77:11 I will remember the works of the Lord.
Yes, I will remember the amazing things you did long ago! 2
106:7 Our ancestors in Egypt failed to appreciate your miraculous deeds,
they failed to remember your many acts of loyal love,
and they rebelled at the sea, by the Red Sea. 3
2:11 Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh – who are called “uncircumcision” by the so-called “circumcision” that is performed on the body 4 by human hands – 2:12 that you were at that time without the Messiah, 5 alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, 6 having no hope and without God in the world.
3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus 21 for the sake of you Gentiles – 3:2 if indeed 22 you have heard of the stewardship 23 of God’s grace that was given to me for you,
1 tn Heb “recalling, you must recall.” The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute before the finite verb for emphasis. Cf. KJV, ASV “shalt well remember.”
2 tn Heb “yes, I will remember from old your wonders.”
3 tn Heb “Reed Sea” (also in vv. 9, 22). “Reed Sea” (or “Sea of Reeds”) is a more accurate rendering of the Hebrew expression יָם סוּף (yam suf), traditionally translated “Red Sea.” See the note on the term “Red Sea” in Exod 13:18.
4 tn Grk “in the flesh.”
5 tn Or “without Christ.” Both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.” Because the context refers to ancient Israel’s messianic expectation, “Messiah” was employed in the translation at this point rather than “Christ.”
6 tn Or “covenants of the promise.”
7 sn The relative pronoun which is feminine as is sins, indicating that sins is the antecedent.
8 tn Grk “walked.”
9 tn Or possibly “Aeon.”
10 tn Grk “domain, [place of] authority.”
11 tn Grk “of” (but see the note on the word “spirit” later in this verse).
12 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).
13 tn Grk “working in.”
14 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.
15 tn Or “who had already hoped.”
16 tn Or “the Messiah.”
17 tn Grk “in whom you also, when…” (continuing the sentence from v. 12).
18 tn Grk “in whom also having believed.” The relative pronoun “whom” has been replaced in the translation with its antecedent (“Christ”) to improve the clarity.
19 tn Or “you were sealed.”
20 tn Grk “the Holy Spirit of promise.” Here ἐπαγγελίας (epangelias, “of promise”) has been translated as an attributive genitive.
21 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
22 sn If indeed. The author is not doubting whether his audience has heard, but is rather using provocative language (if indeed) to engage his audience in thinking about the magnificence of God’s grace. However, in English translation, the apodosis (“then”-clause) does not come until v. 13, leaving the protasis (“if”-clause) dangling. Eph 3:2-7 constitute one sentence in Greek.
23 tn Or “administration,” “dispensation,” “commission.”