Psalms 6:1-9

Psalm 6 ¹ 

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments, according to the sheminith style; ²  a psalm of David.

6:1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger!

Do not discipline me in your raging fury! ³ 

6:2 Have mercy on me, ⁴  Lord, for I am frail!

Heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking! ⁵ 

6:3 I am absolutely terrified, ⁶ 

and you, Lord – how long will this continue? ⁷ 

6:4 Relent, Lord, rescue me! ⁸ 

Deliver me because of your faithfulness! ⁹ 

6:5 For no one remembers you in the realm of death, ¹⁰ 

In Sheol who gives you thanks? ¹¹ 

6:6 I am exhausted as I groan;

all night long I drench my bed in tears; ¹² 

my tears saturate the cushion beneath me. ¹³ 

6:7 My eyes ¹⁴  grow dim ¹⁵  from suffering;

they grow weak ¹⁶  because of all my enemies. ¹⁷ 

6:8 Turn back from me, all you who behave wickedly, ¹⁸ 

for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping! ¹⁹ 

6:9 The Lord has heard my appeal for mercy;

the Lord has accepted ²⁰  my prayer.

Psalms 13:1-5

Psalm 13 ²¹ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

13:1 How long, Lord, will you continue to ignore me? ²² 

How long will you pay no attention to me? ²³ 

13:2 How long must I worry, ²⁴ 

and suffer in broad daylight? ²⁵ 

How long will my enemy gloat over me? ²⁶ 

13:3 Look at me! ²⁷  Answer me, O Lord my God!

Revive me, ²⁸  or else I will die! ²⁹ 

13:4 Then ³⁰  my enemy will say, “I have defeated him!”

Then ³¹  my foes will rejoice because I am upended.

13:5 But I ³²  trust in your faithfulness.

May I rejoice because of your deliverance! ³³ 

Psalms 30:7-11

30:7 O Lord, in your good favor you made me secure. ³⁴ 

Then you rejected me ³⁵  and I was terrified.

30:8 To you, O Lord, I cried out;

I begged the Lord for mercy: ³⁶ 

30:9 “What ³⁷  profit is there in taking my life, ³⁸ 

in my descending into the Pit? ³⁹ 

Can the dust of the grave ⁴⁰  praise you?

Can it declare your loyalty? ⁴¹ 

30:10 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me!

O Lord, deliver me!” ⁴² 

30:11 Then you turned my lament into dancing;

you removed my sackcloth and covered me with joy. ⁴³ 

Psalms 32:3-7

32:3 When I refused to confess my sin, ⁴⁴ 

my whole body wasted away, ⁴⁵ 

while I groaned in pain all day long.

32:4 For day and night you tormented me; ⁴⁶ 

you tried to destroy me ⁴⁷  in the intense heat ⁴⁸  of summer. ⁴⁹  (Selah)

32:5 Then I confessed my sin;

I no longer covered up my wrongdoing.

I said, “I will confess ⁵⁰  my rebellious acts to the Lord.”

And then you forgave my sins. ⁵¹  (Selah)

32:6 For this reason every one of your faithful followers ⁵²  should pray to you

while there is a window of opportunity. ⁵³ 

Certainly ⁵⁴  when the surging water ⁵⁵  rises,

it will not reach them. ⁵⁶ 

32:7 You are my hiding place;

you protect me from distress.

You surround me with shouts of joy from those celebrating deliverance. ⁵⁷  (Selah)

Psalms 40:1-3

Psalm 40 ⁵⁸ 

For the music director; By David, a psalm.

40:1 I relied completely ⁵⁹  on the Lord,

and he turned toward me

and heard my cry for help.

40:2 He lifted me out of the watery pit, ⁶⁰ 

out of the slimy mud. ⁶¹ 

He placed my feet on a rock

and gave me secure footing. ⁶² 

40:3 He gave me reason to sing a new song, ⁶³ 

praising our God. ⁶⁴ 

May many see what God has done,

so that they might swear allegiance to him and trust in the Lord! ⁶⁵ 

Psalms 69:29-30

69:29 I am oppressed and suffering!

O God, deliver and protect me! ⁶⁶ 

69:30 I will sing praises to God’s name! ⁶⁷ 

I will magnify him as I give him thanks! ⁶⁸ 

Psalms 116:3-7

116:3 The ropes of death tightened around me, ⁶⁹ 

the snares ⁷⁰  of Sheol confronted me.

I was confronted ⁷¹  with trouble and sorrow.

116:4 I called on the name of the Lord,

“Please Lord, rescue my life!”

116:5 The Lord is merciful and fair;

our God is compassionate.

116:6 The Lord protects ⁷²  the untrained; ⁷³ 

I was in serious trouble ⁷⁴  and he delivered me.

116:7 Rest once more, my soul, ⁷⁵ 

for the Lord has vindicated you. ⁷⁶ 

Psalms 126:5-6

126:5 Those who shed tears as they plant

will shout for joy when they reap the harvest. ⁷⁷ 

126:6 The one who weeps as he walks along, carrying his bag ⁷⁸  of seed,

will certainly come in with a shout of joy, carrying his sheaves of grain. ⁷⁹ 

Isaiah 12:1

12:1 At that time ⁸⁰  you will say:

“I praise you, O Lord,

for even though you were angry with me,

your anger subsided, and you consoled me.

Isaiah 25:8

25:8 he will swallow up death permanently. ⁸¹ 

The sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from every face,

and remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth.

Indeed, the Lord has announced it! ⁸² 

Isaiah 30:19

30:19 For people will live in Zion;

in Jerusalem ⁸³  you will weep no more. ⁸⁴ 

When he hears your cry of despair, he will indeed show you mercy;

when he hears it, he will respond to you. ⁸⁵ 

Isaiah 35:10

35:10 those whom the Lord has ransomed will return that way. ⁸⁶ 

They will enter Zion with a happy shout.

Unending joy will crown them, ⁸⁷ 

happiness and joy will overwhelm ⁸⁸  them;

grief and suffering will disappear. ⁸⁹ 

Isaiah 38:14-19

38:14 Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp,

I coo ⁹⁰  like a dove;

my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky. ⁹¹ 

O sovereign master, ⁹²  I am oppressed;

help me! ⁹³ 

38:15 What can I say?

He has decreed and acted. ⁹⁴ 

I will walk slowly all my years because I am overcome with grief. ⁹⁵ 

38:16 O sovereign master, your decrees can give men life;

may years of life be restored to me. ⁹⁶ 

Restore my health ⁹⁷  and preserve my life.’

38:17 “Look, the grief I experienced was for my benefit. ⁹⁸ 

You delivered me ⁹⁹  from the pit of oblivion. ¹⁰⁰ 

For you removed all my sins from your sight. ¹⁰¹ 

38:18 Indeed ¹⁰²  Sheol does not give you thanks;

death does not ¹⁰³  praise you.

Those who descend into the pit do not anticipate your faithfulness.

38:19 The living person, the living person, he gives you thanks,

as I do today.

A father tells his sons about your faithfulness.

Isaiah 51:11-12

51:11 Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return;

they will enter Zion with a happy shout.

Unending joy will crown them, ¹⁰⁴ 

happiness and joy will overwhelm ¹⁰⁵  them;

grief and suffering will disappear. ¹⁰⁶ 

51:12 “I, I am the one who consoles you. ¹⁰⁷ 

Why are you afraid of mortal men,

of mere human beings who are as short-lived as grass? ¹⁰⁸ 

Isaiah 57:18

57:18 I have seen their behavior, ¹⁰⁹ 

but I will heal them and give them rest,

and I will once again console those who mourn. ¹¹⁰ 

Isaiah 61:2-3

61:2 to announce the year when the Lord will show his favor,

the day when our God will seek vengeance, ¹¹¹ 

to console all who mourn,

61:3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion,

by giving them a turban, instead of ashes,

oil symbolizing joy, ¹¹²  instead of mourning,

a garment symbolizing praise, ¹¹³  instead of discouragement. ¹¹⁴ 

They will be called oaks of righteousness, ¹¹⁵ 

trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor. ¹¹⁶ 

Isaiah 66:10

66:10 Be happy for Jerusalem

and rejoice with her, all you who love her!

Share in her great joy,

all you who have mourned over her!

Jeremiah 31:9-12

31:9 They will come back shedding tears of contrition.

I will bring them back praying prayers of repentance. ¹¹⁷ 

I will lead them besides streams of water,

along smooth paths where they will never stumble. ¹¹⁸ 

I will do this because I am Israel’s father;

Ephraim ¹¹⁹  is my firstborn son.’”

31:10 Hear what the Lord has to say, O nations.

Proclaim it in the faraway lands along the sea.

Say, “The one who scattered Israel will regather them.

He will watch over his people like a shepherd watches over his flock.”

31:11 For the Lord will rescue the descendants of Jacob.

He will secure their release ¹²⁰  from those who had overpowered them. ¹²¹ 

31:12 They will come and shout for joy on Mount Zion.

They will be radiant with joy ¹²²  over the good things the Lord provides,

the grain, the fresh wine, the olive oil,

the young sheep and calves he has given to them.

They will be like a well-watered garden

and will not grow faint or weary any more.

Jeremiah 31:16-17

31:16 The Lord says to her, ¹²³ 

“Stop crying! Do not shed any more tears! ¹²⁴ 

For your heartfelt repentance ¹²⁵  will be rewarded.

Your children will return from the land of the enemy.

I, the Lord, affirm it! ¹²⁶ 

31:17 Indeed, there is hope for your posterity. ¹²⁷ 

Your children will return to their own territory.

I, the Lord, affirm it! ¹²⁸ 

Ezekiel 7:16

7:16 Their survivors will escape to the mountains and become like doves of the valleys; all of them will moan – each one for his iniquity.

Ezekiel 9:4

9:4 The Lord said to him, “Go through the city of Jerusalem ¹²⁹  and put a mark ¹³⁰  on the foreheads of the people who moan and groan over all the abominations practiced in it.”

Zechariah 12:10--13:1

12:10 “I will pour out on the kingship ¹³¹  of David and the population of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication so that they will look to me, ¹³²  the one they have pierced. They will lament for him as one laments for an only son, and there will be a bitter cry for him like the bitter cry for a firstborn. ¹³³  12:11 On that day the lamentation in Jerusalem will be as great as the lamentation at Hadad-Rimmon ¹³⁴  in the plain of Megiddo. ¹³⁵  12:12 The land will mourn, clan by clan – the clan of the royal household of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the clan of the family of Nathan ¹³⁶  by itself and their wives by themselves; 12:13 the clan of the descendants of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; and the clan of the Shimeites ¹³⁷  by itself and their wives by themselves – 12:14 all the clans that remain, each separately with their wives.”

The Refinement of Judah

13:1 “In that day there will be a fountain opened up for the dynasty ¹³⁸  of David and the people of Jerusalem ¹³⁹  to cleanse them from sin and impurity. ¹⁴⁰ 

Luke 6:21

6:21 “Blessed are you who hunger ¹⁴¹  now, for you will be satisfied. ¹⁴² 

“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. ¹⁴³ 

Luke 6:25

6:25 “Woe to you who are well satisfied with food ¹⁴⁴  now, for you will be hungry.

“Woe to you ¹⁴⁵  who laugh ¹⁴⁶  now, for you will mourn and weep.

Luke 7:38

7:38 As ¹⁴⁷  she stood ¹⁴⁸  behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. She ¹⁴⁹  wiped them with her hair, ¹⁵⁰  kissed ¹⁵¹  them, ¹⁵²  and anointed ¹⁵³  them with the perfumed oil.

Luke 7:50

7:50 He ¹⁵⁴  said to the woman, “Your faith ¹⁵⁵  has saved you; ¹⁵⁶  go in peace.”

Luke 16:25

16:25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, ¹⁵⁷  remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus likewise bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish. ¹⁵⁸ 

John 16:20-22

16:20 I tell you the solemn truth, ¹⁵⁹  you will weep ¹⁶⁰  and wail, ¹⁶¹  but the world will rejoice; you will be sad, ¹⁶²  but your sadness will turn into ¹⁶³  joy. 16:21 When a woman gives birth, she has distress ¹⁶⁴  because her time ¹⁶⁵  has come, but when her child is born, she no longer remembers the suffering because of her joy that a human being ¹⁶⁶  has been born into the world. ¹⁶⁷  16:22 So also you have sorrow ¹⁶⁸  now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. ¹⁶⁹ 

John 16:2

16:2 They will put you out of ¹⁷⁰  the synagogue, ¹⁷¹  yet a time ¹⁷²  is coming when the one who kills you will think he is offering service to God. ¹⁷³ 

Colossians 1:4-7

1:4 since ¹⁷⁴  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 ¹⁷⁵  from the hope laid up ¹⁷⁶  for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel ¹⁷⁷  1:6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel ¹⁷⁸  is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing ¹⁷⁹  among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth. 1:7 You learned the gospel ¹⁸⁰  from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave ¹⁸¹  – a ¹⁸²  faithful minister of Christ on our ¹⁸³  behalf –

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ¹⁸⁴  brothers and sisters ¹⁸⁵  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ¹⁸⁶  from God our Father! ¹⁸⁷ 

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, ¹⁸⁸  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ¹⁸⁹  to fill ¹⁹⁰  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 1:10 so that you may live ¹⁹¹  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ¹⁹²  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

James 1:12

1:12 Happy is the one ¹⁹³  who endures testing, because when he has proven to be genuine, he will receive the crown of life that God ¹⁹⁴  promised to those who love him.

Revelation 7:14-17

7:14 So ¹⁹⁵  I said to him, “My lord, you know the answer.” ¹⁹⁶  Then ¹⁹⁷  he said to me, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation. They ¹⁹⁸  have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb! 7:15 For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve ¹⁹⁹  him day and night in his temple, and the one seated on the throne will shelter them. ²⁰⁰  7:16 They will never go hungry or be thirsty again, and the sun will not beat down on them, nor any burning heat, ²⁰¹  7:17 because the Lamb in the middle of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” ²⁰² 

Revelation 21:4

21:4 He ²⁰³  will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more – or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist.” ²⁰⁴ 

[6:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 6. The psalmist begs the Lord to withdraw his anger and spare his life. Having received a positive response to his prayer, the psalmist then confronts his enemies and describes how they retreat.

[6:1]  ² tn The meaning of the Hebrew term שְׁמִינִית (shÿminit, “sheminith”) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music. See 1 Chr 15:21.

[6:1]  ³ sn The implication is that the psalmist has sinned, causing God to discipline him by bringing a life-threatening illness upon him (see vv. 2-7).

[6:2]  ⁴ tn Or “show me favor.”

[6:2]  ⁵ tn Normally the verb בָּהַל (bahal) refers to an emotional response and means “tremble with fear, be terrified” (see vv. 3, 10). Perhaps here the “bones” are viewed as the seat of the psalmist’s emotions. However, the verb may describe one of the effects of his physical ailment, perhaps a fever. In Ezek 7:27 the verb describes how the hands of the people will shake with fear when they experience the horrors of divine judgment.

[6:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “my being is very terrified.” The suffixed form of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being”) is often equivalent to a pronoun in poetic texts.

[6:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “and you, Lord, how long?” The suffering psalmist speaks in broken syntax. He addresses God, but then simply cries out with a brief, but poignant, question: How long will this (= his suffering) continue?

[6:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “my being,” or “my life.” The suffixed form of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being”) is often equivalent to a pronoun in poetic texts.

[6:4]  ⁹ sn Deliver me because of your faithfulness. Though the psalmist is experiencing divine discipline, he realizes that God has made a commitment to him in the past, so he appeals to God’s faithfulness in his request for help.

[6:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for there is not in death your remembrance.” The Hebrew noun זֵכֶר (zekher, “remembrance”) here refers to the name of the Lord as invoked in liturgy and praise. Cf. Pss 30:4; 97:12. “Death” here refers to the realm of death where the dead reside. See the reference to Sheol in the next line.

[6:5]  ¹¹ tn The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “no one.”

[6:6]  ¹² tn Heb “I cause to swim through all the night my bed.”

[6:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “with my tears my bed I flood/melt.”

[6:7]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew text has the singular “eye” here.

[6:7]  ¹⁵ tn Or perhaps, “are swollen.”

[6:7]  ¹⁶ tn Or perhaps, “grow old.”

[6:7]  ¹⁷ sn In his weakened condition the psalmist is vulnerable to the taunts and threats of his enemies.

[6:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “all [you] workers of wickedness.” See Ps 5:5.

[6:8]  ¹⁹ sn The Lord has heard. The psalmist’s mood abruptly changes because the Lord responded positively to the lament and petition of vv. 1-7 and promised him deliverance.

[6:9]  ²⁰ tn The prefixed verbal form is probably a preterite here; it is parallel to a perfect and refers to the fact that the Lord has responded favorably to the psalmist’s request.

[13:1]  ²¹ sn Psalm 13. The psalmist, who is close to death, desperately pleads for God’s deliverance and affirms his trust in God’s faithfulness.

[13:1]  ²² tn Heb “will you forget me continually.”

[13:1]  ²³ tn Heb “will you hide your face from me.”

[13:2]  ²⁴ tn Heb “How long will I put counsel in my being?”

[13:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “[with] grief in my heart by day.”

[13:2]  ²⁶ tn Heb “be exalted over me.” Perhaps one could translate, “How long will my enemy defeat me?”

[13:3]  ²⁷ tn Heb “see.”

[13:3]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Give light [to] my eyes.” The Hiphil of אוּר (’ur), when used elsewhere with “eyes” as object, refers to the law of God giving moral enlightenment (Ps 19:8), to God the creator giving literal eyesight to all people (Prov 29:13), and to God giving encouragement to his people (Ezra 9:8). Here the psalmist pictures himself as being on the verge of death. His eyes are falling shut and, if God does not intervene soon, he will “fall asleep” for good.

[13:3]  ²⁹ tn Heb “or else I will sleep [in?] the death.” Perhaps the statement is elliptical, “I will sleep [the sleep] of death,” or “I will sleep [with the sleepers in] death.”

[13:4]  ³⁰ tn Heb “or else.”

[13:4]  ³¹ tn Heb “or else.”

[13:5]  ³² tn The grammatical construction used here (conjunction with independent pronoun) highlights the contrast between the psalmist’s defeated condition envisioned in v. 4 and confident attitude he displays in v. 5.

[13:5]  ³³ tn Heb “may my heart rejoice in your deliverance.” The verb form is jussive. Having expressed his trust in God’s faithful character and promises, the psalmist prays that his confidence will prove to be well-placed. “Heart” is used here of the seat of the emotions.

[30:7]  ³⁴ tn Heb “in your good favor you caused to stand for my mountain strength.” Apparently this means “you established strength for my mountain” (“mountain” in this case representing his rule, which would be centered on Mt. Zion) or “you established strength as my mountain” (“mountain” in this case being a metaphor for security).

[30:7]  ³⁵ tn Heb “you hid your face.” The idiom “hide the face” can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or, as here, carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Ps 88:14).

[30:8]  ³⁶ tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 8 are probably preterites; the psalmist recalls that he prayed in his time of crisis.

[30:9]  ³⁷ sn The following two verses (vv. 9-10) contain the prayer (or an excerpt of the prayer) that the psalmist offered to the Lord during his crisis.

[30:9]  ³⁸ tn Heb “What profit [is there] in my blood?” “Blood” here represents his life.

[30:9]  ³⁹ tn The Hebrew term שָׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 49:9; 55:24; 103:4).

[30:9]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “dust.” The words “of the grave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[30:9]  ⁴¹ tn The rhetorical questions anticipate the answer, “Of course not!”

[30:10]  ⁴² tn Heb “be a helper to me.”

[30:11]  ⁴³ sn Covered me with joy. “Joy” probably stands metonymically for festive attire here.

[32:3]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “when I was silent.”

[32:3]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “my bones became brittle.” The psalmist pictures himself as aging and growing physically weak. Trying to cover up his sin brought severe physical consequences.

[32:4]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “your hand was heavy upon me.”

[32:4]  ⁴⁷ tc Heb “my [?] was turned.” The meaning of the Hebrew term לְשַׁד (lÿshad) is uncertain. A noun לָשָׁד (lashad, “cake”) is attested in Num 11:8, but it would make no sense to understand that word in this context. It is better to emend the form to לְשֻׁדִּי (lÿshuddiy, “to my destruction”) and understand “your hand” as the subject of the verb “was turned.” In this case the text reads, “[your hand] was turned to my destruction.” In Lam 3:3 the author laments that God’s “hand” was “turned” (הָפַךְ, hafakh) against him in a hostile sense.

[32:4]  ⁴⁸ tn The translation assumes that the plural form indicates degree. If one understands the form as a true plural, then one might translate, “in the times of drought.”

[32:4]  ⁴⁹ sn Summer. Perhaps the psalmist suffered during the hot season and perceived the very weather as being an instrument of divine judgment. Another option is that he compares his time of suffering to the uncomfortable and oppressive heat of summer.

[32:5]  ⁵⁰ tn The Hiphil of ידה normally means “give thanks, praise,” but here, as in Prov 28:13, it means “confess.”

[32:5]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “the wrongdoing of my sin.” By joining synonyms for “sin” in this way, the psalmist may be emphasizing the degree of his wrongdoing.

[32:6]  ⁵² tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).

[32:6]  ⁵³ tn Heb “at a time of finding.” This may mean, “while there is time to ‘find’ [the Lord]” and seek his forgiveness (cf. NIV). Some emend the text by combining מְצֹא (mÿtso’, “finding”) with the following term רַק (raq, “only, surely”) and read either ר[וֹ]מָצ (matsor, “distress”; see Ps 31:22) or ק[וֹ]מָצ (matsoq, “hardship”; see Ps 119:143). In this case, one may translate “in a time of distress/hardship” (cf. NEB, NRSV).

[32:6]  ⁵⁴ tn The Hebrew term רַק (raq) occasionally has an asseverative force.

[32:6]  ⁵⁵ sn The surging water is here a metaphor for trouble that endangers one’s life.

[32:6]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “him.” The translation uses the plural “them” to agree with the plural “every one of your faithful followers” in the first line of v. 6.

[32:7]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “[with] shouts of joy of deliverance you surround me.”

[40:1]  ⁵⁸ sn Psalm 40. The psalmist combines a song of thanksgiving for a recent act of divine deliverance (vv. 1-11) with a confident petition for renewed divine intervention (vv. 12-17).

[40:1]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “relying, I relied.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verbal form to emphasize the verbal idea. The emphasis is reflected in the translation through the adverb “completely.” Another option is to translate, “I waited patiently” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[40:2]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “cistern of roaring.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “cistern, pit”) is used metaphorically here of Sheol, the place of death, which is sometimes depicted as a raging sea (see Ps 18:4, 15-16). The noun שָׁאוֹן (sha’on, “roaring”) refers elsewhere to the crashing sound of the sea’s waves (see Ps 65:7).

[40:2]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “from the mud of mud.” The Hebrew phrase translated “slimy mud” employs an appositional genitive. Two synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.

[40:2]  ⁶² tn Heb “he established my footsteps.”

[40:3]  ⁶³ sn A new song was appropriate because the Lord had intervened in the psalmist’s experience in a fresh and exciting way.

[40:3]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “and he placed in my mouth a new song, praise to our God.”

[40:3]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “may many see and fear and trust in the Lord.” The translation assumes that the initial prefixed verbal form is a jussive (“may many see”), rather than an imperfect (“many will see”). The following prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) conjunctive are taken as indicating purpose or result (“so that they might swear allegiance…and trust”) after the introductory jussive.

[69:29]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “your deliverance, O God, may it protect me.”

[69:30]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “I will praise the name of God with a song.”

[69:30]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “I will magnify him with thanks.”

[116:3]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “surrounded me.”

[116:3]  ⁷⁰ tn The Hebrew noun מצר (“straits; distress”) occurs only here, Ps 118:5 and Lam 1:3. If retained, it refers to Sheol as a place where one is confined or severely restricted (cf. BDB 865 s.v. מֵצַר, “the straits of Sheol”; NIV “the anguish of the grave”; NRSV “the pangs of Sheol”). However, HALOT 624 s.v. מֵצַר suggests an emendation to מְצָדֵי (mÿtsadey, “snares of”), a rare noun attested in Job 19:6 and Eccl 7:26. This proposal, which is reflected in the translation, produces better parallelism with “ropes” in the preceding line.

[116:3]  ⁷¹ tn The translation assumes the prefixed verbal form is a preterite. The psalmist recalls the crisis from which the Lord delivered him.

[116:6]  ⁷² tn Heb “guards.” The active participle indicates this is a characteristic of the Lord.

[116:6]  ⁷³ 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 Ps 19:7.

[116:6]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “I was low.”

[116:7]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “return, my soul, to your place of rest.”

[116:7]  ⁷⁶ tn The Hebrew idiom גָּמַל עַל (gamal ’al) means “to repay,” here in a positive sense (cf. Ps 13:5).

[126:5]  ⁷⁷ sn O. Borowski says regarding this passage: “The dependence on rain for watering plants, the uncertainty of the quantity and timing of the rains, and the possibility of crop failure due to pests and diseases appear to have kept the farmer in a gloomy mood during sowing” (Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 54). Perhaps the people were experiencing a literal drought, the effects of which cause them to lament their plight as they plant their seed in hopes that the rain would come. However, most take the language as metaphorical. Like a farmer sowing his seed, the covenant community was enduring hardship as they waited for a new outpouring of divine blessing. Yet they are confident that a time of restoration will come and relieve their anxiety, just as the harvest brings relief and joy to the farmer.

[126:6]  ⁷⁸ tn The noun occurs only here and in Job 28:18 in the OT. See HALOT 646 s.v. I מֶשֶׁךְ which gives “leather pouch” as the meaning.

[126:6]  ⁷⁹ tn The Hebrew noun אֲלֻמָּה (’alummah, “sheaf”) occurs only here and in Gen 37:7 in the OT.

[12:1]  ⁸⁰ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[25:8]  ⁸¹ sn The image of the Lord “swallowing” death would be especially powerful, for death was viewed in Canaanite mythology and culture as a hungry enemy that swallows its victims. See the note at 5:14.

[25:8]  ⁸² tn Heb “has spoken” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[30:19]  ⁸³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[30:19]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “For people in Zion will live, in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.” The phrase “in Jerusalem” could be taken with what precedes. Some prefer to emend יֵשֵׁב (yeshev, “will live,” a Qal imperfect) to יֹשֵׁב (yoshev, a Qal active participle) and translate “For [you] people in Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.”

[30:19]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “he will indeed show you mercy at the sound of your crying out; when he hears, he will answer you.”

[35:10]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “and the redeemed will walk, the ransomed of the Lord will return.”

[35:10]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “[will be] on their head[s].” “Joy” may be likened here to a crown (cf. 2 Sam 1:10). The statement may also be an ironic twist on the idiom “earth/dust on the head” (cf. 2 Sam 1:2; 13:19; 15:32; Job 2:12), referring to a mourning practice.

[35:10]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “will overtake” (NIV); NLT “they will be overcome with.”

[35:10]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “grief and groaning will flee”; KJV “sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

[38:14]  ⁹⁰ tn Or “moan” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); KJV, CEV “mourn.”

[38:14]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “my eyes become weak, toward the height.”

[38:14]  ⁹² tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in v. 16 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[38:14]  ⁹³ tn Heb “stand surety for me.” Hezekiah seems to be picturing himself as a debtor who is being exploited; he asks that the Lord might relieve his debt and deliver him from the oppressive creditor.

[38:15]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “and he has spoken and he has acted.”

[38:15]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “because of the bitterness of my soul.”

[38:16]  ⁹⁶ tn The translation offered here is purely speculative. The text as it stands is meaningless and probably corrupt. It reads literally, “O lord, on account of them [the suffix is masculine plural], they live, and to all in them [the suffix is feminine plural], life of my spirit.”

[38:16]  ⁹⁷ tn The prefixed verbal form could be taken as indicative, “you restore my health,” but the following imperatival form suggests it be understood as an imperfect of request.

[38:17]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “Look, for peace bitterness was to me bitter”; NAB “thus is my bitterness transformed into peace.”

[38:17]  ⁹⁹ tc The Hebrew text reads, “you loved my soul,” but this does not fit syntactically with the following prepositional phrase. חָשַׁקְתָּ (khashaqta, “you loved”), may reflect an aural error; most emend the form to חָשַׂכְת, (khasakht, “you held back”).

[38:17]  ¹⁰⁰ tn בְּלִי (bÿli) most often appears as a negation, meaning “without,” suggesting the meaning “nothingness, oblivion,” here. Some translate “decay” or “destruction.”

[38:17]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “for you threw behind your back all my sins.”

[38:18]  ¹⁰² tn Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[38:18]  ¹⁰³ tn The negative particle is understood by ellipsis in this line. See GKC 483 §152.z.

[51:11]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Heb “[will be] on their head[s].” “Joy” may be likened here to a crown (cf. 2 Sam 1:10). The statement may also be an ironic twist on the idiom “earth/dust on the head” (cf. 2 Sam 1:2; 13:19; 15:32; Job 2:12), referring to a mourning practice.

[51:11]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “overtake” (so NIV); NASB “they will obtain.”

[51:11]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Heb “grief and groaning will flee.”

[51:12]  ¹⁰⁷ tc The plural suffix should probably be emended to the second masculine singular (which is used in v. 13). The final mem (ם) is probably dittographic; note the mem at the beginning of the next word.

[51:12]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Heb “Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, and of the son of man who [as] grass is given up?” The feminine singular forms should probably be emended to the masculine singular (see v. 13). They have probably been influenced by the construction אַתְּ־הִיא (’at-hi’) in vv. 9-10.

[57:18]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Heb “his ways” (so KJV, NASB, NIV); TEV “how they acted.”

[57:18]  ¹¹⁰ tn Heb “and I will restore consolation to him, to his mourners.”

[61:2]  ¹¹¹ tn Heb “to announce the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance.

[61:3]  ¹¹² tn Heb “oil of joy” (KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “the oil of gladness.”

[61:3]  ¹¹³ tn Heb “garment of praise.”

[61:3]  ¹¹⁴ tn Heb “a faint spirit” (so NRSV); KJV, ASV “the spirit of heaviness”; NASB “a spirit of fainting.”

[61:3]  ¹¹⁵ tn Rather than referring to the character of the people, צֶדֶק (tsedeq) may carry the nuance “vindication” here, suggesting that God’s restored people are a testimony to his justice. See v. 2, which alludes to the fact that God will take vengeance against the enemies of his people. Cf. NAB “oaks of justice.”

[61:3]  ¹¹⁶ tn Heb “a planting of the Lord to reveal splendor.”

[31:9]  ¹¹⁷ tn Heb “They will come with weeping; I will bring them with supplication.” The ideas of contrition and repentance are implicit from the context (cf. vv. 18-19) and are supplied for clarity.

[31:9]  ¹¹⁸ sn Jer 31:8-9 are reminiscent of the “New Exodus” motif of Isa 40-66 which has already been referred to in Jer 16:14-15; 23:7-8. See especially Isa 35:3-10; 40:3-5, 11; 41:17-20; 42:14-17; 43:16-21; 49:9-13. As there, the New Exodus will so outstrip the old that the old will pale in comparison and be almost forgotten (see Jer 23:7-8).

[31:9]  ¹¹⁹ sn Ephraim was the second son of Joseph who was elevated to a place of prominence in the family of Jacob by the patriarch’s special blessing. It was the strongest tribe in northern Israel and Samaria lay in its territory. It is often used as a poetic parallel for Israel as here. The poetry is not speaking of two separate entities here; it is a way of repeating an idea for emphasis. Moreover, there is no intent to show special preference for northern Israel over Judah. All Israel is metaphorically God’s son and the object of his special care and concern (Exod 4:22; Deut 32:6).

[31:11]  ¹²⁰ sn Two rather theologically significant metaphors are used in this verse. The Hebrew word translated “will set…free” is a word used in the legal sphere for paying a redemption price to secure the freedom of a person or thing (see, e.g., Exod 13:13, 15). It is used metaphorically and theologically to refer to Israel’s deliverance from Egyptian bondage (Deut 15:15; Mic 6:4) and its deliverance from Babylonian exile (Isa 35:10). The word translated “secure their release” is a word used in the sphere of family responsibility where a person paid the price to free an indentured relative (Lev 25:48, 49) or paid the price to restore a relative’s property seized to pay a debt (Lev 25:25, 33). This word, too, was used to refer metaphorically and theologically to Israel’s deliverance from Egyptian bondage (Exod 6:6) or release from Babylonian exile (Isa 43:1-4; 44:22). These words are traditionally translated “ransom” and “redeem” and are a part of traditional Jewish and Christian vocabulary for physical and spiritual deliverance.

[31:11]  ¹²¹ tn Heb “from the hand/power of the one too strong for him.”

[31:12]  ¹²² tn Reading a Qal perfect from the root II נָהַר (nahar; so KBL 509 s.v. and HALOT 639 s.v.) rather than I נָהַר (so BDB 625 s.v.).

[31:16]  ¹²³ tn The words “to her” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[31:16]  ¹²⁴ tn Heb “Refrain your voice from crying and your eyes from tears.”

[31:16]  ¹²⁵ tn Heb “your work.” Contextually her “work” refers to her weeping and refusing to be comforted, that is, signs of genuine repentance (v. 15).

[31:16]  ¹²⁶ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[31:17]  ¹²⁷ tn For this nuance for the Hebrew word אַחֲרִית (’akharit) see BDB 31 s.v. אַחֲרִית d and compare usage in Pss 37:38; 109:13. Others translate “your future” but the “future” lies with the return of her descendants, her posterity.

[31:17]  ¹²⁸ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[9:4]  ¹²⁹ tn Heb “through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem.”

[9:4]  ¹³⁰ tn The word translated “mark” is in Hebrew the letter ת (tav). Outside this context the only other occurrence of the word is in Job 31:35. In ancient Hebrew script this letter was written like the letter X.

[12:10]  ¹³¹ tn Or “dynasty”; Heb “house.”

[12:10]  ¹³² tc Because of the difficulty of the concept of the mortal piercing of God, the subject of this clause, and the shift of pronoun from “me” to “him” in the next, many mss read אַלֵי אֵת אֲשֶׁר (’ale ’et ’asher, “to the one whom,” a reading followed by NAB, NRSV) rather than the MT’s אֵלַי אֵת אֲשֶׁר (’ela ’et ’asher, “to me whom”). The reasons for such alternatives, however, are clear – they are motivated by scribes who found such statements theologically objectionable – and they should be rejected in favor of the more difficult reading (lectio difficilior) of the MT.

[12:10]  ¹³³ tn The Hebrew term בְּכוֹר (bÿkhor, “firstborn”), translated usually in the LXX by πρωτότοκος (prwtotokos), has unmistakable messianic overtones as the use of the Greek term in the NT to describe Jesus makes clear (cf. Col 1:15, 18). Thus, the idea of God being pierced sets the stage for the fatal wounding of Jesus, the Messiah and the Son of God (cf. John 19:37; Rev 1:7). Note that some English translations supply “son” from the context (e.g., NIV, TEV, NLT).

[12:11]  ¹³⁴ tn “Hadad-Rimmon” is a compound of the names of two Canaanite deities, the gods of storm and thunder respectively. The grammar (a subjective genitive) allows, and the problem of comparing Israel’s grief at God’s “wounding” with pagan mourning seems to demand, that this be viewed as a place name, perhaps where Judah lamented the death of good king Josiah (cf. 2 Chr 35:25). However, some translations render this as “for” (NRSV, NCV, TEV, CEV), suggesting a person, while others translate as “of” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NLT) which is ambiguous.

[12:11]  ¹³⁵ map For location see Map1 D4; Map2 C1; Map4 C2; Map5 F2; Map7 B1.

[12:12]  ¹³⁶ sn By the time of Zechariah the line of descent from David had already been transferred from the Solomon branch to the Nathan branch (the clan of the family of Nathan). Nathan was a son of David (2 Sam 5:14) through whom Jesus eventually came (Luke 3:23-31). Matthew traces Jesus’ ancestry back through Solomon (Matt 1:6-16) but apparently this is to tie Joseph into the Davidic (and thus messianic) line. The “official” descent of Jesus may be viewed as passing through Solomon whereas the “physical” descent came through Nathan.

[12:13]  ¹³⁷ sn The Shimeites were Levites (Exod 6:16-17; Num 3:17-18) who presumably were prominent in the postexilic era. Just as David and Nathan represented the political leadership of the community, so Levi and Shimei represented the religious leadership. All will lament the piercing of the Messiah.

[13:1]  ¹³⁸ tn Heb “house” (so NIV, NRSV), referring to dynastic descendants.

[13:1]  ¹³⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[13:1]  ¹⁴⁰ tn Heb “for sin and for impurity.” The purpose implied here has been stated explicitly in the translation for clarity.

[6:21]  ¹⁴¹ sn You who hunger are people like the poor Jesus has already mentioned. The term has OT roots both in conjunction with the poor (Isa 32:6-7; 58:6-7, 9-10; Ezek 18:7, 16) or by itself (Ps 37:16-19; 107:9).

[6:21]  ¹⁴² sn The promise you will be satisfied is the first of several “reversals” noted in these promises. The beatitudes and the reversals that accompany them serve in the sermon as an invitation to enter into God’s care, because one can know God cares for those who turn to him.

[6:21]  ¹⁴³ sn You will laugh alludes to the joy that comes to God’s people in the salvation to come.

[6:25]  ¹⁴⁴ tn Grk “who are filled.” See L&N 23.18 for the translation “well satisfied with food.”

[6:25]  ¹⁴⁵ tc The wording “to you” (ὑμῖν, Jumin) is lacking in several witnesses (א B K L T W Θ Ξ 0147 Ë^1,13 579 700 892 1241 2542 al), though found in most (Ì⁷⁵ A D Q Ψ 33 Ï lat co). The longer reading looks to be a clarifying addition; nevertheless, “to you” is included in the translation because of English requirements.

[6:25]  ¹⁴⁶ sn That is, laugh with happiness and joy.

[7:38]  ¹⁴⁷ tn Grk “And standing.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[7:38]  ¹⁴⁸ tn Grk “standing”; the participle στᾶσα (stasa) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[7:38]  ¹⁴⁹ tn Grk “tears, and she.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[7:38]  ¹⁵⁰ tn Grk “with the hair of her head.”

[7:38]  ¹⁵¹ tn Grk “and kissed,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[7:38]  ¹⁵² tn Grk “kissed his feet,” but this has been replaced by the pronoun “them” in keeping with contemporary English style.

[7:38]  ¹⁵³ sn The series of verbs in this verse detail the woman’s every move, much as if the onlookers were watching her every step. That she attended the meal is not so surprising, as teachers often ate an open meal where listeners were welcome, but for her to approach Jesus was unusual and took great nerve, especially given her reputation.

[7:50]  ¹⁵⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[7:50]  ¹⁵⁵ sn On faith see Luke 5:20; 7:9; 8:25; 12:28; 17:6; 18:8; 22:32.

[7:50]  ¹⁵⁶ sn The questioning did not stop Jesus. He declared authoritatively that the woman was forgiven by God (your faith has saved you). This event is a concrete example of Luke 5:31-32.

[16:25]  ¹⁵⁷ tn The Greek term here is τέκνον (teknon), which could be understood as a term of endearment.

[16:25]  ¹⁵⁸ tn Or “in terrible pain” (L&N 24.92). Here is the reversal Jesus mentioned in Luke 6:20-26.

[16:20]  ¹⁵⁹ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[16:20]  ¹⁶⁰ tn Or “wail,” “cry.”

[16:20]  ¹⁶¹ tn Or “lament.”

[16:20]  ¹⁶² tn Or “sorrowful.”

[16:20]  ¹⁶³ tn Grk “will become.”

[16:21]  ¹⁶⁴ sn The same word translated distress here has been translated sadness in the previous verse (a wordplay that is not exactly reproducible in English).

[16:21]  ¹⁶⁵ tn Grk “her hour.”

[16:21]  ¹⁶⁶ tn Grk “that a man” (but in a generic sense, referring to a human being).

[16:21]  ¹⁶⁷ sn Jesus now compares the situation of the disciples to a woman in childbirth. Just as the woman in the delivery of her child experiences real pain and anguish (has distress), so the disciples will also undergo real anguish at the crucifixion of Jesus. But once the child has been born, the mother’s anguish is turned into joy, and she forgets the past suffering. The same will be true of the disciples, who after Jesus’ resurrection and reappearance to them will forget the anguish they suffered at his death on account of their joy.

[16:22]  ¹⁶⁸ tn Or “distress.”

[16:22]  ¹⁶⁹ sn An allusion to Isa 66:14 LXX, which reads: “Then you will see, and your heart will be glad, and your bones will flourish like the new grass; and the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants, but he will be indignant toward his enemies.” The change from “you will see [me]” to I will see you places more emphasis on Jesus as the one who reinitiates the relationship with the disciples after his resurrection, but v. 16 (you will see me) is more like Isa 66:14. Further support for seeing this allusion as intentional is found in Isa 66:7, which uses the same imagery of the woman giving birth found in John 16:21. In the context of Isa 66 the passages refer to the institution of the messianic kingdom, and in fact the last clause of 66:14 along with the following verses (15-17) have yet to be fulfilled. This is part of the tension of present and future eschatological fulfillment that runs throughout the NT, by virtue of the fact that there are two advents. Some prophecies are fulfilled or partially fulfilled at the first advent, while other prophecies or parts of prophecies await fulfillment at the second.

[16:2]  ¹⁷⁰ tn Or “expel you from.”

[16:2]  ¹⁷¹ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:59.

[16:2]  ¹⁷² tn Grk “an hour.”

[16:2]  ¹⁷³ sn Jesus now refers not to the time of his return to the Father, as he has frequently done up to this point, but to the disciples’ time of persecution. They will be excommunicated from Jewish synagogues. There will even be a time when those who kill Jesus’ disciples will think that they are offering service to God by putting the disciples to death. Because of the reference to service offered to God, it is almost certain that Jewish opposition is intended here in both cases rather than Jewish opposition in the first instance (putting the disciples out of synagogues) and Roman opposition in the second (putting the disciples to death). Such opposition materializes later and is recorded in Acts: The stoning of Stephen in 7:58-60 and the slaying of James the brother of John by Herod Agrippa I in Acts 12:2-3 are notable examples.

[1:4]  ¹⁷⁴ 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]  ¹⁷⁵ 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]  ¹⁷⁶ tn BDAG 113 s.v. ἀπόκειμαι 2 renders ἀποκειμένην (apokeimenhn) with the expression “reserved” in this verse.

[1:5]  ¹⁷⁷ 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]  ¹⁷⁸ 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]  ¹⁷⁹ 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.

[1:7]  ¹⁸⁰ 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]  ¹⁸¹ 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]  ¹⁸² 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]  ¹⁸³ 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.

[1:2]  ¹⁸⁴ tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ¹⁸⁵ 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).

[1:2]  ¹⁸⁶ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ¹⁸⁷ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.

[1:9]  ¹⁸⁸ 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]  ¹⁸⁹ 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]  ¹⁹⁰ 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]  ¹⁹¹ 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]  ¹⁹² 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.”

[1:12]  ¹⁹³ tn The word for “man” or “individual” here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” However, as BDAG 79 s.v. 2 says, here it is “equivalent to τὶς someone, a person.”

[1:12]  ¹⁹⁴ tc Most mss ([C] P 0246 Ï) read ὁ κύριος (Jo kurio", “the Lord”) here, while others have ὁ θεός (Jo qeo", “God”; 4 33^vid 323 945 1739 al). However, several important and early witnesses (̲³ א A B Ψ 81 co) have no explicit subject. In light of the scribal tendency toward clarification, and the fact that both κύριος and θεός are well represented, there can be no doubt that the original text had no explicit subject. The referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity, not because of textual basis.

[7:14]  ¹⁹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the previous question.

[7:14]  ¹⁹⁶ tn Though the expression “the answer” is not in the Greek text, it is clearly implied. Direct objects in Greek were frequently omitted when clear from the context.

[7:14]  ¹⁹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[7:14]  ¹⁹⁸ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[7:15]  ¹⁹⁹ tn Or “worship.” The word here is λατρεύω (latreuw).

[7:15]  ²⁰⁰ tn Grk “will spread his tent over them,” normally an idiom for taking up residence with someone, but when combined with the preposition ἐπί (epi, “over”) the idea is one of extending protection or shelter (BDAG 929 s.v. σκηνόω).

[7:16]  ²⁰¹ tn An allusion to Isa 49:10. The phrase “burning heat” is one word in Greek (καῦμα, kauma) that refers to a burning, intensely-felt heat. See BDAG 536 s.v.

[7:17]  ²⁰² sn An allusion to Isa 25:8.

[21:4]  ²⁰³ tn Grk “God, and he.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[21:4]  ²⁰⁴ tn For the translation of ἀπέρχομαι (apercomai; here ἀπῆλθαν [aphlqan]) L&N 13.93 has “to go out of existence – ‘to cease to exist, to pass away, to cease.’”