1 John 1:7

1:7 But if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses ¹  us from all sin. ² 

1 John 1:9

1:9 But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, ³  forgiving ⁴  us our sins and cleansing ⁵  us from all unrighteousness.

Psalms 32:1-2

Psalm 32 ⁶ 

By David; a well-written song. ⁷ 

32:1 How blessed ⁸  is the one whose rebellious acts are forgiven, ⁹ 

whose sin is pardoned! ¹⁰ 

32:2 How blessed is the one ¹¹  whose wrongdoing the Lord does not punish, ¹² 

in whose spirit there is no deceit. ¹³ 

Luke 5:20

5:20 When ¹⁴  Jesus ¹⁵  saw their ¹⁶  faith he said, “Friend, ¹⁷  your sins are forgiven.” ¹⁸ 

Luke 7:47-50

7:47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which were many, are forgiven, thus she loved much; ¹⁹  but the one who is forgiven little loves little.” 7:48 Then ²⁰  Jesus ²¹  said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” ²²  7:49 But ²³  those who were at the table ²⁴  with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 7:50 He ²⁵  said to the woman, “Your faith ²⁶  has saved you; ²⁷  go in peace.”

Luke 24:47

24:47 and repentance ²⁸  for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed ²⁹  in his name to all nations, ³⁰  beginning from Jerusalem. ³¹ 

Acts 4:12

4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people ³²  by which we must ³³  be saved.”

Acts 10:43

10:43 About him all the prophets testify, ³⁴  that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins ³⁵  through his name.”

Acts 13:38

13:38 Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through this one ³⁶  forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,

Romans 4:6-7

4:6 So even David himself speaks regarding the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

4:7 “Blessed ³⁷  are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;

Ephesians 1:7

1:7 In him ³⁸  we have redemption through his blood, ³⁹  the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace

Colossians 1:14

1:14 in whom we have redemption, ⁴⁰  the forgiveness of sins.

[1:7]  ¹ tn Or “purifies.”

[1:7]  ² tn BDAG 50 s.v. ἁμαρτία 1 defines this term as “a departure fr. either human or divine standards of uprightness” (see 1 John 5:17 where ἁμαρτία [Jamartia] and ἀδικία [adikia] are related). This word occurs 17 times in 1 John, of which 11 are singular and 6 are plural.

[1:9]  ³ tn Or “just.”

[1:9]  ⁴ tn The ἵνα (Jina) followed by the subjunctive is here equivalent to the infinitive of result, an “ecbatic” or consecutive use of ἵνα according to BDAG 477 s.v. 3 where 1 John 1:9 is listed as a specific example. The translation with participles (“forgiving, …cleansing”) conveys this idea of result.

[1:9]  ⁵ tn Or “purifying.”

[32:1]  ⁶ sn Psalm 32. The psalmist recalls the agony he experienced prior to confessing his sins and affirms that true happiness comes when one’s sins are forgiven. He then urges others not to be stubborn, but to turn to God while forgiveness is available, for God extends his mercy to the repentant, while the wicked experience nothing but sorrow.

[32:1]  ⁷ 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 occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.

[32:1]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1, 3; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15). Here it refers to the relief that one experiences when one’s sins are forgiven.

[32:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “lifted up.”

[32:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “covered over.”

[32:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “man.” The word choice reflects the perspective of the psalmist, who is male. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, the gender and age specific “man” has been translated with the more neutral “one.”

[32:2]  ¹² tn Heb “blessed [is] the man to whom the Lord does not impute wrongdoing.”

[32:2]  ¹³ sn In whose spirit there is no deceit. The point is not that the individual is sinless and pure. In this context, which focuses on confession and forgiveness of sin, the psalmist refers to one who refuses to deny or hide his sin, but instead honestly confesses it to God.

[5:20]  ¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[5:20]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:20]  ¹⁶ sn The plural pronoun their makes it clear that Jesus was responding to the faith of the entire group, not just the paralyzed man.

[5:20]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Man,” but the term used in this way was not derogatory in Jewish culture. Used in address (as here) it means “friend” (see BDAG 82 s.v. ἄνθρωπος 8).

[5:20]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” Luke stresses the forgiveness of sins (cf. 1:77; 3:3; 24:47). In 5:20 he uses both the perfect ἀφέωνται and the personal pronoun σοι which together combine to heighten the subjective aspect of the experience of forgiveness. The σοι has been omitted in translation in light of normal English style.

[7:47]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “for she loved much.” The connection between this statement and the preceding probably involves an ellipsis, to the effect that the ὅτι clause gives the evidence of forgiveness, not the ground. For similar examples of an “evidentiary” ὅτι, cf. Luke 1:22; 6:21; 13:2. See discussion in D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:703-5. Further evidence that this is the case here is the final statement: “the one who is forgiven little loves little” means that the one who is forgiven little is thus not able to love much. The REB renders this verse: “her great love proves that her many sins have been forgiven; where little has been forgiven, little love is shown.”

[7:48]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[7:48]  ²¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:48]  ²² sn Jesus showed his authority to forgive sins, something that was quite controversial. See Luke 5:17-26 and the next verse.

[7:49]  ²³ tn Grk “And”; here καί (kai) has been translated as an adversative (contrastive).

[7:49]  ²⁴ tn Grk “were reclining at table.”

[7:50]  ²⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[7:50]  ²⁶ sn On faith see Luke 5:20; 7:9; 8:25; 12:28; 17:6; 18:8; 22:32.

[7:50]  ²⁷ sn The questioning did not stop Jesus. He declared authoritatively that the woman was forgiven by God (your faith has saved you). This event is a concrete example of Luke 5:31-32.

[24:47]  ²⁸ sn This repentance has its roots in declarations of the Old Testament. It is the Hebrew concept of a turning of direction.

[24:47]  ²⁹ tn Or “preached,” “announced.”

[24:47]  ³⁰ sn To all nations. The same Greek term (τὰ ἔθνη, ta eqnh) may be translated “the Gentiles” or “the nations.” The hope of God in Christ was for all the nations from the beginning.

[24:47]  ³¹ sn Beginning from Jerusalem. See Acts 2, which is where it all starts.

[4:12]  ³² tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).

[4:12]  ³³ sn Must be saved. The term used here (δεῖ, dei, “it is necessary”) reflects the necessity set up by God’s directive plan.

[10:43]  ³⁴ tn Or “All the prophets testify about him.” Although modern English translations tend to place “about him” after “testify” (so NIV, NRSV) the phrase “about him” has been left at the beginning of v. 43 for emphatic reasons.

[10:43]  ³⁵ sn Forgiveness of sins. See Luke 24:47; also Acts 14:23; 19:4; 9:42; 11:17; 16:31. The gospel is present in the prophetic promise, Rom 1:1-7. The message is in continuity with the ancient hope.

[13:38]  ³⁶ tn That is, Jesus. This pronoun is in emphatic position in the Greek text. Following this phrase in the Greek text is the pronoun ὑμῖν (Jumin, “to you”), so that the emphasis for the audience is that “through Jesus to you” these promises have come.

[4:7]  ³⁷ tn Or “Happy.”

[1:7]  ³⁸ tn Grk “in whom” (the relative clause of v. 7 is subordinate to v. 6). The “him” refers to Christ.

[1:7]  ³⁹ sn In this context his blood, the blood of Jesus Christ, refers to the price paid for believers’ redemption, which is the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross.

[1:14]  ⁴⁰ tc διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ (dia tou {aimato" autou, “through his blood”) is read at this juncture by several minuscule mss (614 630 1505 2464 al) as well as a few, mostly secondary, versional and patristic witnesses. But the reading was prompted by the parallel in Eph 1:7 where the wording is solid. If these words had been in the original of Colossians, why would scribes omit them here but not in Eph 1:7? Further, the testimony on behalf of the shorter reading is quite overwhelming: {א A B C D F G Ψ 075 0150 6 33 1739 1881 Ï latt co as well as several other versions and fathers}. The conviction that “through his blood” is not authentic in Col 1:14 is as strong as the conviction that these words are authentic in Eph 1:7.