Colossians 2:13

2:13 And even though you were dead in your ¹  transgressions and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he nevertheless ²  made you alive with him, having forgiven all your transgressions.

Colossians 3:13

3:13 bearing with one another and forgiving ³  one another, if someone happens to have ⁴  a complaint against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others. ⁵ 

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 

Psalms 130:4

130:4 But ¹⁴  you are willing to forgive, ¹⁵ 

so that you might ¹⁶  be honored. ¹⁷ 

Luke 5:20

5:20 When ¹⁸  Jesus ¹⁹  saw their ²⁰  faith he said, “Friend, ²¹  your sins are forgiven.” ²² 

Luke 7:47-50

7:47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which were many, are forgiven, thus she loved much; ²³  but the one who is forgiven little loves little.” 7:48 Then ²⁴  Jesus ²⁵  said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” ²⁶  7:49 But ²⁷  those who were at the table ²⁸  with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 7:50 He ²⁹  said to the woman, “Your faith ³⁰  has saved you; ³¹  go in peace.”

Acts 2:38

2:38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each one of you be baptized ³²  in the name of Jesus Christ ³³  for ³⁴  the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁵ 

Acts 10:43

10:43 About him all the prophets testify, ³⁶  that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins ³⁷  through his name.”

Acts 13:38-39

13:38 Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through this one ³⁸  forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 13:39 and by this one ³⁹  everyone who believes is justified ⁴⁰  from everything from which the law of Moses could not justify ⁴¹  you. ⁴² 

Acts 26:18

26:18 to open their eyes so that they turn ⁴³  from darkness to light and from the power ⁴⁴  of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share ⁴⁵  among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Romans 4:6-8

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

4:7 “Blessed ⁴⁶  are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;

4:8 blessed is the one ⁴⁷  against whom the Lord will never count ⁴⁸  sin.” ⁴⁹ 

Ephesians 4:32

4:32 Instead, ⁵⁰  be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you. ⁵¹ 

Ephesians 4:1

Live in Unity

4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, ⁵²  urge you to live ⁵³  worthily of the calling with which you have been called, ⁵⁴ 

Ephesians 1:9

1:9 He did this when he revealed ⁵⁵  to us the secret ⁵⁶  of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth ⁵⁷  in Christ, ⁵⁸ 

Ephesians 2:12

2:12 that you were at that time without the Messiah, ⁵⁹  alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, ⁶⁰  having no hope and without God in the world.

[2:13]  ¹ tn The article τοῖς (tois) with παραπτώμασιν (paraptwmasin) is functioning as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[2:13]  ² tn The word “nevertheless,” though not in the Greek text, was supplied in the translation to bring out the force of the concessive participle ὄντας (ontas).

[3:13]  ³ tn For the translation of χαριζόμενοι (carizomenoi) as “forgiving,” see BDAG 1078 s.v. χαρίζομαι 3. The two participles “bearing” (ἀνεχόμενοι, anecomenoi) and “forgiving” (χαριζόμενοι) express the means by which the action of the finite verb “clothe yourselves” is to be carried out.

[3:13]  ⁴ tn Grk “if someone has”; the term “happens,” though not in the Greek text, is inserted to bring out the force of the third class condition.

[3:13]  ⁵ tn The expression “forgive others” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. It is included in the translation to make the sentence complete and more comprehensible to the English reader.

[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.

[130:4]  ¹⁴ tn Or “surely.”

[130:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “for with you [there is] forgiveness.”

[130:4]  ¹⁶ tn Or “consequently you are.”

[130:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “feared.”

[5:20]  ¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[5:20]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:20]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ 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]  ²² 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]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[7:48]  ²⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

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

[7:49]  ²⁷ tn Grk “And”; here καί (kai) has been translated as an adversative (contrastive).

[7:49]  ²⁸ tn Grk “were reclining at table.”

[7:50]  ²⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[7:50]  ³⁰ sn On faith see Luke 5:20; 7:9; 8:25; 12:28; 17:6; 18:8; 22:32.

[7:50]  ³¹ 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.

[2:38]  ³² tn The verb is a third person imperative, but the common translation “let each of you be baptized” obscures the imperative force in English, since it sounds more like a permissive (“each of you may be baptized”) to the average English reader.

[2:38]  ³³ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[2:38]  ³⁴ tn There is debate over the meaning of εἰς in the prepositional phrase εἰς ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ὑμῶν (eis afesin twn Jamartiwn Jumwn, “for/because of/with reference to the forgiveness of your sins”). Although a causal sense has been argued, it is difficult to maintain here. ExSyn 369-71 discusses at least four other ways of dealing with the passage: (1) The baptism referred to here is physical only, and εἰς has the meaning of “for” or “unto.” Such a view suggests that salvation is based on works – an idea that runs counter to the theology of Acts, namely: (a) repentance often precedes baptism (cf. Acts 3:19; 26:20), and (b) salvation is entirely a gift of God, not procured via water baptism (Acts 10:43 [cf. v. 47]; 13:38-39, 48; 15:11; 16:30-31; 20:21; 26:18); (2) The baptism referred to here is spiritual only. Although such a view fits well with the theology of Acts, it does not fit well with the obvious meaning of “baptism” in Acts – especially in this text (cf. 2:41); (3) The text should be repunctuated in light of the shift from second person plural to third person singular back to second person plural again. The idea then would be, “Repent for/with reference to your sins, and let each one of you be baptized…” Such a view is an acceptable way of handling εἰς, but its subtlety and awkwardness count against it; (4) Finally, it is possible that to a first-century Jewish audience (as well as to Peter), the idea of baptism might incorporate both the spiritual reality and the physical symbol. That Peter connects both closely in his thinking is clear from other passages such as Acts 10:47 and 11:15-16. If this interpretation is correct, then Acts 2:38 is saying very little about the specific theological relationship between the symbol and the reality, only that historically they were viewed together. One must look in other places for a theological analysis. For further discussion see R. N. Longenecker, “Acts,” EBC 9:283-85; B. Witherington, Acts, 154-55; F. F. Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text with Introduction and Commentary, 129-30; BDAG 290 s.v. εἰς 4.f.

[2:38]  ³⁵ tn Here the genitive τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος (tou Jagiou pneumato") is a genitive of apposition; the gift consists of the Holy Spirit.

[10:43]  ³⁶ 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]  ³⁷ 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]  ³⁸ 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.

[13:39]  ³⁹ sn This one refers here to Jesus.

[13:39]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “is freed.” The translation of δικαιωθῆναι (dikaiwqhnai) and δικαιοῦται (dikaioutai) in Acts 13:38-39 is difficult. BDAG 249 s.v. δικαιόω 3 categorizes δικαιωθῆναι in 13:38 (Greek text) under the meaning “make free/pure” but categorizes δικαιοῦται in Acts 13:39 as “be found in the right, be free of charges” (BDAG 249 s.v. δικαιόω 2.b.β). In the interest of consistency both verbs are rendered as “justified” in this translation.

[13:39]  ⁴¹ tn Or “could not free.”

[13:39]  ⁴² tn Grk “from everything from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.” The passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation, with “by the law of Moses” becoming the subject of the final clause. The words “from everything from which the law of Moses could not justify you” are part of v. 38 in the Greek text, but due to English style and word order must be placed in v. 39 in the translation.

[26:18]  ⁴³ 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]  ⁴⁴ 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]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “and an inheritance.”

[4:7]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “Happy.”

[4:8]  ⁴⁷ tn The word for “man” or “individual” here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” However, as BDAG 79 s.v. 2 says, here it is “equivalent to τὶς someone, a person.”

[4:8]  ⁴⁸ tn The verb translated “count” here is λογίζομαι (logizomai). It occurs eight times in Rom 4:1-12, including here, each time with the sense of “place on someone’s account.” By itself the word is neutral, but in particular contexts it can take on a positive or negative connotation. The other occurrences of the verb have been translated using a form of the English verb “credit” because they refer to a positive event: the application of righteousness to the individual believer. The use here in v. 8 is negative: the application of sin. A form of the verb “credit” was not used here because of the positive connotations associated with that English word, but it is important to recognize that the same concept is used here as in the other occurrences.

[4:8]  ⁴⁹ sn A quotation from Ps 32:1-2.

[4:32]  ⁵⁰ tc ‡ Although most witnesses have either δέ (de; Ì⁴⁹ א A D² Ψ 33 1739^mg Ï lat) or οὖν (oun; D* F G 1175) here, a few important mss lack a conjunction (Ì⁴⁶ B 0278 6 1739* 1881). If either conjunction were originally in the text, it is difficult to explain how the asyndetic construction could have arisen (although the dropping of δέ could have occurred via homoioteleuton). Further, although Hellenistic Greek rarely joined sentences without a conjunction, such does occur in the corpus Paulinum on occasion, especially to underscore a somber point. “Instead” has been supplied in the translation because of stylistic requirements, not textual basis. NA²⁷ places δέ in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

[4:32]  ⁵¹ tn Or “forgiving.”

[4:1]  ⁵² tn Grk “prisoner in the Lord.”

[4:1]  ⁵³ tn Grk “walk.” The verb “walk” in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.

[4:1]  ⁵⁴ sn With which you have been called. The calling refers to the Holy Spirit’s prompting that caused them to believe. The author is thus urging his readers to live a life that conforms to their saved status before God.

[1:9]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “He did this by revealing”; Grk “making known, revealing.” Verse 9 begins with a participle dependent on “lavished” in v. 8; the adverbial participle could be understood as temporal (“when he revealed”), which would be contemporaneous to the action of the finite verb “lavished,” or as means (“by revealing”). The participle has been translated here with the temporal nuance to allow for means to also be a possible interpretation. If the translation focused instead upon means, the temporal nuance would be lost as the time frame for the action of the participle would become indistinct.

[1:9]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “mystery.” In the NT μυστήριον (musthrion) refers to a divine secret previously undisclosed.

[1:9]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “purposed,” “publicly displayed.” Cf. Rom 3:25.

[1:9]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “in him”; the referent (Christ) has been specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[2:12]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “without Christ.” Both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.” Because the context refers to ancient Israel’s messianic expectation, “Messiah” was employed in the translation at this point rather than “Christ.”

[2:12]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “covenants of the promise.”