Revelation 9:20-21

9:20 The rest of humanity, who had not been killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so that they did not stop worshiping demons and idols made ¹  of gold, silver, ²  bronze, stone, and wood – idols that cannot see or hear or walk about. 9:21 Furthermore, ³  they did not repent of their murders, of their magic spells, ⁴  of their sexual immorality, or of their stealing.

Revelation 21:8

21:8 But to the cowards, unbelievers, detestable persons, murderers, the sexually immoral, and those who practice magic spells, ⁵  idol worshipers, ⁶  and all those who lie, their place ⁷  will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. ⁸  That ⁹  is the second death.”

Revelation 21:27

21:27 but ¹⁰  nothing ritually unclean ¹¹  will ever enter into it, nor anyone who does what is detestable ¹²  or practices falsehood, ¹³  but only those whose names ¹⁴  are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Revelation 21:1

A New Heaven and a New Earth

21:1 Then ¹⁵  I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had ceased to exist, ¹⁶  and the sea existed no more.

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, ¹⁷  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ¹⁸  to fill ¹⁹  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 1:10 so that you may live ²⁰  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ²¹  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

Galatians 5:19-21

5:19 Now the works of the flesh ²²  are obvious: ²³  sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, 5:20 idolatry, sorcery, ²⁴  hostilities, ²⁵  strife, ²⁶  jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, ²⁷  factions, 5:21 envying, ²⁸  murder, ²⁹  drunkenness, carousing, ³⁰  and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!

Ephesians 5:3-6

5:3 But ³¹  among you there must not be either sexual immorality, impurity of any kind, ³²  or greed, as these are not fitting for the saints. ³³  5:4 Neither should there be vulgar speech, foolish talk, or coarse jesting – all of which are out of character – but rather thanksgiving. 5:5 For you can be confident of this one thing: ³⁴  that no person who is immoral, impure, or greedy (such a person is an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Live in the Light

5:6 Let nobody deceive you with empty words, for because of these things God’s wrath comes on the sons of disobedience. ³⁵ 

Colossians 3:6

3:6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience. ³⁶ 

[9:20]  ¹ tn The word “made” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[9:20]  ² tn The Greek conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here or before the following materials in this list, since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[9:21]  ³ tn Grk “and.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation, with “furthermore” used to indicate a continuation of the preceding.

[9:21]  ⁴ tn On the term φαρμακεία (farmakeia, “magic spells”) see L&N 53.100: “the use of magic, often involving drugs and the casting of spells upon people – ‘to practice magic, to cast spells upon, to engage in sorcery, magic, sorcery.’ φαρμακεία: ἐν τῇ φαρμακείᾳ σου ἐπλανήθησαν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ‘with your magic spells you deceived all the peoples (of the world)’ Re 18:23.”

[21:8]  ⁵ tn On the term φαρμακεία (farmakeia, “magic spells”) see L&N 53.100: “the use of magic, often involving drugs and the casting of spells upon people – ‘to practice magic, to cast spells upon, to engage in sorcery, magic, sorcery.’ φαρμακεία: ἐν τῇ φαρμακείᾳ σου ἐπλανήθησαν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ‘with your magic spells you deceived all the peoples (of the world)’ Re 18:23.”

[21:8]  ⁶ tn Grk “idolaters.”

[21:8]  ⁷ tn Grk “their share.”

[21:8]  ⁸ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”

[21:8]  ⁹ tn Grk “sulfur, which is.” The relative pronoun has been translated as “that” to indicate its connection to the previous clause. The nearest logical antecedent is “the lake [that burns with fire and sulfur],” although “lake” (λίμνη, limnh) is feminine gender, while the pronoun “which” (ὅ, Jo) is neuter gender. This means that (1) the proper antecedent could be “their place” (Grk “their share,”) agreeing with the relative pronoun in number and gender, or (2) the neuter pronoun still has as its antecedent the feminine noun “lake,” since agreement in gender between pronoun and antecedent was not always maintained, with an explanatory phrase occurring with a neuter pronoun regardless of the case of the antecedent. In favor of the latter explanation is Rev 20:14, where the phrase “the lake of fire” is in apposition to the phrase “the second death.”

[21:27]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[21:27]  ¹¹ tn Here BDAG 552 s.v. κοινός 2 states, “pert. to being of little value because of being common, common, ordinary, profane…b. specifically, of that which is ceremonially impure: Rv 21:27.”

[21:27]  ¹² tn Or “what is abhorrent”; Grk “who practices abominations.”

[21:27]  ¹³ tn Grk “practicing abomination or falsehood.” Because of the way βδέλυγμα (bdelugma) has been translated (“does what is detestable”) it was necessary to repeat the idea from the participle ποιῶν (poiwn, “practices”) before the term “falsehood.” On this term, BDAG 1097 s.v. ψεῦδος states, “ποιεῖν ψεῦδος practice (the things that go with) falsehood Rv 21:27; 22:15.” Cf. Rev 3:9.

[21:27]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “those who are written”; the word “names” is implied.

[21:1]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[21:1]  ¹⁶ 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.’”

[1:9]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ 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.”

[5:19]  ²² tn See the note on the word “flesh” in Gal 5:13.

[5:19]  ²³ tn Or “clear,” “evident.”

[5:20]  ²⁴ tn Or “witchcraft.”

[5:20]  ²⁵ tn Or “enmities,” “[acts of] hatred.”

[5:20]  ²⁶ tn Or “discord” (L&N 39.22).

[5:20]  ²⁷ tn Or “discord(s)” (L&N 39.13).

[5:21]  ²⁸ tn This term is plural in Greek (as is “murder” and “carousing”), but for clarity these abstract nouns have been translated as singular.

[5:21]  ²⁹ tc ‡ φόνοι (fonoi, “murders”) is absent in such important mss as Ì⁴⁶ א B 33 81 323 945 pc sa, while the majority of mss (A C D F G Ψ 0122 0278 1739 1881 Ï lat) have the word. Although the pedigree of the mss which lack the term is of the highest degree, homoioteleuton may well explain the shorter reading. The preceding word has merely one letter difference, making it quite possible to overlook this term (φθόνοι φόνοι, fqonoi fonoi).

[5:21]  ³⁰ tn Or “revelings,” “orgies” (L&N 88.287).

[5:3]  ³¹ tn The term “But” translates the δέ (de) in a contrastive way in light of the perfect obedience of Jesus in vv. 1-2 and the vices mentioned in v. 3.

[5:3]  ³² tn Grk “all impurity.”

[5:3]  ³³ tn Grk “just as is fitting for saints.” The καθώς (kaqws) was rendered with “as” and the sense is causal, i.e., “for” or “because.” The negative particle “not” (“for these are not proper for the saints”) in this clause was supplied in English so as to make the sense very clear, i.e., that these vices are not befitting of those who name the name of Christ.

[5:5]  ³⁴ tn Grk “be knowing this.” See also 2 Pet 1:20 for a similar phrase: τοῦτο πρῶτον γινώσκοντες (touto prwton ginwskonte").

[5:6]  ³⁵ sn The expression sons of disobedience is a Semitic idiom that means “people characterized by disobedience.” In this context it refers to “all those who are disobedient.” Cf. Eph 2:2-3.

[3:6]  ³⁶ tc The words ἐπὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς τῆς ἀπειθείας (epi tou" Juiou" th" apeiqeia", “on the sons of disobedience”) are lacking in Ì⁴⁶ B b sa, but are found in א A C D F G H I Ψ 075 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï lat sy bo. The words are omitted by several English translations (NASB, NIV, ESV, TNIV). This textual problem is quite difficult to resolve. On the one hand, the parallel account in Eph 5:6 has these words, thus providing scribes a motive for adding them here. On the other hand, the reading without the words may be too hard: The ἐν οἷς (en |oi") of v. 7 seems to have no antecedent without υἱούς already in the text, although it could possibly be construed as neuter referring to the vice list in v. 5. Further, although the witness of B is especially important, there are other places in which B and Ì⁴⁶ share errant readings of omission. Nevertheless, the strength of the internal evidence against the longer reading is at least sufficient to cause doubt here. The decision to retain the words in the text is less than certain.