Roma 12:13

12:13 Contribute to the needs of the saints, pursue hospitality.

Ulangan 15:8-11

15:8 Instead, you must be sure to open your hand to him and generously lend ¹  him whatever he needs. ²  15:9 Be careful lest you entertain the wicked thought that the seventh year, the year of cancellation of debts, has almost arrived, and your attitude ³  be wrong toward your impoverished fellow Israelite ⁴  and you do not lend ⁵  him anything; he will cry out to the Lord against you and you will be regarded as having sinned. ⁶  15:10 You must by all means lend ⁷  to him and not be upset by doing it, ⁸  for because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you attempt. 15:11 There will never cease to be some poor people in the land; therefore, I am commanding you to make sure you open ⁹  your hand to your fellow Israelites ¹⁰  who are needy and poor in your land.

Ulangan 15:14

15:14 You must supply them generously ¹¹  from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress – as the Lord your God has blessed you, you must give to them.

Ayub 31:16-20

31:16 If I have refused to give the poor what they desired, ¹² 

or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

31:17 If I ate my morsel of bread myself,

and did not share any of it with orphans ¹³  –

31:18 but from my youth I raised the orphan ¹⁴  like a father,

and from my mother’s womb ¹⁵ 

I guided the widow! ¹⁶ 

31:19 If I have seen anyone about to perish for lack of clothing,

or a poor man without a coat,

31:20 whose heart did not bless me ¹⁷ 

as he warmed himself with the fleece of my sheep, ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 112:9

112:9 He generously gives ¹⁹  to the needy;

his integrity endures. ²⁰ 

He will be vindicated and honored. ²¹ 

Amsal 22:9

22:9 A generous person ²²  will be blessed, ²³ 

for he gives some of his food ²⁴  to the poor.

Pengkhotbah 11:1-2

Ignorance of the Future Demands Diligence in the Present

11:1 Send ²⁵  your grain ²⁶  overseas, ²⁷ 

for after many days you will get a return. ²⁸ 

11:2 Divide your merchandise ²⁹  among seven or even eight ³⁰  investments, ³¹ 

for you do not know ³²  what calamity ³³  may happen on earth.

Pengkhotbah 11:6

11:6 Sow your seed in the morning,

and do not stop working ³⁴  until the evening; ³⁵ 

for you do not know which activity ³⁶  will succeed ³⁷  –

whether this one or that one, or whether both will prosper equally. ³⁸ 

Yesaya 32:5

32:5 A fool will no longer be called honorable;

a deceiver will no longer be called principled.

Yesaya 32:8

32:8 An honorable man makes honorable plans;

his honorable character gives him security. ³⁹ 

Yesaya 58:7-11

58:7 I want you ⁴⁰  to share your food with the hungry

and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people. ⁴¹ 

When you see someone naked, clothe him!

Don’t turn your back on your own flesh and blood! ⁴² 

58:8 Then your light will shine like the sunrise; ⁴³ 

your restoration will quickly arrive; ⁴⁴ 

your godly behavior ⁴⁵  will go before you,

and the Lord’s splendor will be your rear guard. ⁴⁶ 

58:9 Then you will call out, and the Lord will respond;

you will cry out, and he will reply, ‘Here I am.’

You must ⁴⁷  remove the burdensome yoke from among you

and stop pointing fingers and speaking sinfully.

58:10 You must ⁴⁸  actively help the hungry

and feed the oppressed. ⁴⁹ 

Then your light will dispel the darkness, ⁵⁰ 

and your darkness will be transformed into noonday. ⁵¹ 

58:11 The Lord will continually lead you;

he will feed you even in parched regions. ⁵² 

He will give you renewed strength, ⁵³ 

and you will be like a well-watered garden,

like a spring that continually produces water.

Matius 6:2-4

6:2 Thus whenever you do charitable giving, ⁵⁴  do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in synagogues ⁵⁵  and on streets so that people will praise them. I tell you the truth, ⁵⁶  they have their reward. 6:3 But when you do your giving, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 6:4 so that your gift may be in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. ⁵⁷ 

Matius 25:40

25:40 And the king will answer them, ⁵⁸  ‘I tell you the truth, ⁵⁹  just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters ⁶⁰  of mine, you did it for me.’

Lukas 21:1-4

The Widow’s Offering

21:1 Jesus ⁶¹  looked up ⁶²  and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box. ⁶³  21:2 He also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. ⁶⁴  21:3 He ⁶⁵  said, “I tell you the truth, ⁶⁶  this poor widow has put in more than all of them. ⁶⁷  21:4 For they all offered their gifts out of their wealth. ⁶⁸  But she, out of her poverty, put in everything she had to live on.” ⁶⁹ 

Kisah Para Rasul 2:44-46

2:44 All who believed were together and held ⁷⁰  everything in common, 2:45 and they began selling ⁷¹  their property ⁷²  and possessions and distributing the proceeds ⁷³  to everyone, as anyone had need. 2:46 Every day ⁷⁴  they continued to gather together by common consent in the temple courts, ⁷⁵  breaking bread from ⁷⁶  house to house, sharing their food with glad ⁷⁷  and humble hearts, ⁷⁸ 

Kisah Para Rasul 4:33-35

4:33 With ⁷⁹  great power the apostles were giving testimony ⁸⁰  to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on them all. 4:34 For there was no one needy ⁸¹  among them, because those who were owners of land or houses were selling ⁸²  them ⁸³  and bringing the proceeds from the sales 4:35 and placing them at the apostles’ feet. The proceeds ⁸⁴  were distributed to each, as anyone had need.

Kisah Para Rasul 11:28-30

11:28 One of them, named Agabus, got up ⁸⁵  and predicted ⁸⁶  by the Spirit that a severe ⁸⁷  famine ⁸⁸  was about to come over the whole inhabited world. ⁸⁹  (This ⁹⁰  took place during the reign of Claudius.) ⁹¹  11:29 So the disciples, each in accordance with his financial ability, ⁹²  decided ⁹³  to send relief ⁹⁴  to the brothers living in Judea. 11:30 They did so, ⁹⁵  sending their financial aid ⁹⁶  to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.

Kisah Para Rasul 11:2

11:2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, ⁹⁷  the circumcised believers ⁹⁸  took issue with ⁹⁹  him,

Kolose 1:1-9

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹⁰⁰  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 1:2 to the saints, the faithful ¹⁰¹  brothers and sisters ¹⁰²  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ¹⁰³  from God our Father! ¹⁰⁴ 

Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Church

1:3 We always ¹⁰⁵  give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 1:4 since ¹⁰⁶  we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints. 1:5 Your faith and love have arisen ¹⁰⁷  from the hope laid up ¹⁰⁸  for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel ¹⁰⁹  1:6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel ¹¹⁰  is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing ¹¹¹  among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth. 1:7 You learned the gospel ¹¹²  from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave ¹¹³  – a ¹¹⁴  faithful minister of Christ on our ¹¹⁵  behalf – 1:8 who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ¹¹⁶  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ¹¹⁷  to fill ¹¹⁸  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

Kolose 1:12

1:12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share ¹¹⁹  in the saints’ ¹²⁰  inheritance in the light.

Kolose 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹²¹  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Kolose 2:8

2:8 Be careful not to allow anyone to captivate you ¹²²  through an empty, deceitful philosophy ¹²³  that is according to human traditions and the elemental spirits ¹²⁴  of the world, and not according to Christ.

Kolose 2:1

2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, ¹²⁵  and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. ¹²⁶ 

Pengkhotbah 4:9-11

Labor is Beneficial When Its Rewards Are Shared

4:9 Two people are better than one,

because they can reap ¹²⁷  more benefit ¹²⁸  from their labor.

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

but pity ¹²⁹  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?

[15:8]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute before both verbs. The translation indicates the emphasis with the words “be sure to” and “generously,” respectively.

[15:8]  ² tn Heb “whatever his need that he needs for himself.” This redundant expression has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[15:9]  ³ tn Heb “your eye.”

[15:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “your needy brother.”

[15:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “give” (likewise in v. 10).

[15:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “it will be a sin to you.”

[15:10]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “by all means.”

[15:10]  ⁸ tc Heb “your heart must not be grieved in giving to him.” The LXX and Orig add, “you shall surely lend to him sufficient for his need,” a suggestion based on the same basic idea in v. 8. Such slavish adherence to stock phrases is without warrant in most cases, and certainly here.

[15:11]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “make sure.”

[15:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “your brother.”

[15:14]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “generously.”

[31:16]  ¹² tn Heb “kept the poor from [their] desire.”

[31:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “and an orphan did not eat from it.”

[31:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he grew up with me.” Several commentators have decided to change the pronoun to “I,” and make it causative.

[31:18]  ¹⁵ tn The expression “from my mother’s womb” is obviously hyperbolic. It is a way of saying “all his life.”

[31:18]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “I guided her,” referring to the widow mentioned in v. 16.

[31:20]  ¹⁷ tn The MT has simply “if his loins did not bless me.” In the conditional clause this is another protasis. It means, “if I saw someone dying and if he did not thank me for clothing them.” It is Job’s way of saying that whenever he saw a need he met it, and he received his share of thanks – which prove his kindness. G. R. Driver has it “without his loins having blessed me,” taking “If…not” as an Aramaism, meaning “except” (AJSL 52 [1935/36]: 164f.).

[31:20]  ¹⁸ tn This clause is interpreted here as a subordinate clause to the first half of the verse. It could also be a separate clause: “was he not warmed…?”

[112:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he scatters, he gives.”

[112:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “stands forever.”

[112:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “his horn will be lifted up in honor.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17).

[22:9]  ²² tn Heb “good of eye.” This expression is an attributed genitive meaning “bountiful of eye” (cf. KJV, ASV “He that hath a bountiful eye”). This is the opposite of the “evil eye” which is covetous and wicked. The “eye” is a metonymy representing looking well to people’s needs. So this refers to the generous person (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[22:9]  ²³ tn The form יְבֹרָךְ (yÿvorakh) is a Pual imperfect (here in pause) from בָּרַךְ (barakh); the word means “blessed” in the sense of “enriched,” implying there is a practical reward for being generous to the poor.

[22:9]  ²⁴ sn It is from his own food that he gives to the poor. Of the many observations that could be made, it is worth noting that in blessing this kind of person God is in fact providing for the poor, because out of his blessing he will surely continue to share more.

[11:1]  ²⁵ tn The verb שָׁלַח (shalakh, “to send; to cast”) refers to the action of sending something to someone (e.g., Neh 8:12; HALOT 1995 s.v. שׁלח). The term is traditionally rendered here as “cast” (KJV, NAB, RES, ASV, NASB, NIV); however, some render it “send” (NJPS, NRSV, NEB). LXX uses ἀπόστειλον (aposteilon, “send”).

[11:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “your bread.” The term לֶחֶם (lekhem) is traditionally rendered “bread” (KJV, NAB, RSV, NRSV, ASV, NASB, NIV, NJPS). However, 11:1-2 seems to deal with exporting goods overseas (D. R. Glenn, “Ecclesiastes,” BKCOT, 1002-3). It is better to take לֶחֶם (“bread”) as a metonymy of product, standing for the grain and wheat from which bread is produced (e.g., Gen 41:54-55; 47:13, 15, 17, 19; 49:20; Num 15:19; 2 Kgs 18:32; Isa 28:28; 30:23; 36:17; 55:10; Jer 5:17; Ezek 48:18; Job 28:5; Ps 104:14; Prov 28:3); see HALOT 526 s.v. 1; BDB 537 s.v. 1.b. It is taken this way by several translations: “grain” (NEB) and “goods” (Moffatt). Qoheleth encouraged the export of grain products overseas in international trade.

[11:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “upon the surface of the waters.” This is traditionally viewed as extolling generosity from which a reward will be reaped. On the other hand, some scholars suggest that the imagery deals with commercial business through maritime trade. M. Jastrow took this verse as advice to take risks in business by trusting one’s goods or ships that will after many days return with a profit (A. Cohen, The Five Megilloth [SoBB], 181). Sea trade was risky in the ancient Near East, but it brought big returns to its investors (e.g., 1 Kgs 9:26-28; 10:22; Ps 107:23); see D. R. Glenn, “Ecclesiastes,” BKCOT, 1002-3. The verse is rendered thus: “Send your grain across the seas, and in time you will get a return” (NEB); or “Trust your goods far and wide at sea, till you get a good return after a while” (Moffatt).

[11:1]  ²⁸ tn Heb “find it.”

[11:2]  ²⁹ tn Heb “give a portion.”

[11:2]  ³⁰ tn The phrase “seven or eight” is a graded numerical saying depicting an indefinite plurality: “The collocation of a numeral with the next above it is a rhetorical device employed in numerical sayings to express a number, which need not, or cannot, be more exactly specified. It must be gathered from the context whether such formulae are intended to denote only an insignificant number (e.g., Is 17:6 “two” or at the most “three”) or a considerable number (e.g., Mi 5:4). Sometimes, however, this juxtaposition serves to express merely an indefinite total, without the collateral idea of intensifying the lower by means of the higher number” (GKC 437 §134.s). Examples: “one” or “two” (Deut 32:30; Jer 3:14; Job 33:14; 40:5; Ps 62:12); “two” or “three” (2 Kgs 9:32; Isa 17:6; Hos 6:2; Amos 4:8; Sir 23:16; 26:28; 50:25); “three” or “four” (Jer 36:23; Amos 1:3-11; Prov 21:19; 30:15, 18; Sir 26:5); “four” or “five” (Isa 17:6); “six” or “seven” (Job 5:19; Prov 6:16); “seven” or “eight” (Mic 5:4; Eccl 11:2).

[11:2]  ³¹ tn The word “investments” is not in the Hebrew text; it is added here for clarity. This line is traditionally understood as an exhortation to be generous to a multitude of people (KJV, NAB, ASV, NASB, RSV, NRSV, NIV, NJPS); however, it is better taken as shrewd advice to not commit all one’s possessions to a single venture (A. Cohen, The Five Megilloth [SoBB], 181). D. R. Glenn (“Ecclesiastes,” BKCOT, 1003) writes: “In view of the possibility of disaster, a person should make prudent investments in numerous ventures rather than put all his ‘eggs in one basket’ (e.g., Gen 32:7-8 for a practical example of this advice).” Several translations reflect this: “Divide your merchandise among seven ventures, eight maybe” (NEB); “Take shares in several ventures” (Moffatt).

[11:2]  ³² sn The phrase you do not know is repeated throughout this section (11:2, 5-6). Human beings are ignorant of the future. This should motivate a person to invest their financial resources wisely (11:1-3) and to work diligently (11:4-6).

[11:2]  ³³ tn The term רעה (lit. “evil”) refers to calamity (e.g., Eccl 5:13; 7:14; 9:12).

[11:6]  ³⁴ tn Heb “do not let your hand rest.” The Hebrew phrase “do not let your hand rest” is an idiom that means “do not stop working” or “do not be idle” (e.g., Eccl 7:18); cf. BDB 628 s.v. נוּחַ B.1. Several English versions capture the sense of the idiom well: “do not stop working” (NEB); “do not be idle” (MLB); “let not your hand be idle” (NAB); “let not your hands be idle” (NIV); “stay not your hand” (Moffatt). The term “hand” is a synecdoche of part (i.e., do not let your hand rest) for the whole person (i.e., do not allow yourself to stop working).

[11:6]  ³⁵ tn The terms “morning” (בֹּקֶר, boqer) and “evening” (עֶרֶב, ’erev) form a merism (a figure of speech using two polar extremes to include everything in between) that connotes “from morning until evening.” The point is not that the farmer should plant at two times in the day (morning and evening), but that he should plant all day long (from morning until evening). This merism is reflected in several translations: “in the morning…until evening” (NEB, Moffatt).

[11:6]  ³⁶ tn The term “activity” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.

[11:6]  ³⁷ tn The verb כָּשֵׁר (kasher, “to prosper”) is used metonymically to denote “will succeed.” In 11:10, it means “skill in work.”

[11:6]  ³⁸ tn Or “together.”

[32:8]  ³⁹ tn Heb “and he upon honorable things stands.”

[58:7]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “Is it not?” The rhetorical question here expects a positive answer, “It is!”

[58:7]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “and afflicted [ones], homeless [ones] you should bring [into] a house.” On the meaning of מְרוּדִים (mÿrudim, “homeless”) see HALOT 633 s.v. *מָרוּד.

[58:7]  ⁴² tn Heb “and from your flesh do not hide yourself.”

[58:8]  ⁴³ tn Heb “will burst out like the dawn.”

[58:8]  sn Light here symbolizes God’s favor and restored blessing, as the immediately following context makes clear.

[58:8]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “prosper”; KJV “spring forth speedily.”

[58:8]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “righteousness.” Their godly behavior will be on display for all to see.

[58:8]  ⁴⁶ sn The nation will experience God’s protective presence.

[58:9]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “if you.” In the Hebrew text vv. 9b-10 are one long conditional sentence. The protasis (“if” clauses appear in vv. 9b-10a), with the apodosis (“then” clause) appearing in v. 10b.

[58:10]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “if you.” See the note on “you must” in v. 9b.

[58:10]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “If you furnish for the hungry [with] your being, and the appetite of the oppressed you satisfy.”

[58:10]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “will rise in the darkness.”

[58:10]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “and your darkness [will be] like noonday.”

[58:11]  ⁵² tn Heb “he will satisfy in parched regions your appetite.”

[58:11]  ⁵³ tn Heb “and your bones he will strengthen.”

[6:2]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “give alms,” but this term is not in common use today. The giving of alms was highly regarded in the ancient world (Deut 15:7-11).

[6:2]  ⁵⁵ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.

[6:2]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[6:4]  ⁵⁷ tc L W Θ 0250 Ï it read ἐν τῷ φανερῷ (en tw fanerw, “openly”) at the end of this verse, giving a counterweight to what is done in secret. But this reading is suspect because of the obvious literary balance, because of detouring the point of the passage (the focus of vv. 1-4 is not on two kinds of public rewards but on human vs. divine approbation), and because of superior external testimony that lacks this reading (א B D Z Ë^1,13 33 al).

[25:40]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “answering, the king will say to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[25:40]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[25:40]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). In this context Jesus is ultimately speaking of his “followers” (whether men or women, adults or children), but the familial connotation of “brothers and sisters” is also important to retain here.

[21:1]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:1]  ⁶² tn Grk “looking up, he saw.” The participle ἀναβλέψας (anableya") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:1]  ⁶³ tn On the term γαζοφυλάκιον (gazofulakion), often translated “treasury,” see BDAG 186 s.v., which states, “For Mk 12:41, 43; Lk 21:1 the mng. contribution box or receptacle is attractive. Acc. to Mishnah, Shekalim 6, 5 there were in the temple 13 such receptacles in the form of trumpets. But even in these passages the general sense of ‘treasury’ is prob., for the contributions would go [into] the treasury via the receptacles.” Based upon the extra-biblical evidence (see sn following), however, the translation opts to refer to the actual receptacles and not the treasury itself.

[21:1]  sn The offering box probably refers to the receptacles in the temple forecourt by the Court of Women used to collect freewill offerings. These are mentioned by Josephus, J. W. 5.5.2 (5.200), 6.5.2 (6.282); Ant. 19.6.1 (19.294); and in 1 Macc 14:49 and 2 Macc 3:6, 24, 28, 40 (see also Mark 12:41; John 8:20).

[21:2]  ⁶⁴ sn These two small copper coins were lepta (sing. “lepton”), the smallest and least valuable coins in circulation in Palestine, worth one-half of a quadrans or 1/128 of a denarius, or about six minutes of an average daily wage. This was next to nothing in value.

[21:3]  ⁶⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[21:3]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “Truly, I say to you.”

[21:3]  ⁶⁷ sn Has put in more than all of them. With God, giving is weighed evaluatively, not counted. The widow was praised because she gave sincerely and at some considerable cost to herself.

[21:4]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “out of what abounded to them.”

[21:4]  ⁶⁹ tn Or “put in her entire livelihood.”

[2:44]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “had.”

[2:45]  ⁷¹ tn The imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive (“began…”). Since in context this is a description of the beginning of the community of believers, it is more likely that these statements refer to the start of various activities and practices that the early church continued for some time.

[2:45]  ⁷² tn It is possible that the first term for property (κτήματα, kthmata) refers to real estate (as later usage seems to indicate) while the second term (ὑπάρξεις, Juparxeis) refers to possessions in general, but it may also be that the two terms are used together for emphasis, simply indicating that all kinds of possessions were being sold. However, if the first term is more specifically a reference to real estate, it foreshadows the incident with Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11.

[2:45]  ⁷³ tn Grk “distributing them” (αὐτά, auta). The referent (the proceeds of the sales) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:46]  ⁷⁴ tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase.

[2:46]  ⁷⁵ tn Grk “in the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.

[2:46]  ⁷⁶ tn Here κατά (kata) is used as a distributive (BDAG 512 s.v. B.1.d).

[2:46]  ⁷⁷ sn The term glad (Grk “gladness”) often refers to joy brought about by God’s saving acts (Luke 1:14, 44; also the related verb in 1:47; 10:21).

[2:46]  ⁷⁸ tn Grk “with gladness and humbleness of hearts.” It is best to understand καρδίας (kardias) as an attributed genitive, with the two nouns it modifies actually listing attributes of the genitive noun which is related to them.

[4:33]  ⁷⁹ tn Grk “And with.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[4:33]  ⁸⁰ tn Or “were witnessing.”

[4:34]  ⁸¹ tn Or “poor.”

[4:34]  ⁸² tn Grk “houses, selling them were bringing.” The participle πωλοῦντες (pwlounte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[4:34]  ⁸³ tn The word “them” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[4:35]  ⁸⁴ tn Grk “It” (or “They,” plural). The referent of the understood pronoun subject, the proceeds from the sales, of the verb διεδίδετο (diedideto) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:28]  ⁸⁵ tn Grk “getting up, predicted.” The participle ἀναστάς (anasta") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[11:28]  ⁸⁶ tn Or “made clear”; Grk “indicated beforehand” (BDAG 920 s.v. σημαίνω 2).

[11:28]  ⁸⁷ tn Grk “great.”

[11:28]  ⁸⁸ sn This famine is one of the firmly fixed dates in Acts. It took place from a.d. 45-48. The events described in chap. 11 of Acts occurred during the early part of that period.

[11:28]  ⁸⁹ tn Or “whole Roman Empire.” While the word οἰκουμένη (oikoumenh) does occasionally refer specifically to the Roman Empire, BDAG 699 s.v. οἰκουνένη 2 does not list this passage (only Acts 24:5 and 17:6).

[11:28]  ⁹⁰ tn Grk “world, which.” The relative pronoun (“which”) was replaced by the demonstrative pronoun “this” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.

[11:28]  ⁹¹ sn This is best taken as a parenthetical note by the author. Claudius was the Roman emperor Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus, known as Claudius, who ruled from a.d. 41-54.

[11:29]  ⁹² tn So BDAG 410 s.v. εὐπορέω.

[11:29]  ⁹³ tn Or “determined,” “resolved.”

[11:29]  ⁹⁴ tn Grk “to send [something] for a ministry,” but today it is common to speak of sending relief for victims of natural disasters.

[11:29]  sn The financial relief reflects the oneness of the church, meeting the needs of another (even racially distinct) community. Jerusalem, having ministered to them, now received ministry back. A later collection from Greece is noted in Rom 15:25-27, but it reflects the same spirit as this gift.

[11:30]  ⁹⁵ tn Grk “Judea, which they did.” The relative pronoun was omitted and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.

[11:30]  ⁹⁶ tn The words “their financial aid” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[11:2]  ⁹⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[11:2]  ⁹⁸ tn Or “the Jewish Christians”; Grk “those of the circumcision.” Within the larger group of Christians were some whose loyalties ran along ethnic-religious lines.

[11:2]  ⁹⁹ tn Or “believers disputed with,” “believers criticized” (BDAG 231 s.v. διακρίνω 5.b).

[1:1]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:2]  ¹⁰¹ tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ¹⁰² tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:2]  ¹⁰³ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ¹⁰⁴ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.

[1:3]  ¹⁰⁵ 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).

[1:4]  ¹⁰⁶ tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).

[1:5]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Col 1:3-8 form one long sentence in the Greek text and have been divided at the end of v. 4 and v. 6 and within v. 6 for clarity, in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English toward shorter sentences. Thus the phrase “Your faith and love have arisen from the hope” is literally “because of the hope.” The perfect tense “have arisen” was chosen in the English to reflect the fact that the recipients of the letter had acquired this hope at conversion in the past, but that it still remains and motivates them to trust in Christ and to love one another.

[1:5]  ¹⁰⁸ tn BDAG 113 s.v. ἀπόκειμαι 2 renders ἀποκειμένην (apokeimenhn) with the expression “reserved” in this verse.

[1:5]  ¹⁰⁹ tn The term “the gospel” (τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, tou euangeliou) is in apposition to “the word of truth” (τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας, tw logw th" alhqeia") as indicated in the translation.

[1:6]  ¹¹⁰ tn Grk “just as in the entire world it is bearing fruit.” The antecedent (“the gospel”) of the implied subject (“it”) of ἐστιν (estin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:6]  ¹¹¹ tn Though the participles are periphrastic with the present tense verb ἐστίν (estin), the presence of the temporal indicator “from the day” in the next clause indicates that this is a present tense that reaches into the past and should be translated as “has been bearing fruit and growing.” For a discussion of this use of the present tense, see ExSyn 519-20.

[1:7]  ¹¹² tn Or “learned it.” The Greek text simply has “you learned” without the reference to “the gospel,” but “the gospel” is supplied to clarify the sense of the clause. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[1:7]  ¹¹³ tn The Greek word translated “fellow slave” is σύνδουλος (sundoulo"); the σύν- prefix here denotes association. Though δοῦλος 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.

[1:7]  ¹¹⁴ tn The Greek text has “who (ὅς, Jos) is a faithful minister.” The above translation conveys the antecedent of the relative pronoun quite well and avoids the redundancy with the following substantival participle of v. 8, namely, “who told” (ὁ δηλώσας, Jo dhlwsa").

[1:7]  ¹¹⁵ tc ‡ Judging by the superior witnesses for the first person pronoun ἡμῶν (Jhmwn, “us”; Ì⁴⁶ א* A B D* F G 326* 1505 al) vs. the second person pronoun ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “you”; found in א² C D¹ Ψ 075 33 1739 1881 Ï lat sy co), ἡμῶν should be regarded as original. Although it is possible that ἡμῶν was an early alteration of ὑμῶν (either unintentionally, as dittography, since it comes seventeen letters after the previous ἡμῶν; or intentionally, to conform to the surrounding first person pronouns), this supposition is difficult to maintain in light of the varied and valuable witnesses for this reading. Further, the second person is both embedded in the verb ἐμάθετε (emaqete) and is explicit in v. 8 (ὑμῶν). Hence, the motivation to change to the first person pronoun is counterbalanced by such evidence. The second person pronoun may have been introduced unintentionally via homoioarcton with the ὑπέρ (Juper) that immediately precedes it. As well, the second person reading is somewhat harder for it seems to address Epaphras’ role only in relation to Paul and his colleagues, rather than in relation to the Colossians. Nevertheless, the decision must be based ultimately on external evidence (because the internal evidence can be variously interpreted), and this strongly supports ἡμῶν.

[1:9]  ¹¹⁶ tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.

[1:9]  ¹¹⁷ tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ¹¹⁸ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.

[1:12]  ¹¹⁹ tn BDAG 473 s.v. ἱκανόω states, “τινὰ εἴς τι someone for someth. Col 1:12.” The point of the text is that God has qualified the saints for a “share” or “portion” in the inheritance of the saints.

[1:12]  ¹²⁰ tn Grk “the inheritance of the saints.” The genitive noun τῶν ἁγίων (twn Jagiwn) is a possessive genitive: “the saints’ inheritance.”

[1:1]  ¹²¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[2:8]  ¹²² tn The Greek construction here is somewhat difficult and can be literally rendered “Be careful, lest someone shall be the one who takes you captive.”

[2:8]  ¹²³ tn The Greek reads τῆς φιλοσοφίας καὶ κενῆς ἀπάτης (th" filosofia" kai kenh" apath"). The two nouns φιλοσοφίας and κενῆς are joined by one article and probably form a hendiadys. Thus the second noun was taken as modifying the first, as the translation shows.

[2:8]  ¹²⁴ tn The phrase κατὰ τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου (kata ta stoiceia tou kosmou) is difficult to translate because of problems surrounding the precise meaning of στοιχεῖα in this context. Originally it referred to the letters of the alphabet, with the idea at its root of “things in a row”; see C. Vaughn, “Colossians,” EBC 11:198. M. J. Harris (Colossians and Philemon [EGGNT], 93) outlines three probable options: (1) the material elements which comprise the physical world; (2) the elementary teachings of the world (so NEB, NASB, NIV); (3) the elemental spirits of the world (so NEB, RSV). The first option is highly unlikely because Paul is not concerned here with the physical elements, e.g., carbon or nitrogen. The last two options are both possible. Though the Gnostic-like heresy at Colossae would undoubtedly have been regarded by Paul as an “elementary teaching” at best, because the idea of “spirits” played such a role in Gnostic thought, he may very well have had in mind elemental spirits that operated in the world or controlled the world (i.e., under God’s authority and permission).

[2:1]  ¹²⁵ tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”

[2:1]  ¹²⁶ tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”

[4:9]  ¹²⁷ tn Heb “they have.”

[4:9]  ¹²⁸ tn Heb “a good reward.”

[4:10]  ¹²⁹ tn Heb “woe to him.”