"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly" (I Thess. 5:23)—More literally, "And the God of peace himself" (American Standard Version). It may be noted that the word translated "wholly" means literally "altogether perfect" or "complete in all respects" (Thayer: Greek Lexicon, p. 444). Goodspeed translates: "May God himself, the giver of peace, consecrate you through and through;" Moffatt gives the following: "May the God of peace consecrate you through and through;" while Weymouth (fifth edition) has: "May the God of peace Himself make you entirely holy."

"Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen" (Col. 2:18)—The Greek term "thelon," here rendered "voluntary," is properly a participle meaning literally "willing," and so "fixing one's will on, sticking resolutely to" (cf. Souter: Greek Lexicon, p. 109); and the word translated "humility" can also mean "meekness" (ibid., p. 257). Then, too, the verb here rendered "to rob of one's reward" was used originally of the adverse decisions made by an umpire or referee in a contest, and had the primary meaning of "to decide against, take part against," and so "to condemn" (ibid., p. 125). Moreover, the word "not" in the phrase "he hath not seen" is not found in the most authoritative of the early manuscripts, such as the Vatican and Alexandrian codices; while the original scribe of the Sinaitic manuscript also omitted it. (See Souter: Novum Testamentum Graece.) Hence one could translate the verse: "Let no one condemn you when he insists on meekness and the worship of angels, studying minutely the things which he has seen, vainly puffed up by his human mind." Goodspeed suggests: "No one can put you in the wrong by persisting in studied humility and the worship of angels, being absorbed in the visions he has seen, and groundlessly conceited over his mere human mind;" and Moffatt: "Let no one lay down rules for you as he pleases, with regard to fasting and the cult of angels, presuming on his visions and inflated by his sensuous notions."

"Not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God" (Col. 2:19)—An alternative and somewhat simpler rendering would be: "Not holding fast to the Head, from which the whole body is supplied, being held together by joints and ligaments, and grows with a growth which is divine." Goodspeed has: "Such people lose their connection with the head, from which the whole body through its ligaments and sinews must be governed and united if it is to grow in the divine way;" while Moffatt suggests: "Instead of keeping in touch with that Head under whom the entire Body, supplied with joints and sinews and thus compacted, grows with growth divine;" and Weymouth: "Such a one does not keep his hold upon Christ, from whom the body, in all its parts nourished and strengthened by its points of contact and its connexions, grows with a divine growth."

"For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God" (Rom. 8:19)—The word translated "creature," both here and in verses 20 and 21, is more exactly "creation" (see Abbott-Smith: Greek Lexicon); while that rendered "manifestation" (Apokalupsin—root of our term "Apocalypse") is usually translated "Revelation." Weymouth suggests: "All creation is yearning, longing to see the manifestation of the sons of God;" while Moffatt has: "Even the creation waits with eager longing for the sons of God to be revealed;" and Goodspeed: "For creation is waiting with eager longing for the sons of God to be disclosed."

"The light of the body is the eye" (Matt. 6:22)—It may be noted that the word which is used in the original Greek is not "phos" (light), but "luchnos" (lamp), a rendering which is preferred by Moffatt, Weymouth, Goodspeed, and others.

"In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not" (II Cor. 4:4)—The translation "in whom," found in our Authorized Version, would seeem to offer some ambiguity. Goodspeed brings out the sense as follows: "in their case, the god of this world;" while Moffatt reads: "there the god of this world."

"The glorious gospel of Christ" (II Cor. 4:4)—Literally, "the gospel (or good news) of the glory of Christ." (Compare the Revised Version, Twentieth Century New Testament, Moffatt, and Weymouth.) Goodspeed renders: "the good news of the glorious Christ."

"A certain blind man sat by the way side begging" (Luke 18:35)—From Mark's account of the incident (Mark 10:46–52) we learn that the name of the blind man was Bartimaeus (literally "son of Timaeus"), while Matthew (20:30ff.) speaks of "two blind men." This slight variation is thought by commentators to be due to the fact that one of the two—Bartimaeus—was the better known; so Mark and Luke refrain from mentioning his companion.

"Thy faith hath saved thee" (Luke 18:42)—The Greek verb "sozein," used here as in various other New Testament passages, was often used in the sense of "heal" or "make whole," "restore to health" (Thayer: op. cit., p. 610), though it means literally "to save." Thus the American Standard Version has: "Thy faith hath made thee whole;" Weymouth and Goodspeed: "Your faith has cured you;" and Moffatt: "has made you well."

"They took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid" (John 11:41)—All the more important early manuscripts are agreed in omitting the words "from the place where the dead was laid," and their evidence is accepted by Moffatt, Weymouth, Goodspeed, and other translators. Scholars contend that the words were added by a later scribe simply to amplify the sense, though the meaning is sufficiently clear without them.