INTRODUCTION

      In presenting this third volume of THE STANDARD BIBLE COMMENTARY to the public we feel that little need be said by way of introduction.

      The same painstaking care and laborious research which were given to THE FOURFOLD GOSPEL have also been used in preparing this volume. It is true nearly double the number of volumes were consulted in preparing the former work, but numbers do not tell the whole story. The text of Paul's Epistles presents such a wilderness of exegetical difficulties that the Gospels seem a smooth and well-worked road in comparison. Moreover, the difficulties of the text are always reflected in the comments thereon, and therefore the comments on Paul's writings are longer and more intricate than those employed in expounding the Gospels.

      Again, it should be noted that while the original element in THE FOURFOLD GOSPEL is large, that of this work is, of necessity, very much larger, for it was a common occurrence to find no satisfactory explanation, even after every available authority had been consulted, thus compelling original work. We have tried never to dodge, but always to explain, and the public owes a debt of gratitude to our publishers who made the financial sacrifice which permitted us to take the time needful for such carefulness.

      If the exegetical scholar finds his trained and sensitive ear offended by a roundabout rhetoric which uses many simple words where a single technical term would have better satisfied him, we beseech him to remember that this series of commentaries is written for Sunday-school workers. It is therefore void of all rhetorical ambitious, not to say vanities, and seeks only to be plain and practical--a simple exposition for busy people. Over thirty years ago Russell Errett [3] directed our attention to the need of such a commentary, so we gratefully acknowledge that the idea did not originate with us.

      Numberless kind words and commendations which appeared in the press, and which came to us by mail, have encouraged us greatly, though we have been too busy to acknowledge them.

      It is our hope that this volume may be as helpful as the others seem to have been.

PHILIP Y. PENDLETON. [iv