Proverbs 27:1

27:1 Do not boast ¹  about tomorrow; ² 

for you do not know ³  what a day may bring forth.

Leviticus 19:13

19:13 You must not oppress your neighbor or commit robbery against him. ⁴  You must not withhold ⁵  the wages of the hired laborer overnight until morning.

Deuteronomy 24:12-15

24:12 If the person is poor you may not use what he gives you as security for a covering. ⁶  24:13 You must by all means ⁷  return to him at sunset the item he gave you as security so that he may sleep in his outer garment and bless you for it; it will be considered a just ⁸  deed by the Lord your God.

24:14 You must not oppress a lowly and poor servant, whether one from among your fellow Israelites ⁹  or from the resident foreigners who are living in your land and villages. ¹⁰  24:15 You must pay his wage that very day before the sun sets, for he is poor and his life depends on it. Otherwise he will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.

Ecclesiastes 9:10

9:10 Whatever you find to do with your hands, ¹¹ 

do it with all your might,

because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, ¹² 

the place where you will eventually go. ¹³ 

Ecclesiastes 11:6

11:6 Sow your seed in the morning,

and do not stop working ¹⁴  until the evening; ¹⁵ 

for you do not know which activity ¹⁶  will succeed ¹⁷  –

whether this one or that one, or whether both will prosper equally. ¹⁸ 

Ecclesiastes 11:2

11:2 Divide your merchandise ¹⁹  among seven or even eight ²⁰  investments, ²¹ 

for you do not know ²²  what calamity ²³  may happen on earth.

Colossians 1:11

1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of ²⁴  all patience and steadfastness, joyfully

Colossians 1:3

Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Church

1:3 We always ²⁵  give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ²⁶  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:18

1:18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn ²⁷  from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. ²⁸ 

[27:1]  ¹ tn The form אַל־תִּתְהַלֵּל (’al-tithallel) is the Hitpael jussive negated; it is from the common verb “to praise,” and so in this setting means “to praise oneself” or “to boast.”

[27:1]  ² sn The word “tomorrow” is a metonymy of subject, meaning what will be done tomorrow, or in the future in general.

[27:1]  ³ sn The expression “you do not know” balances the presumption of the first line, reminding the disciple of his ignorance and therefore his need for humility (e.g., Matt 6:34; Luke 12:20; Jas 4:13-16).

[19:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “You shall not oppress your neighbor and you shall not rob.”

[19:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “hold back with you”; perhaps “hold back for yourself” (cf. NRSV “keep for yourself”).

[24:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “may not lie down in his pledge.” What is in view is the use of clothing as guarantee for the repayment of loans, a matter already addressed elsewhere (Deut 23:19-20; 24:6; cf. Exod 22:25-26; Lev 25:35-37). Cf. NAB “you shall not sleep in the mantle he gives as a pledge”; NRSV “in the garment given you as the pledge.”

[24:13]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation seeks to reflect with “by all means.”

[24:13]  ⁸ tn Or “righteous” (so NIV, NLT).

[24:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “your brothers,” but not limited only to actual siblings; cf. NASB “your (+ own NAB) countrymen.”

[24:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “who are in your land in your gates.” The word “living” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[9:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Whatever your hand finds to do.”

[9:10]  ¹² tn Heb “Sheol.”

[9:10]  ¹³ tn Or “where you are about to go.”

[11:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “do not let your hand rest.” The Hebrew phrase “do not let your hand rest” is an idiom that means “do not stop working” or “do not be idle” (e.g., Eccl 7:18); cf. BDB 628 s.v. נוּחַ B.1. Several English versions capture the sense of the idiom well: “do not stop working” (NEB); “do not be idle” (MLB); “let not your hand be idle” (NAB); “let not your hands be idle” (NIV); “stay not your hand” (Moffatt). The term “hand” is a synecdoche of part (i.e., do not let your hand rest) for the whole person (i.e., do not allow yourself to stop working).

[11:6]  ¹⁵ tn The terms “morning” (בֹּקֶר, boqer) and “evening” (עֶרֶב, ’erev) form a merism (a figure of speech using two polar extremes to include everything in between) that connotes “from morning until evening.” The point is not that the farmer should plant at two times in the day (morning and evening), but that he should plant all day long (from morning until evening). This merism is reflected in several translations: “in the morning…until evening” (NEB, Moffatt).

[11:6]  ¹⁶ tn The term “activity” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.

[11:6]  ¹⁷ tn The verb כָּשֵׁר (kasher, “to prosper”) is used metonymically to denote “will succeed.” In 11:10, it means “skill in work.”

[11:6]  ¹⁸ tn Or “together.”

[11:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “give a portion.”

[11:2]  ²⁰ tn The phrase “seven or eight” is a graded numerical saying depicting an indefinite plurality: “The collocation of a numeral with the next above it is a rhetorical device employed in numerical sayings to express a number, which need not, or cannot, be more exactly specified. It must be gathered from the context whether such formulae are intended to denote only an insignificant number (e.g., Is 17:6 “two” or at the most “three”) or a considerable number (e.g., Mi 5:4). Sometimes, however, this juxtaposition serves to express merely an indefinite total, without the collateral idea of intensifying the lower by means of the higher number” (GKC 437 §134.s). Examples: “one” or “two” (Deut 32:30; Jer 3:14; Job 33:14; 40:5; Ps 62:12); “two” or “three” (2 Kgs 9:32; Isa 17:6; Hos 6:2; Amos 4:8; Sir 23:16; 26:28; 50:25); “three” or “four” (Jer 36:23; Amos 1:3-11; Prov 21:19; 30:15, 18; Sir 26:5); “four” or “five” (Isa 17:6); “six” or “seven” (Job 5:19; Prov 6:16); “seven” or “eight” (Mic 5:4; Eccl 11:2).

[11:2]  ²¹ tn The word “investments” is not in the Hebrew text; it is added here for clarity. This line is traditionally understood as an exhortation to be generous to a multitude of people (KJV, NAB, ASV, NASB, RSV, NRSV, NIV, NJPS); however, it is better taken as shrewd advice to not commit all one’s possessions to a single venture (A. Cohen, The Five Megilloth [SoBB], 181). D. R. Glenn (“Ecclesiastes,” BKCOT, 1003) writes: “In view of the possibility of disaster, a person should make prudent investments in numerous ventures rather than put all his ‘eggs in one basket’ (e.g., Gen 32:7-8 for a practical example of this advice).” Several translations reflect this: “Divide your merchandise among seven ventures, eight maybe” (NEB); “Take shares in several ventures” (Moffatt).

[11:2]  ²² sn The phrase you do not know is repeated throughout this section (11:2, 5-6). Human beings are ignorant of the future. This should motivate a person to invest their financial resources wisely (11:1-3) and to work diligently (11:4-6).

[11:2]  ²³ tn The term רעה (lit. “evil”) refers to calamity (e.g., Eccl 5:13; 7:14; 9:12).

[1:11]  ²⁴ tn The expression “for the display of” is an attempt to convey in English the force of the Greek preposition εἰς (eis) in this context.

[1:3]  ²⁵ tn The adverb πάντοτε (pantote) is understood to modify the indicative εὐχαριστοῦμεν (eucaristoumen) because it precedes περὶ ὑμῶν (peri Jumwn) which probably modifies the indicative and not the participle προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi). But see 1:9 where the same expression occurs and περὶ ὑμῶν modifies the participle “praying” (προσευχόμενοι).

[1:1]  ²⁶ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:18]  ²⁷ tn See the note on the term “firstborn” in 1:15. Here the reference to Jesus as the “firstborn from among the dead” seems to be arguing for a chronological priority, i.e., Jesus was the first to rise from the dead.

[1:18]  ²⁸ tn Grk “in order that he may become in all things, himself, first.”