1 Kings 8:15

8:15 He said, “The Lord God of Israel is worthy of praise because he has fulfilled ¹  what he promised ²  my father David.

1 Kings 8:1

Solomon Moves the Ark into the Temple

8:1 ³ Then Solomon convened in Jerusalem ⁴  Israel’s elders, all the leaders of the Israelite tribes and families, so they could witness the transferal of the ark of the Lord’s covenant from the city of David (that is, Zion). ⁵ 

1 Kings 1:10-13

1:10 But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the elite warriors, ⁶  or his brother Solomon.

1:11 Nathan said to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, “Has it been reported to you ⁷  that Haggith’s son Adonijah has become king behind our master David’s back? ⁸  1:12 Now ⁹  let me give you some advice as to how ¹⁰  you can save your life and your son Solomon’s life. 1:13 Visit ¹¹  King David and say to him, ‘My master, O king, did you not solemnly promise ¹²  your servant, “Surely your son Solomon will be king after me; he will sit on my throne”? So why has Adonijah become king?’

1 Kings 1:20

1:20 Now, ¹³  my master, O king, all Israel is watching anxiously to see who is named to succeed my master the king on the throne. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 41:13

41:13 The Lord God of Israel deserves praise ¹⁵ 

in the future and forevermore! ¹⁶ 

We agree! We agree! ¹⁷ 

Psalms 72:18-19

72:18 The Lord God, the God of Israel, deserves praise! ¹⁸ 

He alone accomplishes amazing things! ¹⁹ 

72:19 His glorious name deserves praise ²⁰  forevermore!

May his majestic splendor ²¹  fill the whole earth!

We agree! We agree! ²² 

Psalms 72:2

72:2 Then he will judge ²³  your people fairly,

and your oppressed ones ²⁴  equitably.

Colossians 1:3

Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Church

1:3 We always ²⁵  give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,

Ephesians 1:3

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

1:3 Blessed ²⁶  is ²⁷  the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed ²⁸  us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ.

Ephesians 1:17

1:17 I pray that ²⁹  the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, ³⁰  may give you spiritual wisdom and revelation ³¹  in your growing knowledge of him, ³² 

Ephesians 3:20

3:20 Now to him who by the power that is working within us ³³  is able to do far beyond ³⁴  all that we ask or think,

[8:15]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text reads, “by his hand.”

[8:15]  ² tn The Hebrew text reads, “by his mouth.”

[8:1]  ³ tc The Old Greek translation includes the following words at the beginning of ch. 8: “It so happened that when Solomon finished building the Lord’s temple and his own house, after twenty years.”

[8:1]  ⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[8:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “Then Solomon convened the elders of Israel, the heads of the tribes, the chiefs of the fathers belonging to the sons of Israel to King Solomon [in] Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the city of David (it is Zion).”

[1:10]  ⁶ tn Or “bodyguard” (Heb “mighty men”).

[1:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “Have you not heard?”

[1:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “and our master David does not know.”

[1:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “now, come.” The imperative of הָלַךְ (halakh) is here used as an introductory interjection. See BDB 234 s.v. חָלַךְ.

[1:12]  ¹⁰ tn Or “so that.”

[1:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “come, go to.” The imperative of הָלַךְ (halakh) is here used as an introductory interjection. See BDB 234 s.v. חָלַךְ.

[1:13]  ¹² tn Or “swear an oath to.”

[1:20]  ¹³ tc Many Hebrew mss have עַתָּה (’attah, “now”) rather than the similar sounding independent pronoun אַתָּה (’attah, “you”).

[1:20]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the eyes of all Israel are upon you to declare to them who will sit on the throne of my master the king after him.”

[41:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “[be] blessed.” See Pss 18:46; 28:6; 31:21.

[41:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “from everlasting to everlasting.” See 1 Chr 16:36; Neh 9:5; Pss 90:2; 106:48.

[41:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “surely and surely” (אָמֵן וְאָמֵן [’amen vÿ’amen], i.e., “amen and amen”). This is probably a congregational response to the immediately preceding statement about the propriety of praising God.

[72:18]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “[be] blessed.” See Pss 18:46; 28:6; 31:21; 41:13.

[72:18]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “[the] one who does amazing things by himself.”

[72:19]  ²⁰ tn Heb “[be] blessed.”

[72:19]  ²¹ tn Or “glory.”

[72:19]  ²² tn Heb “surely and surely” (אָמֵן וְאָמֵן [’amen vÿ’amen], i.e., “Amen and amen”). This is probably a congregational response of agreement to the immediately preceding statement about the propriety of praising God.

[72:2]  ²³ tn The prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, not a jussive.

[72:2]  ²⁴ sn These people are called God’s oppressed ones because he is their defender (see Pss 9:12, 18; 10:12; 12:5).

[1:3]  ²⁵ tn The adverb πάντοτε (pantote) is understood to modify the indicative εὐχαριστοῦμεν (eucaristoumen) because it precedes περὶ ὑμῶν (peri Jumwn) which probably modifies the indicative and not the participle προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi). But see 1:9 where the same expression occurs and περὶ ὑμῶν modifies the participle “praying” (προσευχόμενοι).

[1:3]  ²⁶ sn Eph 1:3-14 comprises one long sentence in Greek, with three major sections. Each section ends with a note of praise for God (vv. 6, 12, 14), focusing on a different member of the Trinity. After an opening summary of all the saints’ spiritual blessings (v. 3), the first section (vv. 4-6) offers up praise that the Father has chosen us in eternity past; the second section (vv. 7-12) offers up praise that the Son has redeemed us in the historical past (i.e., at the cross); the third section (vv. 13-14) offers up praise that the Holy Spirit has sealed us in our personal past, at the point of conversion.

[1:3]  ²⁷ tn There is no verb in the Greek text; either the optative (“be”) or the indicative (“is”) can be supplied. The meaning of the term εὐλογητός (euloghtos), the author’s intention at this point in the epistle, and the literary genre of this material must all come into play to determine which is the preferred nuance. εὐλογητός as an adjective can mean either that one is praised or that one is blessed, that is, in a place of favor and benefit. The meaning “blessed” would be more naturally paired with an indicative verb here and would suggest that blessedness is an intrinsic part of God’s character. The meaning “praised” would be more naturally paired with an optative verb here and would suggest that God ought to be praised. Pauline style in the epistles generally moves from statements to obligations, expressing the reality first and then the believer’s necessary response, which would favor the indicative. However, many scholars regard Eph 1:3-14 as a berakah psalm (cf. A. T. Lincoln, Ephesians [WBC], 10-11). Rooted in the OT and Jewish worship, berakah psalms were songs of praise in which the worshiper gave praise to God; this would favor the optative (although not all scholars are agreed on this genre classification here; see H. W. Hoehner, Ephesians, 153-59, for discussion and an alternate conclusion). When considered as a whole, although a decision is difficult, the indicative seems to fit all the factors better. The author seems to be pointing to who God is and what he has done for believers in this section; the indicative more naturally fits that emphasis. Cf. also 2 Cor 1:3; 1 Pet 1:3.

[1:3]  ²⁸ tn Or “enriched,” “conferred blessing.”

[1:17]  ²⁹ tn The words “I pray” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to clarify the meaning; v. 17 is a subordinate clause to v. 16 (“I pray” in v. 17 is implied from v. 16). Eph 1:15-23 constitutes one sentence in Greek, but a new sentence was started here in the translation in light of contemporary English usage.

[1:17]  ³⁰ tn Or “glorious Father.” The genitive phrase “of glory” is most likely an attributive genitive. The literal translation “Father of glory” has been retained because of the parallelism with the first line of the verse: “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory.”

[1:17]  ³¹ tn Or “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation,” or “a spirit of wisdom and revelation.” Verse 17 involves a complex exegetical problem revolving around the Greek term πνεῦμα (pneuma). Some take it to mean “the Spirit,” others “a spirit,” and still others “spiritual.” (1) If “the Spirit” is meant, the idea must be a metonymy of cause for effect, because the author had just indicated in vv. 13-14 that the Spirit was already given (hence, there is no need for him to pray that he be given again). But the effect of the Spirit is wisdom and revelation. (2) If “a spirit” is meant, the idea may be that the readers will have the ability to gain wisdom and insight as they read Paul’s letters, but the exact meaning of “a spirit” remains ambiguous. (3) To take the genitives following πνεῦμα as attributed genitives (see ExSyn 89-91), in which the head noun (“S/spirit”) functions semantically like an adjective (“spiritual”) is both grammatically probable and exegetically consistent.

[1:17]  ³² tn Grk “in the knowledge of him.”

[3:20]  ³³ sn On the power that is working within us see 1:19-20.

[3:20]  ³⁴ tn Or “infinitely beyond,” “far more abundantly than.”