2:11 and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord
to the glory of God the Father.
2:1 Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, 5 any affection or mercy, 6
1:1 From Paul 7 and Timothy, slaves 8 of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, 9 with the overseers 10 and deacons.
1:5 For to which of the angels did God 11 ever say, “You are my son! Today I have fathered you”? 12 And in another place 13 he says, 14 “I will be his father and he will be my son.” 15
1:1 After God spoke long ago 16 in various portions 17 and in various ways 18 to our ancestors 19 through the prophets,
2:1 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.
1 tn The words “I pray” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to clarify the meaning; v. 17 is a subordinate clause to v. 16 (“I pray” in v. 17 is implied from v. 16). Eph 1:15-23 constitutes one sentence in Greek, but a new sentence was started here in the translation in light of contemporary English usage.
2 tn Or “glorious Father.” The genitive phrase “of glory” is most likely an attributive genitive. The literal translation “Father of glory” has been retained because of the parallelism with the first line of the verse: “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory.”
3 tn Or “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation,” or “a spirit of wisdom and revelation.” Verse 17 involves a complex exegetical problem revolving around the Greek term πνεῦμα (pneuma). Some take it to mean “the Spirit,” others “a spirit,” and still others “spiritual.” (1) If “the Spirit” is meant, the idea must be a metonymy of cause for effect, because the author had just indicated in vv. 13-14 that the Spirit was already given (hence, there is no need for him to pray that he be given again). But the effect of the Spirit is wisdom and revelation. (2) If “a spirit” is meant, the idea may be that the readers will have the ability to gain wisdom and insight as they read Paul’s letters, but the exact meaning of “a spirit” remains ambiguous. (3) To take the genitives following πνεῦμα as attributed genitives (see ExSyn 89-91), in which the head noun (“S/spirit”) functions semantically like an adjective (“spiritual”) is both grammatically probable and exegetically consistent.
4 tn Grk “in the knowledge of him.”
5 tn Or “spiritual fellowship” if πνεύματος (pneumato") is an attributive genitive; or “fellowship brought about by the Spirit” if πνεύματος is a genitive of source or production.
6 tn Grk “and any affection and mercy.” The Greek idea, however, is best expressed by “or” in English.
7 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
8 tn Traditionally, “servants” or “bondservants.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.
9 map For location see JP1-C1; JP2-C1; JP3-C1; JP4-C1.
10 sn The overseers (or “church leaders,” L&N 53.71) is another term for the same official position of leadership as the “elder.” This is seen in the interchange of the two terms in Titus 1:6-7 and in Acts 20:17, 28, as well as in the parallels between Titus 1:6-7 and 1 Tim 3:1-7.
11 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 tn Grk “I have begotten you.”
13 tn Grk “And again,” quoting another OT passage.
14 tn The words “he says” are not in the Greek text but are supplied to make a complete English sentence. In the Greek text this is a continuation of the previous sentence, but English does not normally employ such long and complex sentences.
15 tn Grk “I will be a father to him and he will be a son to me.”
16 tn Or “spoke formerly.”
17 tn Or “parts.” The idea is that God’s previous revelation came in many parts and was therefore fragmentary or partial (L&N 63.19), in comparison with the final and complete revelation contained in God’s Son. However, some interpret πολυμερῶς (polumerw") in Heb 1:1 to mean “on many different occasions” and would thus translate “many times” (L&N 67.11). This is the option followed by the NIV: “at many times and in various ways.” Finally, this word is also understood to refer to the different manners in which something may be done, and would then be translated “in many different ways” (L&N 89.81). In this last case, the two words πολυμερῶς and πολυτρόπως (polutropw") mutually reinforce one another (“in many and various ways,” NRSV).
18 tn These two phrases are emphasized in Greek by being placed at the beginning of the sentence and by alliteration.
19 tn Grk “to the fathers.”