Acts 26:18

26:18 to open their eyes so that they turn ¹  from darkness to light and from the power ²  of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share ³  among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Jeremiah 3:19

3:19 “I thought to myself, ⁴ 

‘Oh what a joy it would be for me to treat you like a son! ⁵ 

What a joy it would be for me to give ⁶  you a pleasant land,

the most beautiful piece of property there is in all the world!’ ⁷ 

I thought you would call me, ‘Father’ ⁸ 

and would never cease being loyal to me. ⁹ 

Ephesians 1:18

1:18 – since the eyes of your ¹⁰  heart have been enlightened ¹¹  – so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, ¹²  what is the wealth of his glorious ¹³  inheritance in the saints,

Colossians 1:12

1:12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share ¹⁴  in the saints’ ¹⁵  inheritance in the light.

Colossians 3:24

3:24 because you know that you will receive your ¹⁶  inheritance ¹⁷  from the Lord as the reward. Serve ¹⁸  the Lord Christ.

Hebrews 9:15

9:15 And so he is the mediator ¹⁹  of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance he has promised, ²⁰  since he died ²¹  to set them free from the violations committed under the first covenant.

Hebrews 9:1

The Arrangement and Ritual of the Earthly Sanctuary

9:1 Now the first covenant, ²²  in fact, had regulations for worship and its earthly sanctuary.

Hebrews 1:4-5

1:4 Thus he became ²³  so far better than the angels as ²⁴  he has inherited a name superior to theirs.

The Son Is Superior to Angels

1:5 For to which of the angels did God ²⁵  ever say, “You are my son! Today I have fathered you”? ²⁶  And in another place ²⁷  he says, ²⁸  “I will be his father and he will be my son.” ²⁹ 

[26:18]  ¹ sn To open their eyes so that they turn… Here is Luke’s most comprehensive report of Paul’s divine calling. His role was to call humanity to change their position before God and experience God’s forgiveness as a part of God’s family. The image of turning is a key one in the NT: Luke 1:79; Rom 2:19; 13:12; 2 Cor 4:6; 6:14; Eph 5:8; Col 1:12; 1 Thess 5:5. See also Luke 1:77-79; 3:3; 24:47.

[26:18]  ² tn BDAG 352-53 s.v. ἐξουσία 2 states, “Also of Satan’s power Ac 26:18.” It is also possible to translate this “the domain of Satan” (cf. BDAG 353 s.v. 6)

[26:18]  ³ tn Or “and an inheritance.”

[3:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “I, myself, said.” See note on “I thought that she might come back to me” in 3:7.

[3:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “How I would place you among the sons.” Israel appears to be addressed here contextually as the Lord’s wife (see the next verse). The pronouns of address in the first two lines are second feminine singular as are the readings of the two verbs preferred by the Masoretes (the Qere readings) in the third and fourth lines. The verbs that are written in the text in the third and fourth lines (the Kethib readings) are second masculine plural as is the verb describing Israel’s treachery in the next verse.

[3:19]  ⁶ tn The words “What a joy it would be for me to” are not in the Hebrew text but are implied in the parallel structure.

[3:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “the most beautiful heritage among the nations.”

[3:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “my father.”

[3:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “turn back from [following] after me.”

[1:18]  ¹⁰ tc ‡ Most witnesses, especially of the Byzantine and Western texttypes, though with a few important Alexandrian witnesses (א A D F G Ψ 0278 Ï latt sy), add ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”) after καρδίας (kardias, “heart”), though it is clearly implied in the shorter (Alexandrian) reading (found in Ì⁴⁶ B 6 33 1175 1739 1881 pc). The longer reading thus looks to be a clarifying gloss, as is frequently found in the Byzantine and Western traditions. The translation above also uses “your” because of English requirements, not because of textual basis.

[1:18]  ¹¹ tn The perfect participle πεφωτισμένους (pefwtismenou") may either be part of the prayer (“that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened”) or part of the basis of the prayer (“since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened”). Although the participle follows the ἵνα (Jina) of v. 17, it is awkward grammatically in the clause. Further, perfect adverbial participles are usually causal in NT Greek. Finally, the context both here and throughout Ephesians seems to emphasize the motif of light as a property belonging to believers. Thus, it seems that the author is saying, “I know that you are saved, that you have had the blinders of the devil removed; because of this, I can now pray that you will fully understand and see the light of God’s glorious revelation.” Hence, the translation takes the participle to form a part of the basis for the prayer.

[1:18]  ¹² tn Or “the hope to which he has called you.”

[1:18]  ¹³ tn Grk “of the glory of his inheritance.” Here “inheritance” is taken as an attributed genitive and the head noun, “glory,” is thus translated as an adjective, “glorious inheritance.”

[1:12]  ¹⁴ tn BDAG 473 s.v. ἱκανόω states, “τινὰ εἴς τι someone for someth. Col 1:12.” The point of the text is that God has qualified the saints for a “share” or “portion” in the inheritance of the saints.

[1:12]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “the inheritance of the saints.” The genitive noun τῶν ἁγίων (twn Jagiwn) is a possessive genitive: “the saints’ inheritance.”

[3:24]  ¹⁶ tn The article τῆς (ths) has been translated as a possessive pronoun, “your” (ExSyn 215). It may also be functioning to indicate a well-known concept (inheritance as eternal life). See BDAG 548 s.v. κληρονομία 3: “common in Christian usage (corresp. to the LXX) (the possession of) transcendent salvation (as the inheritance of God’s children).”

[3:24]  ¹⁷ tn The genitive τῆς κληρονομίας (th" klhronomia") is a genitive of apposition: The reward consists of the inheritance.

[3:24]  ¹⁸ tn The form of the term δουλεύετε (douleuete) is ambiguous; it can be read as either indicative or imperative. In favor of the indicative: (1) it seems to explain better the first part of v. 24, esp. “from the Lord” which would then read as: “because you know that you will receive your inheritance from the Lord as a reward for it is the Lord you are serving.” The “for” is supplied to make the relation explicit (it is actually added in many mss – D¹ Ψ 075 Ï – but the best ms evidence is against its inclusion). (2) With the imperative, one might expect ὡς τῷ κυρίῳ (Jw" tw kuriw), as for example in Eph 6:7. In favor of the imperative: (1) an imperative resumes the ἐργάζεσθε (ergazesqe) in v. 23a and forms a chiasm with it; (2) an imperative makes more sense of the γάρ (gar) in v. 25a; (3) an imperative relates equally well to the preceding statement; (4) a parallel can be found in Rom 12:11 which uses an imperatival participle δουλεύοντες (douleuonte") with the dative τῷ κυρίῳ. For an elaboration of these points see M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 185-86.

[9:15]  ¹⁹ tn The Greek word μεσίτης (mesith", “mediator”) in this context does not imply that Jesus was a mediator in the contemporary sense of the word, i.e., he worked for compromise between opposing parties. Here the term describes his function as the one who was used by God to enact a new covenant which established a new relationship between God and his people, but entirely on God’s terms.

[9:15]  ²⁰ tn Grk “the promise of the eternal inheritance.”

[9:15]  ²¹ tn Grk “a death having occurred.”

[9:1]  ²² tn Grk “the first” (referring to the covenant described in Heb 8:7, 13). In the translation the referent (covenant) has been specified for clarity.

[1:4]  ²³ tn Grk “having become.” This is part of the same sentence that extends from v. 1 through v. 4 in the Greek text.

[1:4]  ²⁴ tn Most modern English translations attempt to make the comparison somewhat smoother by treating “name” as if it were the subject of the second element: “as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, CEV). However, the Son is the subject of both the first and second elements: “he became so far better”; “he has inherited a name.” The present translation maintains this parallelism even though it results in a somewhat more awkward rendering.

[1:5]  ²⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:5]  ²⁶ tn Grk “I have begotten you.”

[1:5]  ²⁷ tn Grk “And again,” quoting another OT passage.

[1:5]  ²⁸ tn The words “he says” are not in the Greek text but are supplied to make a complete English sentence. In the Greek text this is a continuation of the previous sentence, but English does not normally employ such long and complex sentences.

[1:5]  ²⁹ tn Grk “I will be a father to him and he will be a son to me.”