2 Corinthians 1:3

Thanksgiving for God’s Comfort

1:3 Blessed is ¹  the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,

2 Corinthians 1:23

Why Paul Postponed His Visit

1:23 Now I appeal to God as my witness, ²  that to spare ³  you I did not come again to Corinth. ⁴ 

John 10:30

10:30 The Father and I ⁵  are one.” ⁶ 

John 20:17

20:17 Jesus replied, ⁷  “Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Romans 1:9

1:9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit by preaching the gospel ⁸  of his Son, is my witness that ⁹  I continually remember you

Romans 9:1

Israel’s Rejection Considered

9:1 ¹⁰ I am telling the truth in Christ (I am not lying!), for my conscience assures me ¹¹  in the Holy Spirit –

Ephesians 1:3

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

1:3 Blessed ¹²  is ¹³  the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed ¹⁴  us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ.

Ephesians 3:14

Prayer for Strengthened Love

3:14 For this reason ¹⁵  I kneel ¹⁶  before the Father, ¹⁷ 

Galatians 1:2-3

1:2 and all the brothers with me, to the churches of Galatia. 1:3 Grace and peace to you ¹⁸  from God the Father and our ¹⁹  Lord Jesus Christ,

Colossians 1:3

Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Church

1:3 We always ²⁰  give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ²¹  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 2:5

2:5 For though ²²  I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, rejoicing to see ²³  your morale ²⁴  and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Colossians 2:1

2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, ²⁵  and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. ²⁶ 

Colossians 1:3

Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Church

1:3 We always ²⁷  give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,

[1:3]  ¹ 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) and the author’s intention at this point in the epistle must both 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 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 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. When considered as a whole, although a decision is difficult, the general Pauline style of beginning with statements and moving to obligations argues for the indicative. Cf. also Eph 1:3; 1 Pet 1:3.

[1:23]  ² tn Grk “I call upon God as witness against my soul.” Normally this implies an appeal for help (L&N 33.176).

[1:23]  ³ tn Here φειδόμενος (feidomeno") has been translated as a telic participle.

[1:23]  ⁴ sn Paul had promised to come again to visit (see 2 Cor 1:15, 24) but explains here why he had changed his plans.

[10:30]  ⁵ tn Grk “I and the Father.” The order has been reversed to reflect English style.

[10:30]  ⁶ tn The phrase ἕν ἐσμεν ({en esmen) is a significant assertion with trinitarian implications. ἕν is neuter, not masculine, so the assertion is not that Jesus and the Father are one person, but one “thing.” Identity of the two persons is not what is asserted, but essential unity (unity of essence).

[20:17]  ⁷ tn Grk “Jesus said to her.”

[1:9]  ⁸ tn Grk “whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel.”

[1:9]  ⁹ tn Grk “as.”

[9:1]  ¹⁰ sn Rom 9:1–11:36. These three chapters are among the most difficult and disputed in Paul’s Letter to the Romans. One area of difficulty is the relationship between Israel and the church, especially concerning the nature and extent of Israel’s election. Many different models have been constructed to express this relationship. For a representative survey, see M. Barth, The People of God (JSNTSup), 22-27. The literary genre of these three chapters has been frequently identified as a diatribe, a philosophical discussion or conversation evolved by the Cynic and Stoic schools of philosophy as a means of popularizing their ideas (E. Käsemann, Romans, 261 and 267). But other recent scholars have challenged the idea that Rom 9–11 is characterized by diatribe. Scholars like R. Scroggs and E. E. Ellis have instead identified the material in question as midrash. For a summary and discussion of the rabbinic connections, see W. R. Stegner, “Romans 9.6-29 – A Midrash,” JSNT 22 (1984): 37-52.

[9:1]  ¹¹ tn Or “my conscience bears witness to me.”

[1:3]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Or “enriched,” “conferred blessing.”

[3:14]  ¹⁵ sn For this reason resumes the point begun in v. 1, after a long parenthesis.

[3:14]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “I bend my knees.”

[3:14]  ¹⁷ tc Most Western and Byzantine witnesses, along with a few others (א² D F G Ψ 0278 1881 Ï lat sy), have “of our Lord Jesus Christ” after “Father,” but such an edifying phrase cannot explain the rise of the reading that lacks it, especially when the shorter reading is attested by early and important witnesses such as Ì⁴⁶ א* A B C P 6 33 81 365 1175 1739 co Or Hier.

[1:3]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:3]  ¹⁹ tc ‡ The unusual order καὶ κυρίου ἡμῶν (kai kuriou Jhmwn), which produces the reading “our Lord Jesus Christ” instead of “God our Father,” is read by Ì^46,51vid B D F G H 1739 1881 Ï sy sa, while the more normal ἡμῶν καὶ κυρίου (Jhmwn kai kuriou) is found in א A P Ψ 33 81 326 365 2464 pc. Thus, the reading adopted in the translation is more widespread geographically and is found in the two earliest witnesses, along with several good representatives of the Alexandrian, Western, and Byzantine texttypes. Internally, there would be a strong motivation for scribes to change the order: “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” is Paul’s normal greeting; here alone is the pronoun attached to “Jesus Christ” (except in the pastorals, though the greeting in these letters is nevertheless unlike the rest of the corpus Paulinum). Intrinsically, the chosen reading is superior as well: Scribes would be prone to emulate Paul’s regular style, while in an early letter such as this one his regular style was yet to be established (for a similar situation, cf. the text-critical discussion at 1 Thess 1:1). Hence, there is a strong probability that the reading in the translation is authentic. Although B. M. Metzger argues that “the apostle’s stereotyped formula was altered by copyists who, apparently in the interest of Christian piety, transferred the possessive pronoun so it would be more closely associated with ‘Lord Jesus Christ’” (TCGNT 520), one might expect to see the same alterations in other Pauline letters. That this is not the case argues for “our Lord Jesus Christ” as the authentic reading here.

[1:3]  ²⁰ 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).

[1:1]  ²¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[2:5]  ²² tn The conditional particle εἰ (ei) together with καί (kai) here indicates a first class condition in Greek and carries a concessive force, especially when seen in contrast to the following phrase which begins with ἀλλά (alla).

[2:5]  ²³ tn Grk “rejoicing and seeing.”

[2:5]  ²⁴ tn The Greek word τάξις can mean “order,” “discipline,” or even “unbroken ranks” (REB).

[2:1]  ²⁵ tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”

[2:1]  ²⁶ tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”

[1:3]  ²⁷ 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).