Yeremia 29:8

29:8 “For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all ¹  says, ‘Do not let the prophets or those among you who claim to be able to predict the future by divination ²  deceive you. And do not pay any attention to the dreams that you are encouraging them to dream.

Matius 24:4-5

24:4 Jesus answered them, ³  “Watch out ⁴  that no one misleads you. 24:5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ ⁵  and they will mislead many.

Matius 24:11

24:11 And many false prophets will appear and deceive ⁶  many,

Matius 24:23-25

24:23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ ⁷  or ‘There he is!’ do not believe him. 24:24 For false messiahs ⁸  and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 24:25 Remember, ⁹  I have told you ahead of time.

Markus 13:5-6

13:5 Jesus began to say to them, “Watch out ¹⁰  that no one misleads you. 13:6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ ¹¹  and they will mislead many.

Markus 13:21-23

13:21 Then ¹²  if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ ¹³  or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe him. 13:22 For false messiahs ¹⁴  and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, the elect. 13:23 Be careful! I have told you everything ahead of time.

Markus 13:2

13:2 Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left on another. ¹⁵  All will be torn down!” ¹⁶ 

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, ¹⁷  1:14 in whom we have redemption, ¹⁸  the forgiveness of sins.

The Supremacy of Christ

1:15 ¹⁹ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn ²⁰  over all creation, ²¹ 

Efesus 5:6

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. ²² 

Efesus 5:2

5:2 and live ²³  in love, just as Christ also loved us ²⁴  and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering ²⁵  to God.

Efesus 2:3

2:3 among whom ²⁶  all of us ²⁷  also ²⁸  formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath ²⁹  even as the rest… ³⁰ 

Efesus 2:9-11

2:9 it is not from ³¹  works, so that no one can boast. ³²  2:10 For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them. ³³ 

New Life Corporately

2:11 Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh – who are called “uncircumcision” by the so-called “circumcision” that is performed on the body ³⁴  by human hands –

Efesus 2:2

2:2 in which ³⁵  you formerly lived ³⁶  according to this world’s present path, ³⁷  according to the ruler of the kingdom ³⁸  of the air, the ruler of ³⁹  the spirit ⁴⁰  that is now energizing ⁴¹  the sons of disobedience, ⁴² 

Titus 3:13

3:13 Make every effort to help ⁴³  Zenas the lawyer ⁴⁴  and Apollos on their way; make sure they have what they need. ⁴⁵ 

Titus 3:1

Conduct Toward Those Outside the Church

3:1 Remind them to be subject to rulers and ⁴⁶  authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work.

Yohanes 4:1-2

Departure From Judea

4:1 Now when Jesus ⁴⁷  knew that the Pharisees ⁴⁸  had heard that he ⁴⁹  was winning ⁵⁰  and baptizing more disciples than John 4:2 (although Jesus himself was not baptizing, but his disciples were), ⁵¹ 

Yohanes 1:7

1:7 He came as a witness ⁵²  to testify ⁵³  about the light, so that everyone ⁵⁴  might believe through him.

Wahyu 12:9

12:9 So ⁵⁵  that huge dragon – the ancient serpent, the one called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world – was thrown down to the earth, and his angels along with him.

[29:8]  ¹ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”

[29:8]  sn See study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for the explanation of this title.

[29:8]  ² sn See the study notes on 27:9 for this term.

[24:4]  ³ tn Grk “answering, Jesus said to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[24:4]  ⁴ tn Or “Be on guard.”

[24:5]  ⁵ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[24:5]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:16.

[24:11]  ⁶ tn Or “and lead many astray.”

[24:23]  ⁷ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[24:23]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:16.

[24:24]  ⁸ tn Or “false christs”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[24:25]  ⁹ tn Or “Pay attention!” Grk “Behold.”

[13:5]  ¹⁰ tn Or “Be on guard.”

[13:6]  ¹¹ tn That is, “I am the Messiah.”

[13:21]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[13:21]  ¹³ tn Or “the Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[13:21]  sn See the note on Christ in 8:29.

[13:22]  ¹⁴ tn Or “false christs”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[13:2]  ¹⁵ sn With the statement not one stone will be left on another Jesus predicted the total destruction of the temple, something that did occur in a.d. 70.

[13:2]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “not one stone will be left here on another which will not be thrown down.”

[1:13]  ¹⁷ tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).

[1:14]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ 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.

[5:6]  ²² 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.

[5:2]  ²³ tn Grk “walk.” The NT writers often used the verb “walk” (περιπατέω, peripatew) to refer to ethical conduct (cf. Rom 8:4; Gal 5:16; Col 4:5).

[5:2]  ²⁴ tc A number of important witnesses have ὑμᾶς (Jumas, “you”; e.g., א* A B P 0159 81 1175 al it co as well as several fathers). Other, equally important witnesses read ἡμᾶς (Jhmas, “us”; Ì⁴⁶ א² D F G Ψ 0278 33 1739 1881 al lat sy). It is possible that ἡμᾶς was accidentally introduced via homoioarcton with the previous word (ἠγάπησεν, hgaphsen). On the other hand, ὑμᾶς may have been motivated by the preceding ὑμῖν (Jumin) in 4:32 and second person verbs in 5:1, 2. Further, the flow of argument seems to require the first person pronoun. A decision is difficult to make, but the first person pronoun has a slightly greater probability of being original.

[5:2]  ²⁵ tn Grk “an offering and sacrifice to God as a smell of fragrance.” The first expression, προσφορὰν καὶ θυσίαν (prosforan kai qusian), is probably a hendiadys and has been translated such that “sacrificial” modifies “offering.” The second expression, εἰς ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας (ei" osmhn euwdia", “as a smell of fragrance”) has been translated as “a fragrant offering”; see BDAG 728-29 s.v. ὀσμή 2. Putting these two together in a clear fashion in English yields the translation: “a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.”

[2:3]  ²⁶ sn Among whom. The relative pronoun phrase that begins v. 3 is identical, except for gender, to the one that begins v. 2 (ἐν αἵς [en Jais], ἐν οἵς [en Jois]). By the structure, the author is building an argument for our hopeless condition: We lived in sin and we lived among sinful people. Our doom looked to be sealed as well in v. 2: Both the external environment (kingdom of the air) and our internal motivation and attitude (the spirit that is now energizing) were under the devil’s thumb (cf. 2 Cor 4:4).

[2:3]  ²⁷ tn Grk “we all.”

[2:3]  ²⁸ tn Or “even.”

[2:3]  ²⁹ sn Children of wrath is a Semitic idiom which may mean either “people characterized by wrath” or “people destined for wrath.”

[2:3]  ³⁰ sn Eph 2:1-3. The translation of vv. 1-3 is very literal, even to the point of retaining the awkward syntax of the original. See note on the word dead in 2:1.

[2:9]  ³¹ tn Or “not as a result of.”

[2:9]  ³² tn Grk “lest anyone should boast.”

[2:10]  ³³ tn Grk “so that we might walk in them” (or “by them”).

[2:10]  sn So that we may do them. Before the devil began to control our walk in sin and among sinful people, God had already planned good works for us to do.

[2:11]  ³⁴ tn Grk “in the flesh.”

[2:2]  ³⁵ sn The relative pronoun which is feminine as is sins, indicating that sins is the antecedent.

[2:2]  ³⁶ tn Grk “walked.”

[2:2]  sn The Greek verb translated lived (περιπατέω, peripatew) in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.

[2:2]  ³⁷ tn Or possibly “Aeon.”

[2:2]  sn The word translated present path is the same as that which has been translated [this] age in 1:21 (αἰών, aiwn).

[2:2]  ³⁸ tn Grk “domain, [place of] authority.”

[2:2]  ³⁹ tn Grk “of” (but see the note on the word “spirit” later in this verse).

[2:2]  ⁴⁰ sn The ruler of the kingdom of the air is also the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of disobedience. Although several translations regard the ruler to be the same as the spirit, this is unlikely since the cases in Greek are different (ruler is accusative and spirit is genitive). To get around this, some have suggested that the genitive for spirit is a genitive of apposition. However, the semantics of the genitive of apposition are against such an interpretation (cf. ExSyn 100).

[2:2]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “working in.”

[2:2]  ⁴² sn Sons of disobedience is a Semitic idiom that means “people characterized by disobedience.” However, it also contains a subtle allusion to vv. 4-10: Some of those sons of disobedience have become sons of God.

[3:13]  ⁴³ tn Grk “Eagerly help.”

[3:13]  ⁴⁴ tn Although it is possible the term νομικός (nomikos) indicates an expert in Jewish religious law here, according to L&N 33.338 and 56.37 it is more probable that Zenas was a specialist in civil law.

[3:13]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “that nothing may be lacking for them.”

[3:1]  ⁴⁶ tc Most later witnesses (D² 0278 Ï lat sy) have καί (kai, “and”) after ἀρχαῖς (arcai", “rulers”), though the earliest and best witnesses (א A C D* F G Ψ 33 104 1739 1881) lack the conjunction. Although the καί is most likely not authentic, it has been added in translation due to the requirements of English style. For more discussion, see TCGNT 586.

[4:1]  ⁴⁷ tc Several early and important witnesses, along with the majority of later ones (Ì^66c,75 A B C L W^s Ψ 083 ˹³ 33 Ï sa), have κύριος (kurio", “Lord”) here instead of ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsou", “Jesus”). As significant as this external support is, the internal evidence seems to be on the side of ᾿Ιησοῦς. “Jesus” is mentioned two more times in the first two verses of chapter four in a way that is stylistically awkward (so much so that the translation has substituted the pronoun for the first one; see tn note below). This seems to be sufficient reason to motivate scribes to change the wording to κύριος. Further, the reading ᾿Ιησοῦς is not without decent support, though admittedly not as strong as that for κύριος (Ì^66* א D Θ 086 ˹ 565 1241 al lat bo). On the other hand, this Gospel speaks of Jesus as Lord in the evangelist’s narrative descriptions elsewhere only in 11:2; 20:18, 20; 21:12; and probably 6:23, preferring ᾿Ιησοῦς most of the time. This fact could be used to argue that scribes, acquainted with John’s style, changed κύριος to ᾿Ιησοῦς. But the immediate context generally is weighed more heavily than an author’s style. It is possible that neither word was in the original text and scribes supplied what they thought most appropriate (see TCGNT 176). But without ms evidence to this effect coupled with the harder reading ᾿Ιησοῦς, this conjecture must remain doubtful. All in all, it is best to regard ᾿Ιησοῦς as the original reading here.

[4:1]  ⁴⁸ sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[4:1]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “Jesus”; the repetition of the proper name is somewhat redundant in English (see the beginning of the verse) and so the pronoun (“he”) has been substituted here.

[4:1]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “was making.”

[4:2]  ⁵¹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[1:7]  ⁵² tn Grk “came for a testimony.”

[1:7]  sn Witness is also one of the major themes of John’s Gospel. The Greek verb μαρτυρέω (marturew) occurs 33 times (compare to once in Matthew, once in Luke, 0 in Mark) and the noun μαρτυρία (marturia) 14 times (0 in Matthew, once in Luke, 3 times in Mark).

[1:7]  ⁵³ tn Or “to bear witness.”

[1:7]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “all.”

[12:9]  ⁵⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the war in heaven.