43:4 Then I will go 14 to the altar of God,
to the God who gives me ecstatic joy, 15
so that I express my thanks to you, 16 O God, my God, with a harp.
126:5 Those who shed tears as they plant
will shout for joy when they reap the harvest. 17
5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit 19 is love, 20 joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 21
5:1 For freedom 22 Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke 23 of slavery.
1 tn Grk “rejoices with joy” (an idiom).
2 tn Grk “Therefore this my joy is fulfilled.”
3 tn Grk “These things I have spoken to you.”
5 tn Or “distress.”
6 sn An allusion to Isa 66:14 LXX, which reads: “Then you will see, and your heart will be glad, and your bones will flourish like the new grass; and the hand of the
7 tn Grk “And in that day.”
8 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
9 sn This statement is also found in John 15:16.
9 tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
11 tn The one Greek term θλῖψις (qliyis) has been translated by an English hendiadys (two terms that combine for one meaning) “trouble and suffering.” For modern English readers “tribulation” is no longer clearly understandable.
12 tn Or “but be courageous.”
13 tn Or “I am victorious over the world,” or “I have overcome the world.”
13 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
15 tn The cohortative expresses the psalmist’s resolve. Prefixed with the vav (ו) conjunctive it also expresses the result or outcome of the preceding verbs “lead” and “escort.”
16 tn Heb “to God, the joy of my happiness.” The phrase “joy of my happiness” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the degree of the psalmist’s joy. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.
17 tn The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive probably indicates purpose (“so that”) or intention.
17 sn O. Borowski says regarding this passage: “The dependence on rain for watering plants, the uncertainty of the quantity and timing of the rains, and the possibility of crop failure due to pests and diseases appear to have kept the farmer in a gloomy mood during sowing” (Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 54). Perhaps the people were experiencing a literal drought, the effects of which cause them to lament their plight as they plant their seed in hopes that the rain would come. However, most take the language as metaphorical. Like a farmer sowing his seed, the covenant community was enduring hardship as they waited for a new outpouring of divine blessing. Yet they are confident that a time of restoration will come and relieve their anxiety, just as the harvest brings relief and joy to the farmer.
19 sn The citizens of Pisidian Antioch were not discouraged by the persecution, but instead were filled with joy.
21 tn That is, the fruit the Spirit produces.
22 sn Another way to punctuate this is “love” followed by a colon (love: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control). It is thus possible to read the eight characteristics following “love” as defining love.
23 tn Or “reliability”; see BDAG 818 s.v. πίστις 1.a.
23 tn Translating the dative as “For freedom” shows the purpose for Christ setting us free; however, it is also possible to take the phrase in the sense of means or instrument (“with [or by] freedom”), referring to the freedom mentioned in 4:31 and implied throughout the letter.
24 sn Here the yoke figuratively represents the burdensome nature of slavery.
25 tn Or “I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it.”
26 tn The words “I received it” are not in the Greek text but are implied.
27 tn It is difficult to determine what kind of genitive ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (Ihsou Cristou) is. If it is a subjective genitive, the meaning is “a revelation from Jesus Christ” but if objective genitive, it is “a revelation about Jesus Christ.” Most likely this is objective since the explanation in vv. 15-16 mentions God revealing the Son to Paul so that he might preach, although the idea of a direct revelation to Paul at some point cannot be ruled out.