Proverbs 21:30

21:30 There is no wisdom and there is no understanding,

and there is no counsel against ¹  the Lord. ² 

Isaiah 10:13

10:13 For he says:

“By my strong hand I have accomplished this,

by my strategy that I devised.

I invaded the territory of nations, ³ 

and looted their storehouses.

Like a mighty conqueror, ⁴  I brought down rulers. ⁵ 

Jeremiah 9:23

9:23 ⁶ The Lord says,

“Wise people should not boast that they are wise.

Powerful people should not boast that they are powerful. ⁷ 

Rich people should not boast that they are rich. ⁸ 

Luke 2:40

2:40 And the child grew and became strong, ⁹  filled with wisdom, ¹⁰  and the favor ¹¹  of God ¹²  was upon him.

Acts 6:3

6:3 But carefully select from among you, brothers, ¹³  seven ¹⁴  men who are well-attested, ¹⁵  full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge ¹⁶  of this necessary task. ¹⁷ 

Acts 6:1

The Appointment of the First Seven Deacons

6:1 Now in those ¹⁸  days, when the disciples were growing in number, ¹⁹  a complaint arose on the part of the Greek-speaking Jews ²⁰  against the native Hebraic Jews, ²¹  because their widows ²²  were being overlooked ²³  in the daily distribution of food. ²⁴ 

Colossians 1:19-20

1:19 For God ²⁵  was pleased to have all his ²⁶  fullness dwell ²⁷  in the Son ²⁸ 

1:20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross – through him, ²⁹  whether things on earth or things in heaven.

Colossians 3:19

3:19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them.

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, ³⁰  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ³¹  to fill ³²  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

Colossians 2:3

2:3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

James 3:13-18

True Wisdom

3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct he should show his works done in the gentleness that wisdom brings. ³³  3:14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfishness in your hearts, do not boast and tell lies against the truth. 3:15 Such ³⁴  wisdom does not come ³⁵  from above but is earthly, natural, ³⁶  demonic. 3:16 For where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is disorder and every evil practice. 3:17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, accommodating, ³⁷  full of mercy and good fruit, ³⁸  impartial, and not hypocritical. ³⁹  3:18 And the fruit that consists of righteousness ⁴⁰  is planted ⁴¹  in peace among ⁴²  those who make peace.

[21:30]  ¹ tn The form לְנֶגֶד (lÿneged) means “against; over against; in opposition to.” The line indicates they cannot in reality be in opposition, for human wisdom is nothing in comparison to the wisdom of God (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 232).

[21:30]  ² sn The verse uses a single sentence to state that all wisdom, understanding, and advice must be in conformity to the will of God to be successful. It states it negatively – these things cannot be in defiance of God (e.g., Job 5:12-13; Isa 40:13-14).

[10:13]  ³ tn Heb “removed the borders of nations”; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV “boundaries.”

[10:13]  ⁴ tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has כְּאַבִּיר (kÿ’abir, “like a strong one”); the marginal reading (Qere) is כַּבִיר (kavir, “mighty one”).

[10:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “and I brought down, like a strong one, ones sitting [or “living”].” The participle יוֹשְׁבִים (yoshÿvim, “ones sitting”) could refer to the inhabitants of the nations, but the translation assumes that it refers to those who sit on thrones, i.e., rulers. See BDB 442 s.v. יָשַׁב and HALOT 444 s.v. ישׁב.

[9:23]  ⁶ sn It is not always clear why verses were placed in their present position in the editorial process of collecting Jeremiah’s sermons and the words the Lord spoke to him (see Jer 36:4, 32 for reference to two of these collections). Here it is probable that vv. 23-26 were added as a further answer to the question raised in v. 12.

[9:23]  ⁷ tn Or “Strong people should not brag that they are strong.”

[9:23]  ⁸ tn Heb “…in their wisdom…in their power…in their riches.”

[2:40]  ⁹ tc Most mss (A Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï) read πνεύματι (pneumati, “in spirit”) after “became strong,” but this looks like an assimilation to Luke 1:80. The better witnesses (א B D L N W pc lat co) lack the word.

[2:40]  ¹⁰ sn With the description grew and became strong, filled with wisdom Luke emphasizes the humanity of Jesus and his growth toward maturity.

[2:40]  ¹¹ tn Or “grace.”

[2:40]  ¹² sn On the phrase the favor of God see Luke 1:66.

[6:3]  ¹³ tn It is not clear from a historical standpoint (but it is unlikely) that women would have been involved in the selection process too. For this reason the translation “brothers” has been retained, rather than “brothers and sisters” (used in contexts where both male and female believers are clearly addressed).

[6:3]  ¹⁴ sn Seven. Jewish town councils often had seven members (Josephus, Ant. 4.18.14 [4.214]).

[6:3]  ¹⁵ tn Or “are of good reputation” (BDAG 618 s.v. μαρτυρέω 2.b).

[6:3]  ¹⁶ tn The translation “put in charge” is given by BDAG 492 s.v. καθίστημι 2.

[6:3]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “of this need”; translated “necessary work” or “needed task” by L&N 42.22.

[6:1]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “these.” The translation uses “those” for stylistic reasons.

[6:1]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “were multiplying.”

[6:1]  ²⁰ tn Grk “the Hellenists,” but this descriptive term is largely unknown to the modern English reader. The translation “Greek-speaking Jews” attempts to convey something of who these were, but it was more than a matter of language spoken; it involved a degree of adoption of Greek culture as well.

[6:1]  ²¹ tn Grk “against the Hebrews,” but as with “Hellenists” this needs further explanation for the modern reader.

[6:1]  ²² sn The care of widows is a major biblical theme: Deut 10:18; 16:11, 14; 24:17, 19-21; 26:12-13; 27:19; Isa 1:17-23; Jer 7:6; Mal 3:5.

[6:1]  ²³ tn Or “neglected.”

[6:1]  ²⁴ tn Grk “in the daily serving.”

[1:19]  ²⁵ tn The noun “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but since God is the one who reconciles the world to himself (cf. 2 Cor 5:19), he is clearly the subject of εὐδόκησεν (eudokhsen).

[1:19]  ²⁶ tn The Greek article τό (to), insofar as it relates to God, may be translated as a possessive pronoun, i.e., “his.” BDAG 404 s.v. εὐδοκέω 1 translates the phrase as “all the fullness willed to dwell in him” thus leaving the referent as impersonal. Insofar as Paul is alluding to the so-called emanations from God this is acceptable. But the fact that “the fullness” dwells in a person (i.e., “in him”) seems to argue for the translation “his fullness” where “his” refers to God.

[1:19]  ²⁷ tn The aorist verb κατοικῆσαι (katoikhsai) could be taken as an ingressive, in which case it refers to the incarnation and may be translated as “begin to dwell, to take up residence.” It is perhaps better, though, to take it as a constative aorist and simply a reference to the fact that the fullness of God dwells in Jesus Christ. This is a permanent dwelling, though, not a temporary one, as the present tense in 2:9 makes clear.

[1:19]  ²⁸ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the Son; see v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:20]  ²⁹ 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.

[1:9]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ 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]  ³² 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.

[3:13]  ³³ tn Grk “works in the gentleness of wisdom.”

[3:15]  ³⁴ tn Grk “This.”

[3:15]  ³⁵ tn Grk “come down”; “descend.”

[3:15]  ³⁶ tn Grk “soulish,” which describes life apart from God, characteristic of earthly human life as opposed to what is spiritual. Cf. 1 Cor 2:14; 15:44-46; Jude 19.

[3:17]  ³⁷ tn Or “willing to yield,” “open to persuasion.”

[3:17]  ³⁸ tn Grk “fruits.” The plural Greek term καρπούς has been translated with the collective singular “fruit.”

[3:17]  ³⁹ tn Or “sincere.”

[3:18]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “the fruit of righteousness,” meaning righteous living as a fruit, as the thing produced.

[3:18]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “is sown.”

[3:18]  ⁴² tn Or “for,” or possibly “by.”