2 Petrus 2:18-20

2:18 For by speaking high-sounding but empty words ¹  they are able to entice, ²  with fleshly desires and with debauchery, ³  people ⁴  who have just escaped ⁵  from those who reside in error. ⁶  2:19 Although these false teachers promise ⁷  such people ⁸  freedom, they themselves are enslaved to ⁹  immorality. ¹⁰  For whatever a person succumbs to, to that he is enslaved. ¹¹  2:20 For if after they have escaped the filthy things ¹²  of the world through the rich knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, ¹³  they ¹⁴  again get entangled in them and succumb to them, ¹⁵  their last state has become worse for them than their first.

Matius 24:24

24:24 For false messiahs ¹⁶  and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

Markus 13:22

13:22 For false messiahs ¹⁷  and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, the elect.

Roma 16:18

16:18 For these are the kind who do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By their smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds ¹⁸  of the naive.

Roma 16:2

16:2 so that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and provide her with whatever help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many, including me.

Kolose 1:3

Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Church

1:3 We always ¹⁹  give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,

Kolose 1:13-15

1:13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ²⁰  1:14 in whom we have redemption, ²¹  the forgiveness of sins.

The Supremacy of Christ

1:15 ²² He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn ²³  over all creation, ²⁴ 

[2:18]  ¹ tn Grk “high-sounding words of futility.”

[2:18]  ² tn Grk “they entice.”

[2:18]  ³ tn Grk “with the lusts of the flesh, with debauchery.”

[2:18]  ⁴ tn Grk “those.”

[2:18]  ⁵ tn Or “those who are barely escaping.”

[2:18]  ⁶ tn Or “deceit.”

[2:19]  ⁷ tn Verse 19 is a subordinate clause in Greek. The masculine nominative participle “promising” (ἐπαγγελλόμενοι, epangellomenoi) refers back to the subject of vv. 17-18. At the same time, it functions subordinately to the following participle, ὑπάρχοντες (Juparconte", “while being”).

[2:19]  ⁸ tn Grk “them.”

[2:19]  ⁹ tn Grk “slaves of.” See the note on the word “slave” in 1:1.

[2:19]  ¹⁰ tn Or “corruption,” “depravity.” Verse 19 constitutes a subordinate clause to v. 18 in Greek. The main verbal components of these two verses are: “uttering…they entice…promising…being (enslaved).” The main verb is (they) entice. The three participles are adverbial and seem to indicate an instrumental relation (by uttering), a concessive relation (although promising), and a temporal relation (while being [enslaved]). For the sake of English usage, in the translation of the text this is broken down into two sentences.

[2:19]  ¹¹ tn Grk “for by what someone is overcome, to this he is enslaved.”

[2:20]  ¹² tn Grk “defilements”; “contaminations”; “pollutions.”

[2:20]  ¹³ sn Through the rich knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The implication is not that these people necessarily knew the Lord (in the sense of being saved), but that they were in the circle of those who had embraced Christ as Lord and Savior.

[2:20]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “(and/but) they.”

[2:20]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “they again, after becoming entangled in them, are overcome by them.”

[24:24]  ¹⁶ tn Or “false christs”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[13:22]  ¹⁷ tn Or “false christs”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[16:18]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “hearts.”

[1:3]  ¹⁹ tn The adverb πάντοτε (pantote) is understood to modify the indicative εὐχαριστοῦμεν (eucaristoumen) because it precedes περὶ ὑμῶν (peri Jumwn) which probably modifies the indicative and not the participle προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi). But see 1:9 where the same expression occurs and περὶ ὑμῶν modifies the participle “praying” (προσευχόμενοι).

[1:13]  ²⁰ tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).

[1:14]  ²¹ tc διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ (dia tou {aimato" autou, “through his blood”) is read at this juncture by several minuscule mss (614 630 1505 2464 al) as well as a few, mostly secondary, versional and patristic witnesses. But the reading was prompted by the parallel in Eph 1:7 where the wording is solid. If these words had been in the original of Colossians, why would scribes omit them here but not in Eph 1:7? Further, the testimony on behalf of the shorter reading is quite overwhelming: {א A B C D F G Ψ 075 0150 6 33 1739 1881 Ï latt co as well as several other versions and fathers}. The conviction that “through his blood” is not authentic in Col 1:14 is as strong as the conviction that these words are authentic in Eph 1:7.

[1:15]  ²² sn This passage has been typeset as poetry because many scholars regard this passage as poetic or hymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for determining if a passage is poetic or hymnic: “(a) stylistic: a certain rhythmical lilt when the passages are read aloud, the presence of parallelismus membrorum (i.e., an arrangement into couplets), the semblance of some metre, and the presence of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, chiasmus, and antithesis; and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary, particularly the presence of theological terms, which is different from the surrounding context” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 188-89). Classifying a passage as hymnic or poetic is important because understanding this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree that the above criteria are present in this passage, so the decision to typeset it as poetry should be viewed as a tentative decision about its genre.

[1:15]  ²³ tn The Greek term πρωτότοκος (prwtotokos) could refer either to first in order of time, such as a first born child, or it could refer to one who is preeminent in rank. M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 43, expresses the meaning of the word well: “The ‘firstborn’ was either the eldest child in a family or a person of preeminent rank. The use of this term to describe the Davidic king in Ps 88:28 LXX (=Ps 89:27 EVV), ‘I will also appoint him my firstborn (πρωτότοκον), the most exalted of the kings of the earth,’ indicates that it can denote supremacy in rank as well as priority in time. But whether the πρωτό- element in the word denotes time, rank, or both, the significance of the -τοκος element as indicating birth or origin (from τίκτω, give birth to) has been virtually lost except in ref. to lit. birth.” In Col 1:15 the emphasis is on the priority of Jesus’ rank as over and above creation (cf. 1:16 and the “for” clause referring to Jesus as Creator).

[1:15]  ²⁴ tn The genitive construction πάσης κτίσεως (pash" ktisew") is a genitive of subordination and is therefore translated as “over all creation.” See ExSyn 103-4.