Deuteronomy 7:7-8

The Basis of Israel’s Election

7:7 It is not because you were more numerous than all the other peoples that the Lord favored and chose you – for in fact you were the least numerous of all peoples. 7:8 Rather it is because of his ¹  love ²  for you and his faithfulness to the promise ³  he solemnly vowed ⁴  to your ancestors ⁵  that the Lord brought you out with great power, ⁶  redeeming ⁷  you from the place of slavery, from the power ⁸  of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Isaiah 14:26-27

14:26 This is the plan I have devised for the whole earth;

my hand is ready to strike all the nations.” ⁹ 

14:27 Indeed, ¹⁰  the Lord who commands armies has a plan,

and who can possibly frustrate it?

His hand is ready to strike,

and who can possibly stop it? ¹¹ 

Matthew 11:25-26

Jesus’ Invitation

11:25 At that time Jesus said, ¹²  “I praise ¹³  you, Father, Lord ¹⁴  of heaven and earth, because ¹⁵  you have hidden these things from the wise ¹⁶  and intelligent, and revealed them to little children. 11:26 Yes, Father, for this was your gracious will. ¹⁷ 

Luke 10:21

10:21 On that same occasion ¹⁸  Jesus ¹⁹  rejoiced ²⁰  in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise ²¹  you, Father, Lord ²²  of heaven and earth, because ²³  you have hidden these things from the wise ²⁴  and intelligent, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your gracious will. ²⁵ 

Romans 8:28

8:28 And we know that all things work together ²⁶  for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose,

Ephesians 1:9

1:9 He did this when he revealed ²⁷  to us the secret ²⁸  of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth ²⁹  in Christ, ³⁰ 

Ephesians 1:11

1:11 In Christ ³¹  we too have been claimed as God’s own possession, ³²  since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will

[7:8]  ¹ tn Heb “the Lord’s.” See note on “He” in 7:6.

[7:8]  ² tn For the verb אָהַב (’ahav, “to love”) as a term of choice or election, see note on the word “loved” in Deut 4:37.

[7:8]  ³ tn Heb “oath.” This is a reference to the promises of the so-called “Abrahamic Covenant” (cf. Gen 15:13-16).

[7:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “swore on oath.”

[7:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 12, 13).

[7:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “by a strong hand” (NAB similar); NLT “with such amazing power.”

[7:8]  ⁷ sn Redeeming you from the place of slavery. The Hebrew verb translated “redeeming” (from the root פָּדָה, padah) has the idea of redemption by the payment of a ransom. The initial symbol of this was the Passover lamb, offered by Israel to the Lord as ransom in exchange for deliverance from bondage and death (Exod 12:1-14). Later, the firstborn sons of Israel, represented by the Levites, became the ransom (Num 3:11-13). These were all types of the redemption effected by the death of Christ who described his atoning work as “a ransom for many” (Matt 20:28; cf. 1 Pet 1:18).

[7:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “hand” (so KJV, NRSV), a metaphor for power or domination.

[14:26]  ⁹ tn Heb “and this is the hand that is outstretched over all the nations.”

[14:27]  ¹⁰ tn Or “For” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[14:27]  ¹¹ tn Heb “His hand is outstretched and who will turn it back?”

[11:25]  ¹² tn Grk “At that time, answering, Jesus said.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.

[11:25]  ¹³ tn Or “thank.”

[11:25]  ¹⁴ sn The title Lord is an important name for God, showing his sovereignty, but it is interesting that it comes next to a reference to the Father, a term indicative of God’s care. The two concepts are often related in the NT; see Eph 1:3-6.

[11:25]  ¹⁵ tn Or “that.”

[11:25]  ¹⁶ sn See 1 Cor 1:26-31.

[11:26]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “for (to do) thus was well-pleasing before you,” BDAG 325 s.v. ἔμπροσθεν 1.b.δ; speaking of something taking place “before” God is a reverential way of avoiding direct connection of the action to him.

[10:21]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “In that same hour” (L&N 67.1).

[10:21]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:21]  ²⁰ sn Jesus rejoiced. The account of the mission in 10:1-24 ends with several remarks about joy.

[10:21]  ²¹ tn Or “thank.”

[10:21]  ²² sn The title Lord is an important name for God, showing his sovereignty, but it is interesting that it comes next to a reference to the Father, a term indicative of God’s care. The two concepts are often related in the NT; see Eph 1:3-6.

[10:21]  ²³ tn Or “that.”

[10:21]  ²⁴ sn See 1 Cor 1:26-31.

[10:21]  ²⁵ tn Grk “for (to do) thus was well pleasing before you,” BDAG 325 s.v. ἔμπροσθεν 1.δ; speaking of something taking place “before” God is a reverential way of avoiding direct connection of the action to him.

[8:28]  ²⁶ tc ὁ θεός (Jo qeos, “God”) is found after the verb συνεργεῖ (sunergei, “work”) in v. 28 by Ì⁴⁶ A B 81 sa; the shorter reading is found in א C D F G Ψ 33 1739 1881 Ï latt sy bo. Although the inclusion is supported by a significant early papyrus, the alliance of significant Alexandrian and Western witnesses favors the shorter reading. As well, the longer reading is evidently motivated by a need for clarification. Since ὁ θεός is textually suspect, it is better to read the text without it. This leaves two good translational options: either “he works all things together for good” or “all things work together for good.” In the first instance the subject is embedded in the verb and “God” is clearly implied (as in v. 29). In the second instance, πάντα (panta) becomes the subject of an intransitive verb. In either case, “What is expressed is a truly biblical confidence in the sovereignty of God” (C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:427).

[1:9]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ tn Or “mystery.” In the NT μυστήριον (musthrion) refers to a divine secret previously undisclosed.

[1:9]  ²⁹ tn Or “purposed,” “publicly displayed.” Cf. Rom 3:25.

[1:9]  ³⁰ tn Grk “in him”; the referent (Christ) has been specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[1:11]  ³¹ tn Grk “in whom,” as a continuation of the previous verse.

[1:11]  ³² tn Grk “we were appointed by lot.” The notion of the verb κληρόω (klhrow) in the OT was to “appoint a portion by lot” (the more frequent cognate verb κληρονομέω [klhronomew] meant “obtain a portion by lot”). In the passive, as here, the idea is that “we were appointed [as a portion] by lot” (BDAG 548 s.v. κληρόω 1). The words “God’s own” have been supplied in the translation to clarify this sense of the verb. An alternative interpretation is that believers receive a portion as an inheritance: “In Christ we too have been appointed a portion of the inheritance.” See H. W. Hoehner, Ephesians, 226-27, for discussion on this interpretive issue.