32:16 Justice will settle down in the desert
and fairness will live in the orchard. 1
49:6 he says, “Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant,
to reestablish the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the remnant 2 of Israel? 3
I will make you a light to the nations, 4
so you can bring 5 my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth.”
12:18 “Here is 7 my servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I take great delight. 8
I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
28:28 “Therefore be advised 22 that this salvation from God 23 has been sent to the Gentiles; 24 they 25 will listen!”
15:14 But I myself am fully convinced about you, my brothers and sisters, 34 that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another. 15:15 But I have written more boldly to you on some points so as to remind you, because of the grace given to me by God 15:16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. I serve 35 the gospel of God 36 like a priest, so that the Gentiles may become an acceptable offering, 37 sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
1 sn This new era of divine blessing will also include a moral/ethical transformation, as justice and fairness fill the land and replace the social injustice so prevalent in Isaiah’s time.
2 tn Heb “the protected [or “preserved”] ones.”
3 sn The question is purely rhetorical; it does not imply that the servant was dissatisfied with his commission or that he minimized the restoration of Israel.
4 tn See the note at 42:6.
5 tn Heb “be” (so KJV, ASV); CEV “you must take.”
6 sn My name will be great among the nations. In what is clearly a strongly ironic shift of thought, the
7 tn Grk “Behold my servant.”
8 tn Grk “in whom my soul is well pleased.”
9 tn Or “tool.”
10 tn Grk “the sons of Israel.” In Acts, Paul is a minister to all nations, including Israel (Rom 1:16-17).
11 tn Grk “these things.”
12 tn Or “became silent,” but this would create an apparent contradiction with the subsequent action of praising God. The point, in context, is that they ceased objecting to what Peter had done.
13 tn Or “glorified.”
14 sn Here the summary phrase for responding to the gospel is the repentance that leads to life. Note how the presence of life is tied to the presence of the Spirit (cf. John 4:7-42; 7:37-39).
15 sn In the Greek text the phrase even to the Gentiles is in an emphatic position.
16 tn Grk “rescuing.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the participle ἐξαιρούμενος (exairoumeno") has been translated as a finite verb and a new sentence started in the translation at the beginning of v. 17.
17 tn That is, from the Jewish people. Grk “the people”; the words “your own” have been supplied to clarify the meaning.
18 tn The antecedent of the relative pronoun is probably both the Jews (“your own people”) and the Gentiles, indicating the comprehensive commission Paul received.
19 sn To open their eyes so that they turn… Here is Luke’s most comprehensive report of Paul’s divine calling. His role was to call humanity to change their position before God and experience God’s forgiveness as a part of God’s family. The image of turning is a key one in the NT: Luke 1:79; Rom 2:19; 13:12; 2 Cor 4:6; 6:14; Eph 5:8; Col 1:12; 1 Thess 5:5. See also Luke 1:77-79; 3:3; 24:47.
20 tn BDAG 352-53 s.v. ἐξουσία 2 states, “Also of Satan’s power Ac 26:18.” It is also possible to translate this “the domain of Satan” (cf. BDAG 353 s.v. 6)
21 tn Or “and an inheritance.”
22 tn Grk “Therefore let it be known to you.”
23 tn Or “of God.”
24 sn The term Gentiles is in emphatic position in the Greek text of this clause. Once again there is the pattern: Jewish rejection of the gospel leads to an emphasis on Gentile inclusion (Acts 13:44-47).
25 tn Grk “they also.”
26 tn Grk “of the circumcision”; that is, the Jews.
27 tn Or “to the patriarchs.”
28 tn There are two major syntactical alternatives which are both awkward: (1) One could make “glorify” dependent on “Christ has become a minister” and coordinate with “to confirm” and the result would be rendered “Christ has become a minister of circumcision to confirm the promises…and so that the Gentiles might glorify God.” (2) One could make “glorify” dependent on “I tell you” and coordinate with “Christ has become a minister” and the result would be rendered “I tell you that Christ has become a minister of circumcision…and that the Gentiles glorify God.” The second rendering is preferred.
29 sn A quotation from Ps 18:49.
30 sn A quotation from Deut 32:43.
31 sn A quotation from Ps 117:1.
32 sn A quotation from Isa 11:10.
33 tn Grk “in the believing” or “as [you] believe,” with the object “him” supplied from the context. The referent could be God (15:13a) or Christ (15:12).
34 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.
35 tn Grk “serving.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but in keeping with contemporary English style, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
36 tn The genitive in the phrase τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ θεοῦ (to euangelion tou qeou, “the gospel of God”) could be translated as either a subjective genitive (“the gospel which God brings”) or an objective genitive (“the gospel about God”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, an interplay between the two concepts is intended: The gospel which God brings is in fact the gospel about himself.
37 tn Grk “so that the offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable.” This could be understood to refer to an offering belonging to the Gentiles (a possessive genitive) or made by the Gentiles (subjective genitive), but more likely the phrase should be understood as an appositive genitive, with the Gentiles themselves consisting of the offering (so J. D. G. Dunn, Romans [WBC 38], 2:860). The latter view is reflected in the translation “so that the Gentiles may become an acceptable offering.”
38 sn In Pauline writings saints means any true believer. Thus for Paul to view himself as less than the least of all the saints is to view himself as the most unworthy object of Christ’s redemption.
39 sn The parallel phrases to proclaim and to enlighten which follow indicate why God’s grace was manifested to Paul. Grace was not something just to be received, but to be shared with others (cf. Acts 13:47).