1 Tesalonika 2:12

2:12 exhorting and encouraging you and insisting that you live in a way worthy of God who calls you to his own kingdom and his glory.

Roma 8:30

8:30 And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.

Roma 9:24

9:24 even us, whom he has called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?

Galatia 1:15

1:15 But when the one ¹  who set me apart from birth ²  and called me by his grace was pleased

Galatia 1:2

1:2 and all the brothers with me, to the churches of Galatia.

Galatia 2:14

2:14 But when I saw that they were not behaving consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas ³  in front of them all, “If you, although you are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you try to force ⁴  the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

Galatia 2:2

2:2 I went there ⁵  because of ⁶  a revelation and presented ⁷  to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did so ⁸  only in a private meeting with the influential people, ⁹  to make sure that I was not running – or had not run ¹⁰  – in vain.

Titus 1:9

1:9 He must hold firmly to the faithful message as it has been taught, ¹¹  so that he will be able to give exhortation in such healthy teaching ¹²  and correct those who speak against it.

Titus 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹³  a slave ¹⁴  of God and apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith ¹⁵  of God’s chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth that is in keeping with godliness,

Pengkhotbah 5:10

Covetousness

5:10 The one who loves money ¹⁶  will never be satisfied with money, ¹⁷ 

he who loves wealth ¹⁸  will never be satisfied ¹⁹  with his ²⁰  income.

This also is futile.

Pengkhotbah 5:2

5:2 Do not be rash with your mouth or hasty in your heart to bring up a matter before God,

for God is in heaven and you are on earth!

Therefore, let your words be few.

Pengkhotbah 1:3

Futility Illustrated from Nature

1:3 What benefit ²¹  do people ²²  get from all the effort

which ²³  they expend ²⁴  on earth? ²⁵ 

Wahyu 17:14

17:14 They will make war with the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those accompanying ²⁶  the Lamb are the called, chosen, and faithful.”

[1:15]  ¹ tc ‡ Several important witnesses have ὁ θεός (Jo qeos) after εὐδόκησεν (eudokhsen; so א A D Ψ 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï co) while the shorter reading is supported by Ì⁴⁶ B F G 629 1505 pc lat. There is hardly any reason why scribes would omit the words (although the Beatty papyrus and the Western text do at times omit words and phrases), but several reasons why scribes would add the words (especially the need to clarify). The confluence of witnesses for the shorter reading (including a few fathers and versions) adds strong support for its authenticity. It is also in keeping with Paul’s style to refrain from mentioning God by name as a rhetorical device (cf. ExSyn 437 [although this section deals with passive constructions, the principle is the same]). NA²⁷ includes the words in brackets, indicating some doubts as to their authenticity.

[1:15]  ² tn Grk “from my mother’s womb.”

[2:14]  ³ sn Cephas. This individual is generally identified with the Apostle Peter (L&N 93.211).

[2:14]  ⁴ tn Here ἀναγκάζεις (anankazei") has been translated as a conative present (see ExSyn 534).

[2:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “I went up”; one always spoke idiomatically of going “up” to Jerusalem.

[2:2]  ⁶ tn Or “in accordance with.” According to BDAG 512 s.v. κατά B.5.a.δ, “Oft. the norm is at the same time the reason, so that in accordance with and because of are merged…Instead of ‘in accordance w.’ κ. can mean simply because of, as a result of, on the basis of…κ. ἀποκάλυψιν Gal 2:2.”

[2:2]  ⁷ tn Or “set before them.”

[2:2]  ⁸ tn Grk “Gentiles, but only privately…to make sure.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started with “But” and the words “I did so,” an implied repetition from the previous clause, were supplied to make a complete English sentence.

[2:2]  ⁹ tn L&N 87.42 has “important persons, influential persons, prominent persons” for οἱ δοκοῦντες and translates this phrase in Gal 2:2 as “in a private meeting with the prominent persons.” The “prominent people” referred to here are the leaders of the Jerusalem church.

[2:2]  ¹⁰ tn Here the first verb (τρέχω, trecw, “was not running”) is present subjunctive, while the second (ἔδραμον, edramon, “had not run”) is aorist indicative.

[1:9]  ¹¹ tn Grk “the faithful message in accordance with the teaching” (referring to apostolic teaching).

[1:9]  ¹² tn Grk “the healthy teaching” (referring to what was just mentioned).

[1:1]  ¹³ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ¹⁴ tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) 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.

[1:1]  sn Undoubtedly the background for the concept of being the Lord’s slave or servant is to be found in the Old Testament scriptures. For a Jew this concept did not connote drudgery, but honor and privilege. It was used of national Israel at times (Isa 43:10), but was especially associated with famous OT personalities, including such great men as Moses (Josh 14:7), David (Ps 89:3; cf. 2 Sam 7:5, 8) and Elijah (2 Kgs 10:10); all these men were “servants (or slaves) of the Lord.”

[1:1]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “for the faith,” possibly, “in accordance with the faith.”

[5:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “silver.” The Hebrew term כֶּסֶף (kesef, “silver”) refers to “money” (HALOT 490–91 s.v. כֶּסֶף 3). It is a synecdoche of specific (i.e., silver) for the general (i.e., money); see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 625-29.

[5:10]  ¹⁷ sn The Hebrew term “silver” (translated “money”) is repeated twice in this line for rhetorical emphasis.

[5:10]  ¹⁸ tn The term הָמוֹן (hamon, “abundance; wealth”) has a wide range of meanings: (1) agitation; (2) turmoil; (3) noise; (4) pomp; (5) multitude; crowd = noisy crowd; and (6) abundance; wealth (HALOT 250 s.v. הָמוֹן 1–6). Here, it refers to abundant wealth (related to “pomp”); cf. HALOT 250 s.v. הָמוֹן 6, that is, lavish abundant wealth (Ezek 29:19; 30:4; 1 Chr 29:16).

[5:10]  ¹⁹ tn The phrase “will never be satisfied” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity. Note the previous line.

[5:10]  ²⁰ tn The word “his” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:3]  ²¹ tn The term “profit” (יֹתְרוֹן, yotÿron) is used in Ecclesiastes to evaluate the ultimate benefit/effects of human activities, as is טוֹב (tov, “good, worthwhile”) as well (e.g., 2:1, 3). While some relative advantage/profit is recognized (e.g., light over darkness, and wisdom over folly), Qoheleth denies the ultimate advantage of all human endeavors (e.g., 2:11, 15).

[1:3]  ²² tn Heb “the man.” The Hebrew term could be used here in a generic sense, referring to the typical man (hence, “a man”). However, it is more likely that the form is collective and that humankind in general is in view (note NIV “man”). Note the reference to “a generation” coming and going in the next verse, as well as v. 13, where the phrase “the sons of man” (= humankind) appears. In this case the singular pronominal suffix and singular verb later in v. 3 reflect grammatical agreement, not individuality.

[1:3]  ²³ tn The use of the relative pronoun שֶׁ (she, “which”) – rather than the more common אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “which”) – is a linguistic feature that is often used to try to date the Book of Ecclesiastes. Noting that שֶׁ is the dominant relative pronoun in Mishnaic Hebrew and that אֲשֶׁר does not appear as frequently (Jastrow 130 s.v. אֲשֶׁר), many scholars conclude that אֲשֶׁר is early and שֶׁ is late. They conclude that the use of שֶׁ in Ecclesiastes points to a late date for the book. However, as Samuel-Kings suggest, the שֶׁ versus אֲשֶׁר phenomena may simply be a dialectical issue: אֲשֶׁר is commonly used in the south, and שֶׁ in the north. The use of שֶׁ in Ecclesiastes may indicate that the book was written in a northern rather than a southern province, not that it is a late book. This is supported from related Akkadian terms which occur in texts from the same periods: אֲשֶׁר is related to asru (“place”) and שֶׁ is related to sa (“what”).

[1:3]  ²⁴ sn The Hebrew root עָמָל, (’amal, “toil”) is repeated here for emphasis: “What gain does anyone have in his toil with which he toils.” For all his efforts, man’s endeavors and secular achievements will not produce anything of ultimate value that will radically revolutionize anything in the world. The term “toil” is used in a pejorative sense to emphasize that the only thing that man obtains ultimately from all his efforts is weariness and exhaustion. Due to sin, mankind has been cursed with the futility of his labor that renders work a “toilsome” task (Gen 3:17-19). Although it was not yet revealed to Qoheleth, God will one day deliver the redeemed from this plight in the future kingdom when man’s labor will no longer be toilsome, but profitable, fulfilling, and enjoyable (Isa 65:17-23).

[1:3]  ²⁵ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[1:3]  sn This rhetorical question expects a negative answer: “Man has no gain in all his toil.” Ecclesiastes often uses rhetorical questions in this manner (e.g., 2:2; 3:9; 6:8, 11, 12; see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 949).

[17:14]  ²⁶ tn See BDAG 636 s.v. μετά A.2.a.α.