Genesis 30:1-43

30:1 When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she ¹  became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children ²  or I’ll die!” 30:2 Jacob became furious ³  with Rachel and exclaimed, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” ⁴  30:3 She replied, “Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with ⁵  her so that she can bear ⁶  children ⁷  for me ⁸  and I can have a family through her.” ⁹ 

30:4 So Rachel ¹⁰  gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had marital relations with ¹¹  her. 30:5 Bilhah became pregnant ¹²  and gave Jacob a son. ¹³  30:6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me. He has responded to my prayer ¹⁴  and given me a son.” That is why ¹⁵  she named him Dan. ¹⁶ 

30:7 Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another son. ¹⁷  30:8 Then Rachel said, “I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won.” ¹⁸  So she named him Naphtali. ¹⁹ 

30:9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave ²⁰  her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 30:10 Soon Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob a son. ²¹  30:11 Leah said, “How fortunate!” ²²  So she named him Gad. ²³ 

30:12 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob another son. ²⁴  30:13 Leah said, “How happy I am, ²⁵  for women ²⁶  will call me happy!” So she named him Asher. ²⁷ 

30:14 At the time ²⁸  of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants ²⁹  in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 30:15 But Leah replied, ³⁰  “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes too?” “All right,” ³¹  Rachel said, “he may sleep ³²  with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” 30:16 When Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep ³³  with me because I have paid for your services ³⁴  with my son’s mandrakes.” So he had marital relations ³⁵  with her that night. 30:17 God paid attention ³⁶  to Leah; she became pregnant ³⁷  and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time. ³⁸  30:18 Then Leah said, “God has granted me a reward ³⁹  because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife.” ⁴⁰  So she named him Issachar. ⁴¹ 

30:19 Leah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a son for the sixth time. ⁴²  30:20 Then Leah said, “God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will honor me because I have given him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. ⁴³ 

30:21 After that she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

30:22 Then God took note of ⁴⁴  Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. ⁴⁵  30:23 She became pregnant ⁴⁶  and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my shame.” ⁴⁷  30:24 She named him Joseph, ⁴⁸  saying, “May the Lord give me yet another son.”

The Flocks of Jacob

30:25 After Rachel had given birth ⁴⁹  to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send ⁵⁰  me on my way so that I can go ⁵¹  home to my own country. ⁵²  30:26 Let me take my wives and my children whom I have acquired by working for you. ⁵³  Then I’ll depart, ⁵⁴  because you know how hard I’ve worked for you.” ⁵⁵ 

30:27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here, ⁵⁶  for I have learned by divination ⁵⁷  that the Lord has blessed me on account of you.” 30:28 He added, “Just name your wages – I’ll pay whatever you want.” ⁵⁸ 

30:29 “You know how I have worked for you,” Jacob replied, ⁵⁹  “and how well your livestock have fared under my care. ⁶⁰  30:30 Indeed, ⁶¹  you had little before I arrived, ⁶²  but now your possessions have increased many times over. ⁶³  The Lord has blessed you wherever I worked. ⁶⁴  But now, how long must it be before I do something for my own family too?” ⁶⁵ 

30:31 So Laban asked, ⁶⁶  “What should I give you?” “You don’t need to give me a thing,” ⁶⁷  Jacob replied, ⁶⁸  “but if you agree to this one condition, ⁶⁹  I will continue to care for ⁷⁰  your flocks and protect them: 30:32 Let me walk among ⁷¹  all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, ⁷²  and the spotted or speckled goats. ⁷³  These animals will be my wages. ⁷⁴  30:33 My integrity will testify for me ⁷⁵  later on. ⁷⁶  When you come to verify that I’ve taken only the wages we agreed on, ⁷⁷  if I have in my possession any goat that is not speckled or spotted or any sheep that is not dark-colored, it will be considered stolen.” ⁷⁸  30:34 “Agreed!” said Laban, “It will be as you say.” ⁷⁹ 

30:35 So that day Laban ⁸⁰  removed the male goats that were streaked or spotted, all the female goats that were speckled or spotted (all that had any white on them), and all the dark-colored lambs, and put them in the care ⁸¹  of his sons. 30:36 Then he separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey, ⁸²  while ⁸³  Jacob was taking care of the rest of Laban’s flocks.

30:37 But Jacob took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees. He made white streaks by peeling them, making the white inner wood in the branches visible. 30:38 Then he set up the peeled branches in all the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. He set up the branches in front of the flocks when they were in heat and came to drink. ⁸⁴  30:39 When the sheep mated ⁸⁵  in front of the branches, they ⁸⁶  gave birth to young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. 30:40 Jacob removed these lambs, but he made the rest of the flock face ⁸⁷  the streaked and completely dark-colored animals in Laban’s flock. So he made separate flocks for himself and did not mix them with Laban’s flocks. 30:41 When the stronger females were in heat, ⁸⁸  Jacob would set up the branches in the troughs in front of the flock, so they would mate near the branches. 30:42 But if the animals were weaker, he did not set the branches there. ⁸⁹  So the weaker animals ended up belonging to Laban ⁹⁰  and the stronger animals to Jacob. 30:43 In this way Jacob ⁹¹  became extremely prosperous. He owned ⁹²  large flocks, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys.

Genesis 1:6-7

1:6 God said, “Let there be an expanse ⁹³  in the midst of the waters and let it separate water ⁹⁴  from water. 1:7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. ⁹⁵  It was so. ⁹⁶ 

Genesis 9:11

9:11 I confirm ⁹⁷  my covenant with you: Never again will all living things ⁹⁸  be wiped out ⁹⁹  by the waters of a flood; ¹⁰⁰  never again will a flood destroy the earth.”

Genesis 9:23-24

9:23 Shem and Japheth took the garment ¹⁰¹  and placed it on their shoulders. Then they walked in backwards and covered up their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned ¹⁰²  the other way so they did not see their father’s nakedness.

9:24 When Noah awoke from his drunken stupor ¹⁰³  he learned ¹⁰⁴  what his youngest son had done ¹⁰⁵  to him.

Jeremiah 51:29

51:29 The earth will tremble and writhe in agony. ¹⁰⁶ 

For the Lord will carry out his plan.

He plans to make the land of Babylonia ¹⁰⁷ 

a wasteland where no one lives. ¹⁰⁸ 

Acts 13:48

13:48 When the Gentiles heard this, they began to rejoice ¹⁰⁹  and praise ¹¹⁰  the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed for eternal life ¹¹¹  believed.

Galatians 1:15

1:15 But when the one ¹¹²  who set me apart from birth ¹¹³  and called me by his grace was pleased

Ephesians 1:9-10

1:9 He did this when he revealed ¹¹⁴  to us the secret ¹¹⁵  of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth ¹¹⁶  in Christ, ¹¹⁷  1:10 toward the administration of the fullness of the times, to head up ¹¹⁸  all things in Christ – the things in heaven ¹¹⁹  and the things on earth. ¹²⁰ 

Ephesians 3:11

3:11 This was according to ¹²¹  the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,

Ephesians 3:1

Paul's Relationship to the Divine Mystery

3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus ¹²²  for the sake of you Gentiles –

Ephesians 5:9

5:9 for the fruit of the light ¹²³  consists in ¹²⁴  all goodness, righteousness, and truth –

Ephesians 5:2

5:2 and live ¹²⁵  in love, just as Christ also loved us ¹²⁶  and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering ¹²⁷  to God.

Ephesians 2:13-14

2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹²⁸  2:14 For he is our peace, the one who made both groups into one ¹²⁹  and who destroyed the middle wall of partition, the hostility,

Ephesians 2:2

2:2 in which ¹³⁰  you formerly lived ¹³¹  according to this world’s present path, ¹³²  according to the ruler of the kingdom ¹³³  of the air, the ruler of ¹³⁴  the spirit ¹³⁵  that is now energizing ¹³⁶  the sons of disobedience, ¹³⁷ 

Ephesians 2:19

2:19 So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household,

Ephesians 2:1

New Life Individually

2:1 And although you were ¹³⁸  dead ¹³⁹  in your transgressions and sins,

Ephesians 5:10

5:10 trying to learn ¹⁴⁰  what is pleasing to the Lord.

[30:1]  ¹ tn Heb “Rachel.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“she”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:1]  ² tn Heb “sons.”

[30:2]  ³ tn Heb “and the anger of Jacob was hot.”

[30:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb.”

[30:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “go in to.” The expression “go in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.

[30:3]  ⁶ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the conjunction indicates the immediate purpose of the proposed activity.

[30:3]  ⁷ tn The word “children” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “upon my knees.” This is an idiomatic way of saying that Bilhah will be simply a surrogate mother. Rachel will adopt the child as her own.

[30:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “and I will be built up, even I, from her.” The prefixed verbal form with the conjunction is subordinated to the preceding prefixed verbal form and gives the ultimate purpose for the proposed action. The idiom of “built up” here refers to having a family (see Gen 16:2, as well as Ruth 4:11 and BDB 125 s.v. בָנָה).

[30:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “went in to.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.

[30:5]  ¹² tn Or “Bilhah conceived” (also in v. 7).

[30:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a son.”

[30:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and also he has heard my voice.” The expression means that God responded positively to Rachel’s cry and granted her request.

[30:6]  ¹⁵ tn Or “therefore.”

[30:6]  ¹⁶ sn The name Dan means “he vindicated” or “he judged.” The name plays on the verb used in the statement which appears earlier in the verse. The verb translated “vindicated” is from דִּין (din, “to judge, to vindicate”), the same verbal root from which the name is derived. Rachel sensed that God was righting the wrong.

[30:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and she became pregnant again and Bilhah, the servant of Rachel, bore a second son for Jacob.”

[30:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “[with] a mighty struggle I have struggled with my sister, also I have prevailed.” The phrase “mighty struggle” reads literally “struggles of God.” The plural participle “struggles” reflects the ongoing nature of the struggle, while the divine name is used here idiomatically to emphasize the intensity of the struggle. See J. Skinner, Genesis (ICC), 387.

[30:8]  ¹⁹ sn The name Naphtali (נַפְתָּלִי, naftali) must mean something like “my struggle” in view of the statement Rachel made in the preceding clause. The name plays on this earlier statement, “[with] a mighty struggle I have struggled with my sister.”

[30:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “she took her servant Zilpah and gave her.” The verbs “took” and “gave” are treated as a hendiadys in the translation: “she gave.”

[30:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore for Jacob a son.”

[30:11]  ²² tc The statement in the Kethib (consonantal text) appears to mean literally “with good fortune,” if one takes the initial בְּ (bet) as a preposition indicating accompaniment. The Qere (marginal reading) means “good fortune has arrived.”

[30:11]  ²³ sn The name Gad (גָּד, gad) means “good fortune.” The name reflects Leah’s feeling that good fortune has come her way, as expressed in her statement recorded earlier in the verse.

[30:12]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore a second son for Jacob.”

[30:13]  ²⁵ tn The Hebrew statement apparently means “with my happiness.”

[30:13]  ²⁶ tn Heb “daughters.”

[30:13]  ²⁷ sn The name Asher (אָשֶׁר, ’asher) apparently means “happy one.” The name plays on the words used in the statement which appears earlier in the verse. Both the Hebrew noun and verb translated “happy” and “call me happy,” respectively, are derived from the same root as the name Asher.

[30:14]  ²⁸ tn Heb “during the days.”

[30:14]  ²⁹ sn Mandrake plants were popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac in the culture of the time.

[30:15]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and she said to her”; the referent of the pronoun “she” (Leah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:15]  ³¹ tn Heb “therefore.”

[30:15]  ³² tn Heb “lie down.” The expression “lie down with” in this context (here and in the following verse) refers to sexual intercourse. The imperfect verbal form has a permissive nuance here.

[30:16]  ³³ tn Heb “must come in to me.” The imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance here. She has acquired him for the night and feels he is obligated to have sexual relations with her.

[30:16]  ³⁴ tn Heb “I have surely hired.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verbal form for emphasis. The name Issachar (see v. 18) seems to be related to this expression.

[30:16]  ³⁵ tn This is the same Hebrew verb (שָׁכַב, shakhav) translated “sleep with” in v. 15. In direct discourse the more euphemistic “sleep with” was used, but here in the narrative “marital relations” reflects more clearly the emphasis on sexual intercourse.

[30:17]  ³⁶ tn Heb “listened to.”

[30:17]  ³⁷ tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 19).

[30:17]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a fifth son,” i.e., this was the fifth son that Leah had given Jacob.

[30:18]  ³⁹ tn Heb “God has given my reward.”

[30:18]  ⁴⁰ tn The words “as a wife” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity (cf. v. 9).

[30:18]  ⁴¹ sn The name Issachar (יְשָּׁשכָר, yishakhar) appears to mean “man of reward” or possibly “there is reward.” The name plays on the word used in the statement made earlier in the verse. The Hebrew noun translated “reward” is derived from the same root as the name Issachar. The irony is that Rachel thought the mandrakes would work for her, and she was willing to trade one night for them. But in that one night Leah became pregnant.

[30:19]  ⁴² tn Heb “and she bore a sixth son for Jacob,” i.e., this was the sixth son that Leah had given Jacob.

[30:20]  ⁴³ sn The name Zebulun (זְבֻלוּן, zevulun) apparently means “honor.” The name plays on the verb used in the statement made earlier in the verse. The Hebrew verb translated “will honor” and the name Zebulun derive from the same root.

[30:22]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “remembered.”

[30:22]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “and God listened to her and opened up her womb.” Since “God” is the subject of the previous clause, the noun has been replaced by the pronoun “he” in the translation for stylistic reasons

[30:23]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “conceived.”

[30:23]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “my reproach.” A “reproach” is a cutting taunt or painful ridicule, but here it probably refers by metonymy to Rachel’s barren condition, which was considered shameful in this culture and was the reason why she was the object of taunting and ridicule.

[30:24]  ⁴⁸ sn The name Joseph (יוֹסֵף, yoseph) means “may he add.” The name expresses Rachel’s desire to have an additional son. In Hebrew the name sounds like the verb (אָסַף,’asasf) translated “taken away” in the earlier statement made in v. 23. So the name, while reflecting Rachel’s hope, was also a reminder that God had removed her shame.

[30:25]  ⁴⁹ tn The perfect verbal form is translated as a past perfect because Rachel’s giving birth to Joseph preceded Jacob’s conversation with Laban.

[30:25]  ⁵⁰ tn The imperatival form here expresses a request.

[30:25]  ⁵¹ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[30:25]  ⁵² tn Heb “to my place and to my land.”

[30:26]  ⁵³ tn Heb “give my wives and my children, for whom I have served you.” In one sense Laban had already “given” Jacob his two daughters as wives (Gen 29:21, 28). Here Jacob was asking for permission to take his own family along with him on the journey back to Canaan.

[30:26]  ⁵⁴ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[30:26]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “for you, you know my service [with] which I have served you.”

[30:27]  ⁵⁶ tn The words “please stay here” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[30:27]  ⁵⁷ tn Or perhaps “I have grown rich and the Lord has blessed me” (cf. NEB). See J. Finkelstein, “An Old Babylonian Herding Contract and Genesis 31:38f.,” JAOS 88 (1968): 34, n. 19.

[30:28]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “set your wage for me so I may give [it].”

[30:29]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “and he said to him, ‘You know how I have served you.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons, and the referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:29]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “and how your cattle were with me.”

[30:30]  ⁶¹ tn Or “for.”

[30:30]  ⁶² tn Heb “before me.”

[30:30]  ⁶³ tn Heb “and it has broken out with respect to abundance.”

[30:30]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “at my foot.”

[30:30]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “How long [until] I do, also I, for my house?”

[30:31]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:31]  ⁶⁷ tn The negated imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance.

[30:31]  ⁶⁸ tn The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:31]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “If you do for me this thing.”

[30:31]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “I will return, I will tend,” an idiom meaning “I will continue tending.”

[30:32]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “pass through.”

[30:32]  ⁷² tn Or “every black lamb”; Heb “and every dark sheep among the lambs.”

[30:32]  ⁷³ tn Heb “and the spotted and speckled among the goats.”

[30:32]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “and it will be my wage.” The referent collective singular pronoun (“it) has been specified as “these animals” in the translation for clarity.

[30:33]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “will answer on my behalf.”

[30:33]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “on the following day,” or “tomorrow.”

[30:33]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “when you come concerning my wage before you.”

[30:33]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “every one which is not speckled and spotted among the lambs and dark among the goats, stolen it is with me.”

[30:34]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “and Laban said, ‘Good, let it be according to your word.’” On the asseverative use of the particle לוּ (lu) here, see HALOT 521 s.v. לוּ.

[30:35]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:35]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “and he gave [them] into the hand.”

[30:36]  ⁸² tn Heb “and he put a journey of three days between himself and Jacob.”

[30:36]  ⁸³ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the vav with subject) is circumstantial/temporal; Laban removed the animals while Jacob was taking care of the rest.

[30:38]  ⁸⁴ sn He put the branches in front of the flocks…when they came to drink. It was generally believed that placing such “visual aids” before the animals as they were mating, it was possible to influence the appearance of their offspring. E. A. Speiser notes that “Jacob finds a way to outwit his father-in-law, through prenatal conditioning of the flock by visual aids – in conformance with universal folk beliefs” (Genesis [AB], 238). Nevertheless, in spite of Jacob’s efforts at animal husbandry, he still attributes the resulting success to God (see 31:5).

[30:39]  ⁸⁵ tn The Hebrew verb used here can mean “to be in heat” (see v. 38) or “to mate; to conceive; to become pregnant.” The latter nuance makes better sense in this verse, for the next clause describes them giving birth.

[30:39]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “the sheep.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“they”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:40]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “and he set the faces of.”

[30:41]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “and at every breeding-heat of the flock.”

[30:42]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “he did not put [them] in.” The referent of the [understood] direct object, “them,” has been specified as “the branches” in the translation for clarity.

[30:42]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “were for Laban.”

[30:43]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “the man”; Jacob’s name has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[30:43]  ⁹² tn Heb “and there were to him.”

[1:6]  ⁹³ tn The Hebrew word refers to an expanse of air pressure between the surface of the sea and the clouds, separating water below from water above. In v. 8 it is called “sky.”

[1:6]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “the waters from the waters.”

[1:7]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “the expanse.”

[1:7]  ⁹⁶ tn This statement indicates that it happened the way God designed it, underscoring the connection between word and event.

[9:11]  ⁹⁷ tn The verb וַהֲקִמֹתִי (vahaqimoti) is a perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive and should be translated with the English present tense, just as the participle at the beginning of the speech was (v. 9). Another option is to translate both forms with the English future tense (“I will confirm”).

[9:11]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “all flesh.”

[9:11]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “cut off.”

[9:11]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “and all flesh will not be cut off again by the waters of the flood.”

[9:23]  ¹⁰¹ tn The word translated “garment” has the Hebrew definite article on it. The article may simply indicate that the garment is definite and vivid in the mind of the narrator, but it could refer instead to Noah’s garment. Did Ham bring it out when he told his brothers?

[9:23]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “their faces [were turned] back.”

[9:24]  ¹⁰³ tn Heb “his wine,” used here by metonymy for the drunken stupor it produced.

[9:24]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Heb “he knew.”

[9:24]  ¹⁰⁵ tn The Hebrew verb עָשָׂה (’asah, “to do”) carries too general a sense to draw the conclusion that Ham had to have done more than look on his father’s nakedness and tell his brothers.

[51:29]  ¹⁰⁶ sn The figure here is common in the poetic tradition of the Lord going forth to do battle against his foes and the earth’s reaction to it is compared to a person trembling with fear and writhing in agony, agony like that of a woman in labor (cf. Judg 5:4; Nah 1:2-5; Hab 3:1-15 [especially v. 6]).

[51:29]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Heb “For the plans of the Lord have been carried out to make the land of Babylon…” The passive has been turned into an active and the sentence broken up to better conform with contemporary English style. For the meaning of the verb קוּם (qum) in the sense used here see BDB 878 s.v. קוּם 7.g and compare the usage in Prov 19:21 and Isa 46:10.

[51:29]  ¹⁰⁸ tn The verbs in this verse and v. 30 are all in the past tense in Hebrew, in the tense that views the action as already as good as done (the Hebrew prophetic perfect). The verb in v. 31a, however, is imperfect, viewing the action as future; the perfects that follow are all dependent on that future. Verse 33 looks forward to a time when Babylon will be harvested and trampled like grain on the threshing floor and the imperatives imply a time in the future. Hence the present translation has rendered all the verbs in vv. 29-30 as future.

[13:48]  ¹⁰⁹ tn The imperfect verb ἔχαιρον (ecairon) and the following ἐδόξαζον (edoxazon) are translated as ingressive imperfects.

[13:48]  ¹¹⁰ tn Or “glorify.” Although “honor” is given by BDAG 258 s.v. δοξάζω as a translation, it would be misleading here, because the meaning is “to honor in the sense of attributing worth to something,” while in contemporary English usage one speaks of “honoring” a contract in the sense of keeping its stipulations. It is not a synonym for “obey” in this context (“obey the word of the Lord”), but that is how many English readers would understand it.

[13:48]  ¹¹¹ sn Note the contrast to v. 46 in regard to eternal life.

[1:15]  ¹¹² 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]  ¹¹³ tn Grk “from my mother’s womb.”

[1:9]  ¹¹⁴ tn Or “He did this by revealing”; Grk “making known, revealing.” Verse 9 begins with a participle dependent on “lavished” in v. 8; the adverbial participle could be understood as temporal (“when he revealed”), which would be contemporaneous to the action of the finite verb “lavished,” or as means (“by revealing”). The participle has been translated here with the temporal nuance to allow for means to also be a possible interpretation. If the translation focused instead upon means, the temporal nuance would be lost as the time frame for the action of the participle would become indistinct.

[1:9]  ¹¹⁵ tn Or “mystery.” In the NT μυστήριον (musthrion) refers to a divine secret previously undisclosed.

[1:9]  ¹¹⁶ tn Or “purposed,” “publicly displayed.” Cf. Rom 3:25.

[1:9]  ¹¹⁷ tn Grk “in him”; the referent (Christ) has been specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[1:10]  ¹¹⁸ tn The precise meaning of the infinitive ἀνακεφαλαιώσασθαι (anakefalaiwsasqai) in v. 10 is difficult to determine since it was used relatively infrequently in Greek literature and only twice in the NT (here and Rom 13:9). While there have been several suggestions, three deserve mention: (1) “To sum up.” In Rom 13:9, using the same term, the author there says that the law may be “summarized in one command, to love your neighbor as yourself.” The idea then in Eph 1:10 would be that all things in heaven and on earth can be summed up and made sense out of in relation to Christ. (2) “To renew.” If this is the nuance of the verb then all things in heaven and earth, after their plunge into sin and ruin, are renewed by the coming of Christ and his redemption. (3) “To head up.” In this translation the idea is that Christ, in the fullness of the times, has been exalted so as to be appointed as the ruler (i.e., “head”) over all things in heaven and earth (including the church). That this is perhaps the best understanding of the verb is evidenced by the repeated theme of Christ’s exaltation and reign in Ephesians and by the connection to the κεφαλή- (kefalh-) language of 1:22 (cf. Schlier, TDNT 3:682; L&N 63.8; M. Barth, Ephesians [AB 34], 1:89-92; contra A. T. Lincoln, Ephesians [WBC], 32-33).

[1:10]  ¹¹⁹ tn Grk “the heavens.”

[1:10]  ¹²⁰ sn And the things on earth. Verse 10 ends with “in him.” The redundancy keeps the focus on Christ at the expense of good Greek style. Verse 11 repeats the reference with a relative pronoun (“in whom”) – again, at the expense of good Greek style. Although the syntax is awkward, the theology is rich. This is not the first time that a NT writer was so overcome with awe for his Lord that he seems to have lost control of his pen. Indeed, it happened frequently enough that some have labeled their christologically motivated solecisms an “apostolic disease.”

[3:11]  ¹²¹ tn Grk “according to.” The verse is a prepositional phrase subordinate to v. 10.

[3:1]  ¹²² 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.

[5:9]  ¹²³ tc Several mss (Ì⁴⁶ D² Ψ Ï) have πνεύματος (pneumatos, “Spirit”) instead of φωτός (fwtos, “light”). Although most today regard φωτός as obviously original (UBS⁴ gives it an “A” rating), a case could be made that πνεύματος is what the author wrote. First, although this is largely a Byzantine reading (D² often, if not normally, assimilates to the Byzantine text), Ì⁴⁶ gives the reading much greater credibility. Internally, the φωτός at the end of v. 8 could have lined up above the πνεύματος in v. 9 in a scribe’s exemplar, thus occasioning dittography. (It is interesting to note that in both Ì⁴⁹ and א the two instances of φωτός line up.) However, written in a contracted form, as a nomen sacrum (pMnMs) – a practice found even in the earliest mss – πνεύματος would not have been easily confused with fwtos (there being only the last letter to occasion homoioteleuton rather than the last three). Further, the external evidence for φωτός is quite compelling (Ì⁴⁹ א A B D* F G P 33 81 1739 1881 2464 pc latt co); it is rather doubtful that the early and widespread witnesses all mistook πνεύματος for φωτός. In addition, πνεύματος can be readily explained as harking back to Gal 5:22 (“the fruit of the Spirit”). Thus, on balance, φωτός appears to be original, giving rise to the reading πνεύματος.

[5:9]  ¹²⁴ tn Grk “in.” The idea is that the fruit of the light is “expressed in” or “consists of.”

[5:2]  ¹²⁵ tn Grk “walk.” The NT writers often used the verb “walk” (περιπατέω, peripatew) to refer to ethical conduct (cf. Rom 8:4; Gal 5:16; Col 4:5).

[5:2]  ¹²⁶ tc A number of important witnesses have ὑμᾶς (Jumas, “you”; e.g., א* A B P 0159 81 1175 al it co as well as several fathers). Other, equally important witnesses read ἡμᾶς (Jhmas, “us”; Ì⁴⁶ א² D F G Ψ 0278 33 1739 1881 al lat sy). It is possible that ἡμᾶς was accidentally introduced via homoioarcton with the previous word (ἠγάπησεν, hgaphsen). On the other hand, ὑμᾶς may have been motivated by the preceding ὑμῖν (Jumin) in 4:32 and second person verbs in 5:1, 2. Further, the flow of argument seems to require the first person pronoun. A decision is difficult to make, but the first person pronoun has a slightly greater probability of being original.

[5:2]  ¹²⁷ tn Grk “an offering and sacrifice to God as a smell of fragrance.” The first expression, προσφορὰν καὶ θυσίαν (prosforan kai qusian), is probably a hendiadys and has been translated such that “sacrificial” modifies “offering.” The second expression, εἰς ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας (ei" osmhn euwdia", “as a smell of fragrance”) has been translated as “a fragrant offering”; see BDAG 728-29 s.v. ὀσμή 2. Putting these two together in a clear fashion in English yields the translation: “a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.”

[2:13]  ¹²⁸ tn Or “have come near in the blood of Christ.”

[2:14]  ¹²⁹ tn Grk “who made the both one.”

[2:2]  ¹³⁰ sn The relative pronoun which is feminine as is sins, indicating that sins is the antecedent.

[2:2]  ¹³¹ tn Grk “walked.”

[2:2]  ¹³² tn Or possibly “Aeon.”

[2:2]  ¹³³ tn Grk “domain, [place of] authority.”

[2:2]  ¹³⁴ tn Grk “of” (but see the note on the word “spirit” later in this verse).

[2:2]  ¹³⁵ sn The ruler of the kingdom of the air is also the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of disobedience. Although several translations regard the ruler to be the same as the spirit, this is unlikely since the cases in Greek are different (ruler is accusative and spirit is genitive). To get around this, some have suggested that the genitive for spirit is a genitive of apposition. However, the semantics of the genitive of apposition are against such an interpretation (cf. ExSyn 100).

[2:2]  ¹³⁶ tn Grk “working in.”

[2:2]  ¹³⁷ sn Sons of disobedience is a Semitic idiom that means “people characterized by disobedience.” However, it also contains a subtle allusion to vv. 4-10: Some of those sons of disobedience have become sons of God.

[2:1]  ¹³⁸ tn The adverbial participle “being” (ὄντας, ontas) is taken concessively.

[2:1]  ¹³⁹ sn Chapter 2 starts off with a participle, although you were dead, that is left dangling. The syntax in Greek for vv. 1-3 constitutes one incomplete sentence, though it seems to have been done intentionally. The dangling participle leaves the readers in suspense while they wait for the solution (in v. 4) to their spiritual dilemma.

[5:10]  ¹⁴⁰ tn BDAG 255 s.v. δοκιμάζω 1 translates δοκιμάζοντες (dokimazonte") in Eph 5:10 as “try to learn.”