Matius 13:25

13:25 But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed weeds ¹  among the wheat and went away.

Matius 13:28

13:28 He said, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So ²  the slaves replied, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them?’

Matius 13:2

13:2 And such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat to sit while ³  the whole crowd stood on the shore.

Kolose 2:17

2:17 these are only ⁴  the shadow of the things to come, but the reality ⁵  is Christ! ⁶ 

Kolose 1:3

Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Church

1:3 We always ⁷  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, ⁸  1:14 in whom we have redemption, ⁹  the forgiveness of sins.

The Supremacy of Christ

1:15 ¹⁰ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn ¹¹  over all creation, ¹² 

Efesus 2:2

2:2 in which ¹³  you formerly lived ¹⁴  according to this world’s present path, ¹⁵  according to the ruler of the kingdom ¹⁶  of the air, the ruler of ¹⁷  the spirit ¹⁸  that is now energizing ¹⁹  the sons of disobedience, ²⁰ 

Efesus 6:11-12

6:11 Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes ²¹  of the devil. 6:12 For our struggle ²²  is not against flesh and blood, ²³  but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, ²⁴  against the spiritual forces ²⁵  of evil in the heavens. ²⁶ 

Efesus 6:2

6:2 “Honor your father and mother,” ²⁷  which is the first commandment accompanied by a promise, namely,

Efesus 2:8-11

2:8 For by grace you are saved ²⁸  through faith, ²⁹  and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; 2:9 it is not from ³⁰  works, so that no one can boast. ³¹  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. ³² 

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 ³³  by human hands –

Efesus 2:1

New Life Individually

2:1 And although you were ³⁴  dead ³⁵  in your transgressions and sins,

Pengkhotbah 5:8

Government Corruption

5:8 If you see the extortion ³⁶  of the poor,

or the perversion ³⁷  of justice and fairness in the government, ³⁸ 

do not be astonished by the matter.

For the high official is watched by a higher official, ³⁹ 

and there are higher ones over them! ⁴⁰ 

Wahyu 12:9

12:9 So ⁴¹  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.

Wahyu 13:14

13:14 and, by the signs he was permitted to perform on behalf of the beast, he deceived those who live on the earth. He told ⁴²  those who live on the earth to make an image to the beast who had been wounded by the sword, but still lived.

Wahyu 19:20

19:20 Now ⁴³  the beast was seized, and along with him the false prophet who had performed the signs on his behalf ⁴⁴  – signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire burning with sulfur. ⁴⁵ 

Wahyu 20:2-3

20:2 He ⁴⁶  seized the dragon – the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan – and tied him up for a thousand years. 20:3 The angel ⁴⁷  then ⁴⁸  threw him into the abyss and locked ⁴⁹  and sealed it so that he could not deceive the nations until the one thousand years were finished. (After these things he must be released for a brief period of time.)

Wahyu 20:7-10

Satan’s Final Defeat

20:7 Now ⁵⁰  when the thousand years are finished, Satan will be released from his prison 20:8 and will go out to deceive ⁵¹  the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, ⁵²  to bring them together for the battle. They are as numerous as the grains of sand in the sea. ⁵³  20:9 They ⁵⁴  went up ⁵⁵  on the broad plain of the earth ⁵⁶  and encircled ⁵⁷  the camp ⁵⁸  of the saints and the beloved city, but ⁵⁹  fire came down from heaven and devoured them completely. ⁶⁰  20:10 And the devil who deceived ⁶¹  them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, ⁶²  where the beast and the false prophet are ⁶³  too, and they will be tormented there day and night forever and ever.

[13:25]  ¹ tn Grk “sowed darnel.” The Greek term ζιζάνιον (zizanion) refers to an especially undesirable weed that looks like wheat but has poisonous seeds (L&N 3.30).

[13:28]  ² tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the owner’s statement.

[13:2]  ³ tn Grk “and all the crowd.” The clause in this phrase, although coordinate in terms of grammar, is logically subordinate to the previous clause.

[2:17]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn The genitive τοῦ Χριστοῦ (tou Cristou) is appositional and translated as such: “the reality is Christ.”

[1:3]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).

[1:14]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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.

[2:2]  ¹³ sn The relative pronoun which is feminine as is sins, indicating that sins is the antecedent.

[2:2]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “domain, [place of] authority.”

[2:2]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “of” (but see the note on the word “spirit” later in this verse).

[2:2]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “working in.”

[2:2]  ²⁰ 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.

[6:11]  ²¹ tn Or “craftiness.” See BDAG 625 s.v. μεθοδεία.

[6:12]  ²² tn BDAG 752 s.v. πάλη says, “struggle against…the opponent is introduced by πρός w. the acc.”

[6:12]  ²³ tn Grk “blood and flesh.”

[6:12]  ²⁴ tn BDAG 561 s.v. κοσμοκράτωρ suggests “the rulers of this sinful world” as a gloss.

[6:12]  sn The phrase world-rulers of this darkness does not refer to human rulers but the evil spirits that rule over the world. The phrase thus stands in apposition to what follows (the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens); see note on heavens at the end of this verse.

[6:12]  ²⁵ tn BDAG 837 s.v. πνευματικός 3 suggests “the spirit-forces of evil” in Ephesians 6:12.

[6:12]  ²⁶ sn The phrase spiritual forces of evil in the heavens serves to emphasize the nature of the forces which oppose believers as well as to indicate the locality from which they originate.

[6:2]  ²⁷ sn A quotation from Exod 20:12 and Deut 5:16.

[2:8]  ²⁸ tn See note on the same expression in v. 5.

[2:8]  ²⁹ tc The feminine article is found before πίστεως (pistews, “faith”) in the Byzantine text as well as in A Ψ 1881 pc. Perhaps for some scribes the article was intended to imply creedal fidelity as a necessary condition of salvation (“you are saved through the faith”), although elsewhere in the corpus Paulinum the phrase διὰ τῆς πίστεως (dia th" pistew") is used for the act of believing rather than the content of faith (cf. Rom 3:30, 31; Gal 3:14; Eph 3:17; Col 2:12). On the other side, strong representatives of the Alexandrian and Western texts (א B D* F G P 0278 6 33 1739 al bo) lack the article. Hence, both text-critically and exegetically, the meaning of the text here is most likely “saved through faith” as opposed to “saved through the faith.” Regarding the textual problem, the lack of the article is the preferred reading.

[2:9]  ³⁰ tn Or “not as a result of.”

[2:9]  ³¹ tn Grk “lest anyone should boast.”

[2:10]  ³² 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]  ³³ tn Grk “in the flesh.”

[2:1]  ³⁴ tn The adverbial participle “being” (ὄντας, ontas) is taken concessively.

[2:1]  ³⁵ sn Chapter 2 starts off with a participle, although you were dead, that is left dangling. The syntax in Greek for vv. 1-3 constitutes one incomplete sentence, though it seems to have been done intentionally. The dangling participle leaves the readers in suspense while they wait for the solution (in v. 4) to their spiritual dilemma.

[5:8]  ³⁶ tn Alternately, “oppression.” The term עֹשֶׁק (’osheq) has a basic two-fold range of meaning: (1) “oppression; brutality” (e.g., Isa 54:14); and (2) “extortion” (e.g., Ps 62:11); see HALOT 897 s.v. עֹשֶׁק; BDB 799 s.v. עֹשֶׁק. The LXX understands the term as “oppression,” as the translation συκοφαντίαν (sukofantian, “oppression”) indicates. Likewise, HALOT 897 s.v. עֹשֶׁק 1 classifies this usage as “oppression” against the poor. However, the context of 5:8-9 [7-8 HT] focuses on corrupt government officials robbing people of the fruit of their labor through extortion and the perversion of justice.

[5:8]  ³⁷ tn Heb “robbery.” The noun גֵזֶל (gezel, “robbery”) refers to the wrestling away of righteousness or the perversion of justice (HALOT 186 s.v. גֵּזֶל). The related forms of the root גזל mean “to rob; to loot” (HALOT 186 s.v. גֵּזֶל). The term “robbery” is used as a figure for the perversion of justice (hypocatastasis): just as a thief robs his victims through physical violence, so corrupt government officials “rob” the poor through the perversion of justice.

[5:8]  ³⁸ tn Heb “in the province.”

[5:8]  ³⁹ tn The word “official” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[5:8]  ⁴⁰ sn And there are higher ones over them! This may describe a corrupt system of government in which each level of hierarchy exploits its subordinates, all the way down to the peasants: “Set in authority over the people is an official who enriches himself at their expense; he is watched by a more authoritative governor who also has his share of the spoils; and above them are other officers of the State who likewise have to be satisfied”; see A. Cohen, The Five Megilloth (SoBB), 141.

[12:9]  ⁴¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the war in heaven.

[13:14]  ⁴² tn Grk “earth, telling.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in Greek.

[13:14]  sn He told followed by an infinitive (“to make an image…”) is sufficiently ambiguous in Greek that it could be taken as “he ordered” (so NIV) or “he persuaded” (so REB).

[19:20]  ⁴³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of an unexpected development in the account: The opposing armies do not come together in battle; rather the leader of one side is captured.

[19:20]  ⁴⁴ tn For this meaning see BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνώπιον 4.b, “by the authority of, on behalf of Rv 13:12, 14; 19:20.”

[19:20]  ⁴⁵ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”

[20:2]  ⁴⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[20:3]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel introduced in v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:3]  ⁴⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[20:3]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “and shut.” While the lexical force of the term is closer to “shut,” it is acceptable to render the verb ἔκλεισεν (ekleisen) as “locked” here in view of the mention of the key in the previous verse.

[20:7]  ⁵⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[20:8]  ⁵¹ tn Or “mislead.”

[20:8]  ⁵² sn The battle with Gog and Magog is described in the OT in Ezek 38:1-39:20.

[20:8]  ⁵³ tn Grk “of whom the number of them [is] like the sand of the sea” (an allusion to Isa 10:22).

[20:9]  ⁵⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[20:9]  ⁵⁵ tn The shift here to past tense reflects the Greek text.

[20:9]  ⁵⁶ tn On the phrase “broad plain of the earth” BDAG 823 s.v. πλάτος states, “τὸ πλάτος τῆς γῆς Rv 20:9 comes fr. the OT (Da 12:2 LXX. Cp. Hab 1:6; Sir 1:3), but the sense is not clear: breadth = the broad plain of the earth is perh. meant to provide room for the countless enemies of God vs. 8, but the ‘going up’ is better suited to Satan (vs. 7) who has recently been freed, and who comes up again fr. the abyss (vs. 3).” The referent here thus appears to be a plain large enough to accommodate the numberless hoards that have drawn up for battle against the Lord Christ and his saints.

[20:9]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “surrounded.”

[20:9]  ⁵⁸ tn On the term παρεμβολή (parembolh) BDAG 775 s.v. states, “Mostly used as a military t.t.…so always in our lit.…1. a (fortified) camp…ἡ παρεμβολὴ τῶν ἁγίων Rv 20:9 is also to be understood fr. the OT use of the word.”

[20:9]  ⁵⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[20:9]  ⁶⁰ tn See L&N 20.45 for the translation of κατεσθίω (katesqiw) as “to destroy utterly, to consume completely.”

[20:10]  ⁶¹ tn Or “misled.”

[20:10]  ⁶² tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”

[20:10]  ⁶³ tn The verb in this clause is elided. In keeping with the previous past tenses some translations supply a past tense verb here (“were”), but in view of the future tense that follows (“they will be tormented”), a present tense verb was used to provide a transition from the previous past tense to the future tense that follows.