11:25 For I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, 3 so that you may not be conceited: A partial hardening has happened to Israel 4 until the full number 5 of the Gentiles has come in.
12:1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, 6 by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to God 7 – which is your reasonable service. 12:2 Do not be conformed 8 to this present world, 9 but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve 10 what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.
15:30 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, 11 through our Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit, to join fervently with me in prayer to God on my behalf.
1 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.
2 tn Grk “that we might bear fruit to God.”
3 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.
4 tn Or “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.”
5 tn Grk “fullness.”
5 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.
6 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.
7 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.
8 tn Grk “to this age.”
9 sn The verb translated test and approve (δοκιμάζω, dokimazw) carries the sense of “test with a positive outcome,” “test so as to approve.”
9 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.