1 Samuel 2:12

Eli’s Sons Misuse Their Sacred Office

2:12 The sons of Eli were wicked men. ¹  They did not recognize the Lord’s authority. ² 

John 16:3

16:3 They ³  will do these things because they have not known the Father or me. ⁴ 

Romans 1:28

1:28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, ⁵  God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done. ⁶ 

Romans 1:2

1:2 This gospel ⁷  he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures,

Romans 1:8

Paul’s Desire to Visit Rome

1:8 First of all, ⁸  I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world.

¹ tn Heb “sons of worthlessness.”

² tn Heb “they did not know the Lord.” The verb here has the semantic nuance “recognize the authority of.” Eli’s sons obviously knew who the Lord was; they served in his sanctuary. But they did not recognize his moral authority.

³ tn Grk “And they.” 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 sn Ignorance of Jesus and ignorance of the Father are also linked in 8:19; to know Jesus would be to know the Father also, but since the world does not know Jesus, neither does it know his Father. The world’s ignorance of the Father is also mentioned in 8:55, 15:21, and 17:25.

⁵ tn Grk “and just as they did not approve to have God in knowledge.”

⁶ tn Grk “the things that are improper.”

⁷ tn Grk “the gospel of God, which he promised.” Because of the length and complexity of this sentence in Greek, it was divided into shorter English sentences in keeping with contemporary English style. To indicate the referent of the relative pronoun (“which”), the word “gospel” was repeated at the beginning of v. 2.

⁸ tn Grk “First.” Paul never mentions a second point, so J. B. Phillips translated “I must begin by telling you….”