Proverbs 24:10

24:10 If you faint ¹  in the day of trouble, ² 

your strength is small! ³ 

Acts 5:41

5:41 So they left the council rejoicing because they had been considered worthy ⁴  to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name. ⁵ 

Romans 2:7

2:7 eternal life to those who by perseverance in good works seek glory and honor and immortality,

Romans 5:3-5

5:3 Not ⁶  only this, but we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 5:4 and endurance, character, and character, hope. 5:5 And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God ⁷  has been poured out ⁸  in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Romans 5:2

5:2 through whom we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice ⁹  in the hope of God’s glory.

Colossians 1:4-6

1:4 since ¹⁰  we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints. 1:5 Your faith and love have arisen ¹¹  from the hope laid up ¹²  for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel ¹³  1:6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel ¹⁴  is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing ¹⁵  among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.

Colossians 1:9-10

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, 1:10 so that you may live ¹⁹  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ²⁰  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

Ephesians 4:2

4:2 with all humility and gentleness, ²¹  with patience, bearing with ²²  one another in love,

Ephesians 4:1

Live in Unity

4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, ²³  urge you to live ²⁴  worthily of the calling with which you have been called, ²⁵ 

Ephesians 3:3-4

3:3 that ²⁶  by revelation the divine secret ²⁷  was made known to me, as I wrote before briefly. ²⁸  3:4 When reading this, ²⁹  you will be able to ³⁰  understand my insight into this secret ³¹  of Christ.

Ephesians 3:2

3:2 if indeed ³²  you have heard of the stewardship ³³  of God’s grace that was given to me for you,

Ephesians 2:1-3

New Life Individually

2:1 And although you were ³⁴  dead ³⁵  in your transgressions and sins, 2:2 in which ³⁶  you formerly lived ³⁷  according to this world’s present path, ³⁸  according to the ruler of the kingdom ³⁹  of the air, the ruler of ⁴⁰  the spirit ⁴¹  that is now energizing ⁴²  the sons of disobedience, ⁴³  2:3 among whom ⁴⁴  all of us ⁴⁵  also ⁴⁶  formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath ⁴⁷  even as the rest… ⁴⁸ 

Hebrews 10:34-38

10:34 For in fact you shared the sufferings of those in prison, ⁴⁹  and you accepted the confiscation of your belongings with joy, because you knew that you certainly ⁵⁰  had a better and lasting possession. 10:35 So do not throw away your confidence, because it ⁵¹  has great reward. 10:36 For you need endurance in order to do God’s will and so receive what is promised. ⁵²  10:37 For just a little longer ⁵³  and he who is coming will arrive and not delay. ⁵⁴  10:38 But my righteous one will live by faith, and if he shrinks back, I ⁵⁵  take no pleasure in him. ⁵⁶ 

Hebrews 11:34-38

11:34 quenched raging fire, ⁵⁷  escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness, ⁵⁸  became mighty in battle, put foreign armies to flight, 11:35 and women received back their dead raised to life. ⁵⁹  But others were tortured, not accepting release, to obtain resurrection to a better life. ⁶⁰  11:36 And others experienced mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 11:37 They were stoned, sawed apart, ⁶¹  murdered with the sword; they went about in sheepskins and goatskins; they were destitute, afflicted, ill-treated 11:38 (the world was not worthy of them); they wandered in deserts and mountains and caves and openings in the earth.

Hebrews 12:1-2

The Lord’s Discipline

12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, ⁶²  we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us, 12:2 keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. ⁶³ 

James 1:2-4

Joy in Trials

1:2 My brothers and sisters, ⁶⁴  consider it nothing but joy ⁶⁵  when you fall into all sorts of trials, 1:3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 1:4 And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything.

James 5:7-8

Patience in Suffering

5:7 So be patient, brothers and sisters, ⁶⁶  until the Lord’s return. ⁶⁷  Think of how the farmer waits ⁶⁸  for the precious fruit of the ground and is patient ⁶⁹  for it until it receives the early and late rains. 5:8 You also be patient and strengthen your hearts, for the Lord’s return is near.

James 5:2

5:2 Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth-eaten.

James 1:6

1:6 But he must ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed around by the wind.

Revelation 14:12

14:12 This requires ⁷⁰  the steadfast endurance ⁷¹  of the saints – those who obey ⁷²  God’s commandments and hold to ⁷³  their faith in Jesus. ⁷⁴ 

[24:10]  ¹ tn Heb “show yourself slack” (NASB similar). The verb רָפָה (rafah) means “to sink; to relax.” In the causative stems it means “to let slacken; to let go; to refrain; to fail; to do nothing.” In the Hitpael stem BDB 952 s.v. defines it as “to show yourself slack.” It has also been rendered as “give up” (NCV, CEV); “fail” (NLT); “falter” (NIV). The colon implies a condition, for which the second part of the verse is the apodosis.

[24:10]  ² tn The verse employs a paronomasia to underscore the point: “trouble” is צָרָה (tsarah), literally “a bind; a strait [or, narrow] place”; “small” is צַר (tsar), with the same idea of “narrow” or “close.”

[24:10]  ³ sn The test of strength is adversity, for it reveals how strong a person is. Of course a weak person can always plead adverse conditions in order to quit. This is the twenty-fourth saying.

[5:41]  ⁴ sn That is, considered worthy by God. They “gloried in their shame” of honoring Jesus with their testimony (Luke 6:22-23; 2 Macc 6:30).

[5:41]  ⁵ sn The name refers to the name of Jesus (cf. 3 John 7).

[5:3]  ⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[5:5]  ⁷ tn The phrase ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ (Jh agaph tou qeou, “the love of God”) could be interpreted as either an objective genitive (“our love for God”), subjective genitive (“God’s love for us”), or both (M. Zerwick’s “general” genitive [Biblical Greek, §§36-39]; D. B. Wallace’s “plenary” genitive [ExSyn 119-21]). The immediate context, which discusses what God has done for believers, favors a subjective genitive, but the fact that this love is poured out within the hearts of believers implies that it may be the source for believers’ love for God; consequently an objective genitive cannot be ruled out. It is possible that both these ideas are meant in the text and that this is a plenary genitive: “The love that comes from God and that produces our love for God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (ExSyn 121).

[5:5]  ⁸ sn On the OT background of the Spirit being poured out, see Isa 32:15; Joel 2:28-29.

[5:2]  ⁹ tn Or “exult, boast.”

[1:4]  ¹⁰ tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).

[1:5]  ¹¹ tn Col 1:3-8 form one long sentence in the Greek text and have been divided at the end of v. 4 and v. 6 and within v. 6 for clarity, in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English toward shorter sentences. Thus the phrase “Your faith and love have arisen from the hope” is literally “because of the hope.” The perfect tense “have arisen” was chosen in the English to reflect the fact that the recipients of the letter had acquired this hope at conversion in the past, but that it still remains and motivates them to trust in Christ and to love one another.

[1:5]  ¹² tn BDAG 113 s.v. ἀπόκειμαι 2 renders ἀποκειμένην (apokeimenhn) with the expression “reserved” in this verse.

[1:5]  ¹³ tn The term “the gospel” (τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, tou euangeliou) is in apposition to “the word of truth” (τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας, tw logw th" alhqeia") as indicated in the translation.

[1:6]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “just as in the entire world it is bearing fruit.” The antecedent (“the gospel”) of the implied subject (“it”) of ἐστιν (estin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:6]  ¹⁵ tn Though the participles are periphrastic with the present tense verb ἐστίν (estin), the presence of the temporal indicator “from the day” in the next clause indicates that this is a present tense that reaches into the past and should be translated as “has been bearing fruit and growing.” For a discussion of this use of the present tense, see ExSyn 519-20.

[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.

[1:10]  ¹⁹ tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”

[1:10]  ²⁰ tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”

[4:2]  ²¹ tn Or “meekness.” The word is often used in Hellenistic Greek of the merciful execution of justice on behalf of those who have no voice by those who are in a position of authority (Matt 11:29; 21:5).

[4:2]  ²² tn Or “putting up with”; or “forbearing.”

[4:1]  ²³ tn Grk “prisoner in the Lord.”

[4:1]  ²⁴ tn Grk “walk.” The verb “walk” in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.

[4:1]  ²⁵ sn With which you have been called. The calling refers to the Holy Spirit’s prompting that caused them to believe. The author is thus urging his readers to live a life that conforms to their saved status before God.

[3:3]  ²⁶ tn Or “namely, that is.”

[3:3]  ²⁷ tn Or “mystery.”

[3:3]  ²⁸ tn Or “as I wrote above briefly.”

[3:4]  ²⁹ tn Grk “which, when reading.”

[3:4]  ³⁰ tn Grk “you are able to.”

[3:4]  ³¹ tn Or “mystery.”

[3:2]  ³² sn If indeed. The author is not doubting whether his audience has heard, but is rather using provocative language (if indeed) to engage his audience in thinking about the magnificence of God’s grace. However, in English translation, the apodosis (“then”-clause) does not come until v. 13, leaving the protasis (“if”-clause) dangling. Eph 3:2-7 constitute one sentence in Greek.

[3:2]  ³³ tn Or “administration,” “dispensation,” “commission.”

[2:1]  ³⁴ tn The adverbial participle “being” (ὄντας, ontas) is taken concessively.

[2:1]  ³⁵ sn Chapter 2 starts off with a participle, although you were dead, that is left dangling. The syntax in Greek for vv. 1-3 constitutes one incomplete sentence, though it seems to have been done intentionally. The dangling participle leaves the readers in suspense while they wait for the solution (in v. 4) to their spiritual dilemma.

[2:2]  ³⁶ sn The relative pronoun which is feminine as is sins, indicating that sins is the antecedent.

[2:2]  ³⁷ tn Grk “walked.”

[2:2]  ³⁸ tn Or possibly “Aeon.”

[2:2]  ³⁹ tn Grk “domain, [place of] authority.”

[2:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “of” (but see the note on the word “spirit” later in this verse).

[2:2]  ⁴¹ sn The ruler of the kingdom of the air is also the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of disobedience. Although several translations regard the ruler to be the same as the spirit, this is unlikely since the cases in Greek are different (ruler is accusative and spirit is genitive). To get around this, some have suggested that the genitive for spirit is a genitive of apposition. However, the semantics of the genitive of apposition are against such an interpretation (cf. ExSyn 100).

[2:2]  ⁴² tn Grk “working in.”

[2:2]  ⁴³ sn Sons of disobedience is a Semitic idiom that means “people characterized by disobedience.” However, it also contains a subtle allusion to vv. 4-10: Some of those sons of disobedience have become sons of God.

[2:3]  ⁴⁴ sn Among whom. The relative pronoun phrase that begins v. 3 is identical, except for gender, to the one that begins v. 2 (ἐν αἵς [en Jais], ἐν οἵς [en Jois]). By the structure, the author is building an argument for our hopeless condition: We lived in sin and we lived among sinful people. Our doom looked to be sealed as well in v. 2: Both the external environment (kingdom of the air) and our internal motivation and attitude (the spirit that is now energizing) were under the devil’s thumb (cf. 2 Cor 4:4).

[2:3]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “we all.”

[2:3]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “even.”

[2:3]  ⁴⁷ sn Children of wrath is a Semitic idiom which may mean either “people characterized by wrath” or “people destined for wrath.”

[2:3]  ⁴⁸ sn Eph 2:1-3. The translation of vv. 1-3 is very literal, even to the point of retaining the awkward syntax of the original. See note on the word dead in 2:1.

[10:34]  ⁴⁹ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א D² 1881 Ï), read δεσμοῖς μου (desmoi" mou, “my imprisonment”) here, a reading that is probably due to the widespread belief in the early Christian centuries that Paul was the author of Hebrews (cf. Phil 1:7; Col 4:18). It may have been generated by the reading δεσμοῖς without the μου (so Ì⁴⁶ Ψ 104 pc), the force of which is so ambiguous (lit., “you shared the sufferings with the bonds”) as to be virtually nonsensical. Most likely, δεσμοῖς resulted when a scribe made an error in copying δεσμίοις (desmioi"), a reading which makes excellent sense (“[of] those in prison”) and is strongly supported by early and significant witnesses of the Alexandrian and Western texttypes (A D* H 6 33 81 1739 lat sy co). Thus, δεσμίοις best explains the rise of the other readings on both internal and external grounds and is strongly preferred.

[10:34]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “you yourselves.”

[10:35]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “which,” but showing the reason.

[10:36]  ⁵² tn Grk “the promise,” referring to the thing God promised, not to the pledge itself.

[10:37]  ⁵³ sn A quotation from Isa 26:20.

[10:37]  ⁵⁴ sn A quotation from Hab 2:3.

[10:38]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “my soul.”

[10:38]  ⁵⁶ sn A quotation from Hab 2:4.

[11:34]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “quenched the power of fire.”

[11:34]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “recovered from sickness.”

[11:35]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “received back their dead from resurrection.”

[11:35]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “to obtain a better resurrection.”

[11:37]  ⁶¹ tc The reading ἐπρίσθησαν (ejprisqhsan, “they were sawed apart”) is found in some important witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ [D* twice reads ἐπίρσθησαν, “they were burned”?] pc sy^p sa Or^pt Eus). Other mss have ἐπειράσθησαν (ejpeirasqhsan, “they were tempted”), either before “sawed apart” ([א] L P [048] 33 81 326 1505 pc sy^h), after “sawed apart” (Ì^13vid A D¹ Ψ 1739 1881 Ï lat bo Or^pt), or altogether in place of “sawed apart” (0150 vg^mss Cl). Since the two words ἐπρίσθησαν and ἐπειράσθησαν are so much alike in sight and sound, and since the position of “they were tempted” varies in the mss, it seems best to say that ἐπειράσθησαν is an accidental corruption of ἐπρίσθησαν or an intentional change to a more common word (the root of ἐπρίσθησαν [πρίζω, prizw] occurs only here in the NT, while the root of ἐπειράσθησαν [πειράζω, peirazw] occurs 38 times). The best reading here seems to be “sawed apart” without any addition before or after. (See TCGNT 603-4, for a discussion of emendations that scholars have proposed for this difficult problem.)

[12:1]  ⁶² tn Grk “having such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us.”

[12:2]  ⁶³ sn An allusion to Ps 110:1.

[1:2]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). Where the plural term is used in direct address, as here, “brothers and sisters” is used; where the term is singular and not direct address (as in v. 9), “believer” is preferred.

[1:2]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “all joy,” “full joy,” or “greatest joy.”

[5:7]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “brothers”; this phrase occurs again three times in the paragraph. See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[5:7]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “advent”; or “coming” (also in v. 8).

[5:7]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “Behold! The farmer waits.”

[5:7]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “being patient.”

[14:12]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “Here is.”

[14:12]  ⁷¹ tn Or “the perseverance.”

[14:12]  ⁷² tn Grk “who keep.”

[14:12]  ⁷³ tn The words “hold to” are implied as a repetition of the participle translated “keep” (οἱ τηροῦντες, Joi throunte").

[14:12]  ⁷⁴ tn Grk “faith of Jesus.” The construction may mean either “faith in Jesus” or “faithful to Jesus.” Either translation implies that ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou) is to be taken as an objective genitive; the difference is more lexical than grammatical because πίστις (pistis) can mean either “faith” or “faithfulness.”