Roma 1:5

1:5 Through him ¹  we have received grace and our apostleship ²  to bring about the obedience ³  of faith ⁴  among all the Gentiles on behalf of his name.

Roma 12:3

Conduct in Humility

12:3 For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you ⁵  a measure of faith. ⁶ 

Roma 12:6

12:6 And we have different gifts ⁷  according to the grace given to us. If the gift is prophecy, that individual must use it in proportion to his faith.

Roma 12:1

Consecration of the Believer’s Life

12:1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, ⁸  by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to God ⁹  – which is your reasonable service.

Kolose 3:10

3:10 and have been clothed with the new man ¹⁰  that is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created it.

Kolose 1:10

1:10 so that you may live ¹¹  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ¹²  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

Galatia 1:15-16

1:15 But when the one ¹³  who set me apart from birth ¹⁴  and called me by his grace was pleased 1:16 to reveal his Son in ¹⁵  me so that I could preach him ¹⁶  among the Gentiles, I did not go to ask advice from ¹⁷  any human being, ¹⁸ 

Galatia 2:9

2:9 and when James, Cephas, ¹⁹  and John, who had a reputation as ²⁰  pillars, ²¹  recognized ²²  the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me ²³  the right hand of fellowship, agreeing ²⁴  that we would go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. ²⁵ 

Efesus 3:7-8

3:7 I became a servant of this gospel ²⁶  according to the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by ²⁷  the exercise of his power. ²⁸  3:8 To me – less than the least of all the saints ²⁹  – this grace was given, ³⁰  to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ

Efesus 3:1

Paul's Relationship to the Divine Mystery

3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus ³¹  for the sake of you Gentiles –

Titus 1:11-14

1:11 who must be silenced because they mislead whole families by teaching for dishonest gain what ought not to be taught. 1:12 A certain one of them, in fact, one of their own prophets, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” ³²  1:13 Such testimony is true. For this reason rebuke them sharply that they may be healthy in the faith 1:14 and not pay attention to Jewish myths ³³  and commands of people who reject the truth.

Titus 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ³⁴  a slave ³⁵  of God and apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith ³⁶  of God’s chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth that is in keeping with godliness,

Pengkhotbah 4:10-11

4:10 For if they fall, one will help his companion up,

but pity ³⁷  the person who falls down and has no one to help him up.

4:11 Furthermore, if two lie down together, they can keep each other warm,

but how can one person keep warm by himself?

Pengkhotbah 4:2

4:2 So I considered ³⁸  those who are dead and gone ³⁹ 

more fortunate than those who are still alive. ⁴⁰ 

Pengkhotbah 3:15

3:15 Whatever exists now has already been, and whatever will be has already been;

for God will seek to do again ⁴¹  what has occurred ⁴²  in the past. ⁴³ 

[1:5]  ¹ tn Grk “through whom.”

[1:5]  ² tn Some interpreters understand the phrase “grace and apostleship” as a hendiadys, translating “grace [i.e., gift] of apostleship.” The pronoun “our” is supplied in the translation to clarify the sense of the statement.

[1:5]  ³ tn Grk “and apostleship for obedience.”

[1:5]  ⁴ tn The phrase ὑπακοὴν πίστεως has been variously understood as (1) an objective genitive (a reference to the Christian faith, “obedience to [the] faith”); (2) a subjective genitive (“the obedience faith produces [or requires]”); (3) an attributive genitive (“believing obedience”); or (4) as a genitive of apposition (“obedience, [namely] faith”) in which “faith” further defines “obedience.” These options are discussed by C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans (ICC), 1:66. Others take the phrase as deliberately ambiguous; see D. B. Garlington, “The Obedience of Faith in the Letter to the Romans: Part I: The Meaning of ὑπακοὴ πίστεως (Rom 1:5; 16:26),” WTJ 52 (1990): 201-24.

[12:3]  ⁵ tn The words “of you” have been supplied for clarity.

[12:3]  ⁶ tn Or “to each as God has distributed a measure of faith.”

[12:6]  ⁷ tn This word comes from the same root as “grace” in the following clause; it means “things graciously given,” “grace-gifts.”

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

[12:1]  ⁹ tn The participle and two adjectives “alive, holy, and pleasing to God” are taken as predicates in relation to “sacrifice,” making the exhortation more emphatic. See ExSyn 618-19.

[12:1]  sn Taken as predicate adjectives, the terms alive, holy, and pleasing are showing how unusual is the sacrifice that believers can now offer, for OT sacrifices were dead. As has often been quipped about this text, “The problem with living sacrifices is that they keep crawling off the altar.”

[3:10]  ¹⁰ sn Put off all such things. The commands in vv. 8-9 are based on two reasons given in vv. 9-10 – reasons which are expressed in terms of a metaphor about clothing oneself. Paul says that they have put off the old man and have put on the new man. Two things need to be discussed in reference to Paul’s statement. (1) What is the meaning of the clothing imagery (i.e., the “have put off” and “have been clothed”)? (2) What is the meaning of the old man and the new man? Though some commentators understand the participles “have put off” (v. 9) and “have been clothed” (v. 10) as imperatives (i.e., “put off!” and “put on!”), this use of participles is extremely rare in the NT and thus unlikely here. It is better to take them as having the semantic force of indicatives, and thus they give an explanation of what had happened to the Colossians at the time of their conversion – they had taken off the old man and put on the new when they trusted in Christ (cf. 1:4). While it is difficult to say for certain what the background to Paul’s “clothing” metaphor might be (whether it is primarily Jewish and comes from the OT, or primarily Gentile and comes from some facet of the Greco-Roman religious milieu), it is nonetheless clear, on the basis of Paul’s usage of the expression, that the old man refers to man as he is in Adam and dominated by sin (cf. Rom 6:6; Eph 4:22), while the new man refers to the Christian whose new sphere of existence is in Christ. Though the metaphor of clothing oneself primarily reflects outward actions, there is a distinct inward aspect to it, as the rest of v. 10 indicates: being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created it. Paul’s point, then, is that Christians should take off their dirty clothing (inappropriate behavior) and put on clean clothing (behavior consistent with knowing Christ) because this has already been accomplished in a positional sense at the time of their conversion (cf. Gal 3:27 with Rom 13:14).

[1:10]  ¹¹ tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”

[1:10]  ¹² tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”

[1:15]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “from my mother’s womb.”

[1:16]  ¹⁵ tn Or “to me”; the Greek preposition ἐν (en) can mean either, depending on the context.

[1:16]  ¹⁶ tn This pronoun refers to “his Son,” mentioned earlier in the verse.

[1:16]  ¹⁷ tn Or “I did not consult with.” For the translation “I did not go to ask advice from” see L&N 33.175.

[1:16]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “from flesh and blood.”

[2:9]  ¹⁹ sn Cephas. This individual is generally identified with the Apostle Peter (L&N 93.211).

[2:9]  ²⁰ tn Or “who were influential as,” or “who were reputed to be.” See also the note on the word “influential” in 2:6.

[2:9]  ²¹ sn Pillars is figurative here for those like James, Peter, and John who were leaders in the Jerusalem church.

[2:9]  ²² tn The participle γνόντες (gnontes) has been taken temporally. It is structurally parallel to the participle translated “when they saw” in v. 7.

[2:9]  ²³ tn Grk “me and Barnabas.”

[2:9]  ²⁴ tn Grk “so,” with the ἵνα (Jina) indicating the result of the “pillars” extending the “right hand of fellowship,” but the translation “they gave…the right hand of fellowship so that we would go” could be misunderstood as purpose here. The implication of the scene is that an agreement, outlined at the end of v. 10, was reached between Paul and Barnabas on the one hand and the “pillars” of the Jerusalem church on the other.

[2:9]  ²⁵ tn Grk “to the circumcision,” a collective reference to the Jewish people.

[3:7]  ²⁶ tn Grk “of which I was made a minister,” “of which I became a servant.”

[3:7]  ²⁷ tn Grk “according to.”

[3:7]  ²⁸ sn On the exercise of his power see 1:19-20.

[3:8]  ²⁹ sn In Pauline writings saints means any true believer. Thus for Paul to view himself as less than the least of all the saints is to view himself as the most unworthy object of Christ’s redemption.

[3:8]  ³⁰ sn The parallel phrases to proclaim and to enlighten which follow indicate why God’s grace was manifested to Paul. Grace was not something just to be received, but to be shared with others (cf. Acts 13:47).

[3:1]  ³¹ tc Several early and important witnesses, chiefly of the Western text (א* D* F G [365]), lack ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou, “Jesus”) here, while most Alexandrian and Byzantine mss (Ì⁴⁶ א¹ A B [C] D¹ Ψ 33 1739 [1881] Ï lat sy bo) have the word. However, because of the Western text’s proclivities to add or delete to the text, seemingly at whim, serious doubts should be attached to the shorter reading. It is strengthened, however, by א’s support. Nevertheless, since both א and D were corrected with the addition of ᾿Ιησοῦ, their testimony might be questioned. Further, in uncial script the nomina sacra here could have led to missing a word by way of homoioteleuton (cMuiMu). At the same time, in light of the rarity of scribal omission of nomina sacra (see TCGNT 582, n. 1), a decision for inclusion of the word here must be tentative. NA²⁷ rightly places ᾿Ιησοῦ in brackets.

[1:12]  ³² sn A saying attributed to the poet Epimenides of Crete (6th century b.c.).

[1:14]  ³³ sn Jewish myths were legendary tales characteristic of the false teachers in Ephesus and Crete. See parallels in 1 Tim 1:4; 4:7; and 2 Tim 4:4.

[1:1]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ 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]  ³⁶ tn Grk “for the faith,” possibly, “in accordance with the faith.”

[4:10]  ³⁷ tn Heb “woe to him.”

[4:2]  ³⁸ tn The verb שָׁבַח (shavakh) has a two-fold range of meaning: (1) “to praise; to laud”; and (2) “to congratulate” (HALOT 1387 s.v. I שׁבח; BDB 986 s.v. II שָׁבַח). The LXX translated it as ἐπῄνεσα (ephnesa, “I praised”). The English versions reflect the range of possible meanings: “praised” (KJV, ASV, Douay); “congratulated” (MLB, NASB); “declared/judged/accounted/thought…fortunate/happy” (NJPS, NEB, NIV, RSV, NRSV, NAB).

[4:2]  ³⁹ tn Heb “the dead who had already died.”

[4:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “the living who are alive.”

[3:15]  ⁴¹ tn The phrase “to do again” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[3:15]  ⁴² tn Heb “God will seek that which is driven away.” The meaning of יְבַקֵּשׁ אֶת־נִרְדָּף (yÿvaqqesh ’et-nirdaf) is difficult to determine: יְבַקֵּשׁ (yÿvaqqesh) is Piel imperfect 3rd person masculine singular from בָּקַשׁ (baqash, “to seek”) and נִרְדָּף (nirdaf) is a Niphal participle 3rd person masculine singular from רָדַף (radaf, “to drive away”). There are several options: (1) God watches over the persecuted: יְבַקֵּשׁ (“seeks”) functions as a metonymy of cause for effect (i.e., to protect), and אֶת־נִרְדָּף (“what is driven away”) refers to “those who are persecuted.” But this does not fit the context. (2) God will call the past to account: יְבַקֵּשׁ functions as a metonymy of cause for effect (i.e., to hold accountable), and אֶת־נִרְדָּף is a metonymy of attribute (i.e., the past). This approach is adopted by several English translations: “God requires that which is past” (KJV), “God will call the past to account” (NIV) and “God summons each event back in its turn” (NEB). (3) God finds what has been lost: יְבַקֵּשׁ functions as a metonymy of cause for effect (i.e., to find), and אֶת־נִרְדָּף refers to what has been lost: “God restores what would otherwise be displaced” (NAB). (4) God repeats what has already occurred: יְבַקֵּשׁ functions as a metonymy of effect (i.e., to repeat), and אֶת־נִרְדָּף is a metonymy (i.e., that which has occurred). This fits the context and provides a tight parallel with the preceding line: “That which is has already been, and that which will be has already been” (3:15a) parallels “God seeks [to repeat] that which has occurred [in the past].” This is the most popular approach among English versions: “God restores that which has past” (Douay), “God seeks again that which is passed away” (ASV), “God seeks what has passed by” (NASB), “God seeks what has been driven away” (RSV), “God seeks out what has passed by” (MLB), “God seeks out what has gone by” (NRSV), and “God is ever bringing back what disappears” (Moffatt).

[3:15]  ⁴³ tn The phrase “in the past” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.