Romans 8:12-13

8:12 So then, ¹  brothers and sisters, ²  we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh 8:13 (for if you live according to the flesh, you will ³  die), ⁴  but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.

Galatians 5:16-17

5:16 But I say, live ⁵  by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. ⁶  5:17 For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires ⁷  that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to ⁸  each other, so that you cannot do what you want.

Galatians 5:24

5:24 Now those who belong to Christ ⁹  have crucified the flesh ¹⁰  with its passions ¹¹  and desires.

Colossians 3:5-8

3:5 So put to death whatever in your nature belongs to the earth: ¹²  sexual immorality, impurity, shameful passion, ¹³  evil desire, and greed which is idolatry. 3:6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience. ¹⁴  3:7 You also lived your lives ¹⁵  in this way at one time, when you used to live among them. 3:8 But now, put off all such things ¹⁶  as anger, rage, malice, slander, abusive language from your mouth.

Colossians 3:1

Exhortations to Seek the Things Above

3:1 Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Colossians 2:11

2:11 In him you also were circumcised – not, however, ¹⁷  with a circumcision performed by human hands, but by the removal ¹⁸  of the fleshly body, ¹⁹  that is, ²⁰  through the circumcision done by Christ.

Colossians 2:1

2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, ²¹  and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. ²² 

Colossians 2:15-17

2:15 Disarming ²³  the rulers and authorities, he has made a public disgrace of them, triumphing over them by the cross. ²⁴ 

2:16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you with respect to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days – 2:17 these are only ²⁵  the shadow of the things to come, but the reality ²⁶  is Christ! ²⁷ 

[8:12]  ¹ tn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.

[8:12]  ² tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[8:13]  ³ tn Grk “are about to, are certainly going to.”

[8:13]  ⁴ sn This remark is parenthetical to Paul’s argument.

[5:16]  ⁵ tn Grk “walk” (a common NT idiom for how one conducts one’s life or how one behaves).

[5:16]  ⁶ tn On the term “flesh” (once in this verse and twice in v. 17) see the note on the same word in Gal 5:13.

[5:17]  ⁷ tn The words “has desires” do not occur in the Greek text a second time, but are repeated in the translation for clarity.

[5:17]  ⁸ tn Or “are hostile toward” (L&N 39.1).

[5:24]  ⁹ tc ‡ Some mss (א A B C P Ψ 0122¹ 0278 33 1175 1739 pc co) read “Christ Jesus” here, while many significant ones (Ì⁴⁶ D F G 0122*^,2 latt sy), as well as the Byzantine text, lack “Jesus.” The Byzantine text is especially not prone to omit the name “Jesus”; that it does so here argues for the authenticity of the shorter reading (for similar instances of probably authentic Byzantine shorter readings, see Matt 24:36 and Phil 1:14; cf. also W.-H. J. Wu, “A Systematic Analysis of the Shorter Readings in the Byzantine Text of the Synoptic Gospels” [Ph.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 2002]). On the strength of the alignment of Ì⁴⁶ with the Western and Byzantine texttypes, the shorter reading is preferred. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[5:24]  ¹⁰ tn See the note on the word “flesh” in Gal 5:13.

[5:24]  ¹¹ tn The Greek term παθήμασιν (paqhmasin, translated “passions”) refers to strong physical desires, especially of a sexual nature (L&N 25.30).

[3:5]  ¹² tn Grk “the members which are on the earth.” See BDAG 628 s.v. μέλος 1, “put to death whatever in you is worldly.”

[3:5]  ¹³ tn Or “lust.”

[3:6]  ¹⁴ 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.

[3:7]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “you also walked.” The verb περιπατέω (peripatew) is commonly used in the NT to refer to behavior or conduct of one’s life (L&N 41.11).

[3:8]  ¹⁶ tn The Greek article with τὰ πάντα (ta panta) is anaphoric, referring to the previous list of vices, and has been translated here as “all such things.”

[2:11]  ¹⁷ tn The terms “however” and “but” in this sentence were supplied in order to emphasize the contrast.

[2:11]  ¹⁸ tn The articular noun τῇ ἀπεκδύσει (th apekdusei) is a noun which ends in -σις (-sis) and therefore denotes action, i.e., “removal.” Since the head noun is a verbal noun, the following genitive τοῦ σώματος (tou swmatos) is understood as an objective genitive, receiving the action of the head noun.

[2:11]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “in the removal of the body of flesh.” The genitive τῆς σαρκός (th" sarko") has been translated as an attributive genitive, “fleshly body.”

[2:11]  ²⁰ tn The second prepositional phrase beginning with ἐν τῇ περιτομῇ (en th peritomh) is parallel to the prepositional phrase ἐν τῇ ἀπεκδύσει (en th apekdusei) and gives a further explanation of it. The words “that is” were supplied to bring out this force in the translation.

[2:1]  ²¹ tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”

[2:1]  ²² tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”

[2:15]  ²³ tn See BDAG 100 s.v. ἀπεκδύομαι 2.

[2:15]  ²⁴ tn The antecedent of the Greek pronoun αὐτῷ (autw) could either be “Christ” or the “cross.” There are several reasons for choosing “the cross” as the antecedent for αὐτῷ in verse 15: (1) The nearest antecedent is τῷ σταυρῷ (tw staurw) in v. 14; (2) the idea of ἐδειγμάτισεν ἐν παρρησία (edeigmatisen en parrhsia, “made a public disgrace”) seems to be more in keeping with the idea of the cross; (3) a reference to Christ seems to miss the irony involved in the idea of triumph – the whole point is that where one would expect defeat, there came the victory; (4) if Christ is the subject of the participles in v. 15 then almost certainly the cross is the referent for αὐτῷ. Thus the best solution is to see αὐτῷ as a reference to the cross and the preposition ἐν (en) indicating “means” (i.e., by means of the cross) or possibly (though less likely) location (on the cross).

[2:17]  ²⁵ tn The word “only,” though not in the Greek text, is supplied in the English translation to bring out the force of the Greek phrase.

[2:17]  ²⁶ tn Grk “but the body of Christ.” The term body here, when used in contrast to shadow (σκιά, skia) indicates the opposite meaning, i.e., the reality or substance itself.

[2:17]  ²⁷ tn The genitive τοῦ Χριστοῦ (tou Cristou) is appositional and translated as such: “the reality is Christ.”