “carefully”] with.”

[20:28]  ⁸ sn The Greek word for ransom (λύτρον, lutron) is found here and in Mark 10:45 and refers to the payment of a price in order to purchase the freedom of a slave. The idea of Jesus as the “ransom” is that he paid the price with his own life by standing in our place as a substitute, enduring the judgment that we deserved for sin.

[23:23]  ⁹ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:23]  ¹⁰ tn Or “you tithe mint.”

[23:23]  ¹¹ sn Cumin (alternately spelled cummin) was an aromatic herb native to the Mediterranean region. Its seeds were used for seasoning.

[23:23]  ¹² tc ‡ Many witnesses (B C K L W Δ 0102 33 565 892 pm) have δέ (de, “but”) after ταῦτα (tauta, “these things”), while many others lack it (א D Γ Θ Ë^1,13 579 700 1241 1424 pm). Since asyndeton was relatively rare in Koine Greek, the conjunction may be an intentional alteration, and is thus omitted from the present translation. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[23:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[23:2]  ¹⁴ tn Or “The scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:2]  ¹⁵ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[1:9]  ¹⁶ tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.

[1:9]  ¹⁷ tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ¹⁸ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.

[3:18]  ¹⁹ sn The object of these dimensions is not stated in the text. Interpreters have suggested a variety of referents for this unstated object, including the cross of Christ, the heavenly Jerusalem (which is then sometimes linked to the Church), God’s power, the fullness of salvation given in Christ, the Wisdom of God, and the love of Christ. Of these interpretations, the last two are the most plausible. Associations from Wisdom literature favor the Wisdom of God, but the immediate context favors the love of Christ. For detailed discussion of these interpretive options, see A. T. Lincoln, Ephesians (WBC), 207-13, who ultimately favors the love of Christ.

[3:19]  ²⁰ tn Or “with.”

[5:2]  ²¹ tn Grk “walk.” The NT writers often used the verb “walk” (περιπατέω, peripatew) to refer to ethical conduct (cf. Rom 8:4; Gal 5:16; Col 4:5).

[5:2]  ²² tc A number of important witnesses have ὑμᾶς (Jumas, “you”; e.g., א* A B P 0159 81 1175 al it co as well as several fathers). Other, equally important witnesses read ἡμᾶς (Jhmas, “us”; Ì⁴⁶ א² D F G Ψ 0278 33 1739 1881 al lat sy). It is possible that ἡμᾶς was accidentally introduced via homoioarcton with the previous word (ἠγάπησεν, hgaphsen). On the other hand, ὑμᾶς may have been motivated by the preceding ὑμῖν (Jumin) in 4:32 and second person verbs in 5:1, 2. Further, the flow of argument seems to require the first person pronoun. A decision is difficult to make, but the first person pronoun has a slightly greater probability of being original.

[5:2]  ²³ tn Grk “an offering and sacrifice to God as a smell of fragrance.” The first expression, προσφορὰν καὶ θυσίαν (prosforan kai qusian), is probably a hendiadys and has been translated such that “sacrificial” modifies “offering.” The second expression, εἰς ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας (ei" osmhn euwdia", “as a smell of fragrance”) has been translated as “a fragrant offering”; see BDAG 728-29 s.v. ὀσμή 2. Putting these two together in a clear fashion in English yields the translation: “a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.”

[2:9]  ²⁴ tn Or “who was made a little lower than the angels.”

[2:9]  ²⁵ tn Grk “because of the suffering of death.”

[2:9]  ²⁶ tn Grk “would taste.” Here the Greek verb does not mean “sample a small amount” (as a typical English reader might infer from the word “taste”), but “experience something cognitively or emotionally; come to know something” (cf. BDAG 195 s.v. γεύομαι 2).

[2:10]  ²⁷ tn Grk “for whom are all things and through whom are all things.”

[2:10]  ²⁸ sn The Greek word translated pioneer is used of a “prince” or leader, the representative head of a family. It also carries nuances of “trailblazer,” one who breaks through to new ground for those who follow him. It is used some thirty-five times in the Greek OT and four times in the NT, always of Christ (Acts 3:15; 5:31; Heb 2:10; 12:2).

[2:11]  ²⁹ tn Grk “are all from one.”

[2:11]  ³⁰ tn Grk “for which reason.”

[2:11]  ³¹ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). The context here also indicates both men and women are in view; note especially the collective τὰ παιδία (ta paidia) in v. 14.

[2:12]  ³² tn Here, because of its occurrence in an OT quotation, τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς (tois adelfois) has been translated simply as “brothers” rather than “brothers and sisters” (see the note on the latter phrase in the previous verse).

[2:12]  ³³ sn A quotation from Ps 22:22.

[2:13]  ³⁴ tn Grk “and again,” as a continuation of the preceding.

[2:13]  ³⁵ tn Grk “behold, I,” but this construction often means “here is/there is” (cf. BDAG 468 s.v. ἰδού 2).

[2:13]  ³⁶ tn Grk “and.”

[2:13]  ³⁷ sn A quotation from Isa 8:17-18.

[2:14]  ³⁸ tn Or “partook of” (this is a different word than the one in v. 14a).

[2:14]  ³⁹ tn Grk “the same.”

[2:14]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “break the power of,” “reduce to nothing.”

[1:5]  ⁴¹ tn Or “Jesus Christ – the faithful one, the witness…” Some take ὁ πιστός (Jo pistos) as a second substantive in relation to ὁ μάρτυς (Jo martus). In the present translation, however, ὁ πιστός was taken as an adjective in attributive position to ὁ μάρτυς. The idea of martyrdom and faithfulness are intimately connected. See BDAG 820 s.v. πιστός 1.a.α: “ὁ μάρτυς μου ὁ πιστός μου Rv 2:13 (μάρτυς 3); in this ‘book of martyrs’ Christ is ὁ μάρτυς ὁ πιστὸς (καὶ ὁ ἀληθινός) 1:5; 3:14; cp. 19:11 (the combination of ἀληθινός and πιστός in the last two passages is like 3 Macc 2:11). Cp. Rv 17:14.”

[1:5]  ⁴² sn The Greek term translated witness can mean both “witness” and “martyr.”

[1:5]  ⁴³ tc The reading “set free” (λύσαντι, lusanti) has better ms support (̹⁸ א A C 1611 2050 2329 2351 Ï^A sy) than its rival, λούσαντι (lousanti, “washed”; found in P 1006 1841 1854 2053 2062 Ï^K lat bo). Internally, it seems that the reading “washed” could have arisen in at least one of three ways: (1) as an error of hearing (both “released” and “washed” are pronounced similarly in Greek); (2) an error of sight (both “released” and “washed” look very similar – a difference of only one letter – which could have resulted in a simple error during the copying of a ms); (3) through scribal inability to appreciate that the Hebrew preposition ב can be used with a noun to indicate the price paid for something. Since the author of Revelation is influenced significantly by a Semitic form of Greek (e.g., 13:10), and since the Hebrew preposition “in” (ב) can indicate the price paid for something, and is often translated with the preposition “in” (ἐν, en) in the LXX, the author may have tried to communicate by the use of ἐν the idea of a price paid for something. That is, John was trying to say that Christ delivered us at the price of his own blood. This whole process, however, may have been lost on a later scribe, who being unfamiliar with Hebrew, found the expression “delivered in his blood” too difficult, and noticing the obvious similarities between λύσαντι and λούσαντι, assumed an error and then proceeded to change the text to “washed in his blood” – a thought more tolerable in his mind. Both readings, of course, are true to scripture; the current question is what the author wrote in this verse.

[1:5]  ⁴⁴ tn The style here is somewhat Semitic, with the use of the ἐν (en) + the dative to mean “at the price of.” The addition of “own” in the English is stylistic and is an attempt to bring out the personal nature of the statement and the sacrificial aspect of Jesus’ death – a frequent refrain in the Apocalypse.