Psalms 19:7-11

19:7 The law of the Lord is perfect

and preserves one’s life. ¹ 

The rules set down by the Lord ²  are reliable ³ 

and impart wisdom to the inexperienced. ⁴ 

19:8 The Lord’s precepts are fair ⁵ 

and make one joyful. ⁶ 

The Lord’s commands ⁷  are pure ⁸ 

and give insight for life. ⁹ 

19:9 The commands to fear the Lord are right ¹⁰ 

and endure forever. ¹¹ 

The judgments given by the Lord are trustworthy

and absolutely just. ¹² 

19:10 They are of greater value ¹³  than gold,

than even a great amount of pure gold;

they bring greater delight ¹⁴  than honey,

than even the sweetest honey from a honeycomb.

19:11 Yes, your servant finds moral guidance there; ¹⁵ 

those who obey them receive a rich reward. ¹⁶ 

Psalms 119:97-104

מ (Mem)

119:97 O how I love your law!

All day long I meditate on it.

119:98 Your commandments ¹⁷  make me wiser than my enemies,

for I am always aware of them.

119:99 I have more insight than all my teachers,

for I meditate on your rules.

119:100 I am more discerning than those older than I,

for I observe your precepts.

119:101 I stay away ¹⁸  from the evil path,

so that I might keep your instructions. ¹⁹ 

119:102 I do not turn aside from your regulations,

for you teach me.

119:103 Your words are sweeter

in my mouth than honey! ²⁰ 

119:104 Your precepts give me discernment.

Therefore I hate all deceitful actions. ²¹ 

Psalms 119:130

119:130 Your instructions are a doorway through which light shines. ²² 

They give ²³  insight to the untrained. ²⁴ 

Micah 2:7

2:7 Does the family ²⁵  of Jacob say, ²⁶ 

‘The Lord’s patience ²⁷  can’t be exhausted –

he would never do such things’? ²⁸ 

To be sure, my commands bring a reward

for those who obey them, ²⁹ 

Acts 20:20

20:20 You know that I did not hold back from proclaiming ³⁰  to you anything that would be helpful, ³¹  and from teaching you publicly ³²  and from house to house,

Acts 20:27

20:27 For I did not hold back from ³³  announcing ³⁴  to you the whole purpose ³⁵  of God.

Acts 20:1

Paul Travels Through Macedonia and Greece

20:1 After the disturbance had ended, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging ³⁶  them and saying farewell, ³⁷  he left to go to Macedonia. ³⁸ 

Colossians 1:7

1:7 You learned the gospel ³⁹  from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave ⁴⁰  – a ⁴¹  faithful minister of Christ on our ⁴²  behalf –

Ephesians 4:11-16

4:11 It was he ⁴³  who gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, ⁴⁴  4:12 to equip ⁴⁵  the saints for the work of ministry, that is, ⁴⁶  to build up the body of Christ, 4:13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God – a mature person, attaining to ⁴⁷  the measure of Christ’s full stature. ⁴⁸  4:14 So ⁴⁹  we are no longer to be children, tossed back and forth by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching by the trickery of people who craftily carry out their deceitful schemes. ⁵⁰  4:15 But practicing the truth in love, ⁵¹  we will in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head. 4:16 From him the whole body grows, fitted and held together ⁵²  through every supporting ligament. ⁵³  As each one does its part, the body grows in love.

[19:7]  ¹ tn Heb “[it] restores life.” Elsewhere the Hiphil of שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) when used with נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “life”) as object, means to “rescue or preserve one’s life” (Job 33:30; Ps 35:17) or to “revive one’s strength” (emotionally or physically; cf. Ruth 4:15; Lam 1:11, 16, 19). Here the point seems to be that the law preserves the life of the one who studies it by making known God’s will. Those who know God’s will know how to please him and can avoid offending him. See v. 11a.

[19:7]  ² tn Traditionally, “the testimony of the Lord.” The noun עֵדוּת (’edut) refers here to the demands of God’s covenant law.

[19:7]  ³ tn God’s covenant contains a clear, reliable witness to his moral character and demands.

[19:7]  ⁴ tn Or “the [morally] naive,” that is, the one who is young and still in the process of learning right from wrong and distinguishing wisdom from folly.

[19:8]  ⁵ tn Or “just.” Perhaps the idea is that they impart a knowledge of what is just and right.

[19:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “[they] make happy [the] heart.” Perhaps the point is that they bring a sense of joyful satisfaction to the one who knows and keeps them, for those who obey God’s law are richly rewarded. See v. 11b.

[19:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “command.” The singular here refers to the law as a whole.

[19:8]  ⁸ tn Because they reflect God’s character, his commands provide a code of moral and ethical purity.

[19:8]  ⁹ tn Heb [they] enlighten [the] eyes.

[19:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the fear of the Lord is clean.” The phrase “fear of the Lord” probably refers here to the law, which teaches one how to demonstrate proper reverence for the Lord. See Ps 111:10 for another possible use of the phrase in this sense.

[19:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[it] stands permanently.”

[19:9]  ¹² sn Trustworthy and absolutely just. The Lord’s commands accurately reflect God’s moral will for his people and are an expression of his just character.

[19:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “more desirable.”

[19:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “are sweeter.” God’s law is “sweet’ in the sense that, when obeyed, it brings a great reward (see v. 11b).

[19:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “moreover your servant is warned by them.”

[19:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “in the keeping of them [there is] a great reward.”

[119:98]  ¹⁷ tn The plural form needs to be revocalized as a singular in order to agree with the preceding singular verb and the singular pronoun in the next line. The Lord’s “command” refers here to the law (see Ps 19:8).

[119:101]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “I hold back my feet.”

[119:101]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “your word.” Many medieval Hebrew mss read the plural.

[119:103]  ²⁰ tn Heb “How smooth they are to my palate, your word, more than honey to my mouth.” A few medieval Hebrew mss, as well as several other ancient witnesses, read the plural “your words,” which can then be understood as the subject of the plural verb “they are smooth.”

[119:104]  ²¹ tn Heb “every false path.”

[119:130]  ²² tn Heb “the doorway of your words gives light.” God’s “words” refer here to the instructions in his law (see vv. 9, 57).

[119:130]  ²³ tn Heb “it [i.e., the doorway] gives.”

[119:130]  ²⁴ tn Or “the [morally] naive,” that is, the one who is young and still in the process of learning right from wrong and distinguishing wisdom from folly. See Pss 19:7; 116:6.

[2:7]  ²⁵ tn Heb “house” (so many English versions); CEV “descendants.’

[2:7]  ²⁶ tc The MT has אָמוּר (’amur), an otherwise unattested passive participle, which is better emended to אָמוֹר (’amor), an infinitive absolute functioning as a finite verb (see BDB 55 s.v. אָמַר).

[2:7]  ²⁷ tn The Hebrew word רוּחַ (ruach) often means “Spirit” when used of the Lord, but here it seems to have an abstract sense, “patience.” See BDB 925 s.v. 3.d.

[2:7]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Has the patience of the Lord run short? Or are these his deeds?” The rhetorical questions expect the answer, “No, of course not.” The people contest the prophet’s claims that the Lord’s judgment is falling on the nation.

[2:7]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Do not my words accomplish good for the one who walks uprightly?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course they do!” The Lord begins his response to the claim of the house of Jacob that they are immune to judgment (see v. 7a). He points out that the godly are indeed rewarded, but then he goes on to show that those in the house of Jacob are not godly and can expect divine judgment, not blessing (vv. 8-11). Some emend “my words” to “his words.” In this case, v. 7b is a continuation of the immediately preceding quotation. The people, thinking they are godly, confidently ask, “Do not his [God’s] words accomplish good for the one who walks uprightly?”

[20:20]  ³⁰ tn Or “declaring.”

[20:20]  ³¹ tn Or “profitable.” BDAG 960 s.v. συμφέρω 2.b.α has “τὰ συμφέροντα what advances your best interests or what is good for you Ac 20:20,” but the broader meaning (s.v. 2, “to be advantageous, help, confer a benefit, be profitable/useful”) is equally possible in this context.

[20:20]  ³² tn Or “openly.”

[20:27]  ³³ tn Or “did not avoid.” BDAG 1041 s.v. ὑποστέλλω 2.b has “shrink from, avoid implying fear…οὐ γὰρ ὑπεστειλάμην τοῦ μὴ ἀναγγεῖλαι I did not shrink from proclaiming Ac 20:27”; L&N 13.160 has “to hold oneself back from doing something, with the implication of some fearful concern – ‘to hold back from, to shrink from, to avoid’…‘for I have not held back from announcing to you the whole purpose of God’ Ac 20:27.”

[20:27]  ³⁴ tn Or “proclaiming,” “declaring.”

[20:27]  ³⁵ tn Or “plan.”

[20:1]  ³⁶ tn Or “exhorting.”

[20:1]  ³⁷ tn Or “and taking leave of them.”

[20:1]  ³⁸ sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.

[1:7]  ³⁹ tn Or “learned it.” The Greek text simply has “you learned” without the reference to “the gospel,” but “the gospel” is supplied to clarify the sense of the clause. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[1:7]  ⁴⁰ tn The Greek word translated “fellow slave” is σύνδουλος (sundoulo"); the σύν- prefix here denotes association. Though δοῦλος is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:7]  ⁴¹ tn The Greek text has “who (ὅς, Jos) is a faithful minister.” The above translation conveys the antecedent of the relative pronoun quite well and avoids the redundancy with the following substantival participle of v. 8, namely, “who told” (ὁ δηλώσας, Jo dhlwsa").

[1:7]  ⁴² tc ‡ Judging by the superior witnesses for the first person pronoun ἡμῶν (Jhmwn, “us”; Ì⁴⁶ א* A B D* F G 326* 1505 al) vs. the second person pronoun ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “you”; found in א² C D¹ Ψ 075 33 1739 1881 Ï lat sy co), ἡμῶν should be regarded as original. Although it is possible that ἡμῶν was an early alteration of ὑμῶν (either unintentionally, as dittography, since it comes seventeen letters after the previous ἡμῶν; or intentionally, to conform to the surrounding first person pronouns), this supposition is difficult to maintain in light of the varied and valuable witnesses for this reading. Further, the second person is both embedded in the verb ἐμάθετε (emaqete) and is explicit in v. 8 (ὑμῶν). Hence, the motivation to change to the first person pronoun is counterbalanced by such evidence. The second person pronoun may have been introduced unintentionally via homoioarcton with the ὑπέρ (Juper) that immediately precedes it. As well, the second person reading is somewhat harder for it seems to address Epaphras’ role only in relation to Paul and his colleagues, rather than in relation to the Colossians. Nevertheless, the decision must be based ultimately on external evidence (because the internal evidence can be variously interpreted), and this strongly supports ἡμῶν.

[4:11]  ⁴³ tn The emphasis on Christ is continued through the use of the intensive pronoun, αὐτός (autos), and is rendered in English as “it was he” as this seems to lay emphasis on the “he.”

[4:11]  ⁴⁴ sn Some interpreters have understood the phrase pastors and teachers to refer to one and the same group. This would mean that all pastors are teachers and that all teachers are pastors. This position is often taken because it is recognized that both nouns (i.e., pastors and teachers) are governed by one article in Greek. But because the nouns are plural, it is extremely unlikely that they refer to the same group, but only that the author is linking them closely together. It is better to regard the pastors as a subset of teachers. In other words, all pastors are teachers, but not all teachers are pastors. See ExSyn 284.

[4:12]  ⁴⁵ tn On the translation of πρὸς τὸν καταρτισμὸν τῶν ἁγίων (pro" ton katartismon twn Jagiwn) as “to equip the saints” see BDAG 526 s.v. καταρτισμός. In this case the genitive is taken as objective and the direct object of the verbal idea implied in καταρτισμός (katartismo").

[4:12]  ⁴⁶ tn The εἰς (eis) clause is taken as epexegetical to the previous εἰς clause, namely, εἰς ἔργον διακονίας (ei" ergon diakonia").

[4:13]  ⁴⁷ tn The words “attaining to” were supplied in the translation to pick up the καταντήσωμεν (katanthswmen) mentioned earlier in the sentence and the εἰς (eis) which heads up this clause.

[4:13]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” On this translation of ἡλικία (Jhlikia, “stature”) see BDAG 436 s.v. 3.

[4:14]  ⁴⁹ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[4:14]  ⁵⁰ tn While the sense of the passage is clear enough, translation in English is somewhat difficult. The Greek says: “by the trickery of men, by craftiness with the scheme of deceit.” The point is that the author is concerned about Christians growing into maturity. He is fearful that certain kinds of very cunning people, who are skilled at deceitful scheming, should come in and teach false doctrines which would in turn stunt the growth of the believers.

[4:15]  ⁵¹ tn The meaning of the participle ἀληθεύοντες (alhqeuonte"; from the verb ἀληθεύω [alhqeuw]) is debated. In classical times the verb could mean “to speak the truth,” or “to be true, to prove true.” In the LXX it appears five times (Gen 20:16; 42:16; Prov 21:3; Isa 44:26; Sir 34:4) and translates four different Hebrew words; there it is an ethical term used of proving or being true, not with the idea of speaking the truth. In the NT the only other place the verb appears is in Gal 4:16 where it means “to speak the truth.” However, in Ephesians the concept of “being truthful” is the best sense of the word. In contrast to the preceding verse, where there are three prepositional phrases to denote falsehood and deceit, the present word speaks of being real or truthful in both conduct and speech. Their deceit was not only in their words but also in their conduct. In other words, the believers’ conduct should be transparent, revealing the real state of affairs, as opposed to hiding or suppressing the truth through cunning and deceit. See H. W. Hoehner, Ephesians, 564-65, and R. Bultmann, TDNT 1:251.

[4:16]  ⁵² tn The Greek participle συμβιβαζόμενον (sumbibazomenon) translated “held together” also has in different contexts, the idea of teaching implied in it.

[4:16]  ⁵³ tn Grk “joint of supply.”