47:7 For God is king of the whole earth!
Sing a well-written song! 1
12:1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, 2 by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to God 3 – which is your reasonable service. 12:2 Do not be conformed 4 to this present world, 5 but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve 6 what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.
1 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term also occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142. Here, in a context of celebration, the meaning “skillful, well-written” would fit particularly well.
2 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.
3 tn The participle and two adjectives “alive, holy, and pleasing to God” are taken as predicates in relation to “sacrifice,” making the exhortation more emphatic. See ExSyn 618-19.
4 tn Although συσχηματίζεσθε (suschmatizesqe) could be either a passive or middle, the passive is more likely since it would otherwise have to be a direct middle (“conform yourselves”) and, as such, would be quite rare for NT Greek. It is very telling that being “conformed” to the present world is viewed as a passive notion, for it may suggest that it happens, in part, subconsciously. At the same time, the passive could well be a “permissive passive,” suggesting that there may be some consciousness of the conformity taking place. Most likely, it is a combination of both.
5 tn Grk “to this age.”
6 sn The verb translated test and approve (δοκιμάζω, dokimazw) carries the sense of “test with a positive outcome,” “test so as to approve.”