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16 because all that is in the world (the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the arrogance produced by material possessions)[a] is not from the Father, but is from the world.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 John 2:16 tn The genitive βίου (biou) is difficult to translate: (1) Many understand it as objective, so that βίος (bios, “material life”) becomes the object of one’s ἀλαζονεία (alazoneia; “pride” or “boastfulness”). Various interpretations along these lines refer to boasting about one’s wealth, showing off one’s possessions, boasting of one’s social status or lifestyle. (2) It is also possible to understand the genitive as subjective, however, in which case the βίος itself produces the ἀλαζονεία. In this case, the material security of one’s life and possessions produces a boastful overconfidence. This understanding better fits the context here: The focus is on people who operate purely on a human level and have no spiritual dimension to their existence. This is the person who loves the world, whose affections are all centered on the world, who has no love for God or spiritual things (“the love of the Father is not in him,” 2:15).sn The arrogance produced by material possessions. The person who thinks he has enough wealth and property to protect himself and insure his security has no need for God (or anything outside himself).

Be Ready!

34 “But be on your guard[a] so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day close down upon you suddenly like a trap.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 21:34 tn Grk “watch out for yourselves.”sn Disciples are to watch out. If they are too absorbed into everyday life, they will stop watching and living faithfully.
  2. Luke 21:34 sn Or like a thief, see Luke 12:39-40. The metaphor of a trap is a vivid one. Most modern English translations traditionally place the words “like a trap” at the end of v. 34, completing the metaphor. In the Greek text (and in the NRSV and REB) the words “like a trap” are placed at the beginning of v. 35. This does not affect the meaning.

12 It trains us[a] to reject godless ways[b] and worldly desires and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

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Footnotes

  1. Titus 2:12 tn Grk “training us” (as a continuation of the previous clause). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 12 by translating the participle παιδεύουσα (paideuousa) as a finite verb and supplying the pronoun “it” as subject.
  2. Titus 2:12 tn Grk “ungodliness.”