Ephesians 1:6

1:6 to the praise of the glory of his grace ¹  that he has freely bestowed on us in his dearly loved Son. ² 

Ephesians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ³  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints [in Ephesus], ⁴  the faithful ⁵  in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 1:11

1:11 In Christ ⁶  we too have been claimed as God’s own possession, ⁷  since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will

Psalms 29:1-2

Psalm 29 ⁸ 

A psalm of David.

29:1 Acknowledge the Lord, you heavenly beings, ⁹ 

acknowledge the Lord’s majesty and power! ¹⁰ 

29:2 Acknowledge the majesty of the Lord’s reputation! ¹¹ 

Worship the Lord in holy attire! ¹² 

Psalms 72:19

72:19 His glorious name deserves praise ¹³  forevermore!

May his majestic splendor ¹⁴  fill the whole earth!

We agree! We agree! ¹⁵ 

Psalms 115:1

Psalm 115 ¹⁶ 

115:1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us!

But to your name bring honor, ¹⁷ 

for the sake of your loyal love and faithfulness. ¹⁸ 

Isaiah 6:3

6:3 They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy ¹⁹  is the Lord who commands armies! ²⁰  His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!”

Isaiah 42:12

42:12 Let them give the Lord the honor he deserves; ²¹ 

let them praise his deeds in the coastlands. ²² 

Matthew 6:13

6:13 And do not lead us into temptation, ²³  but deliver us from the evil one. ²⁴ 

Luke 2:14

2:14 “Glory ²⁵  to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among people ²⁶  with whom he is pleased!” ²⁷ 

Romans 11:36

11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen.

Romans 16:27

16:27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be glory forever! Amen.

Galatians 1:5

1:5 to whom be glory forever and ever! Amen.

Philippians 2:11

2:11 and every tongue confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord

to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 4:20

4:20 May glory be given to God our Father forever and ever. Amen.

Philippians 4:2

4:2 I appeal to Euodia and to Syntyche to agree in the Lord.

Philippians 4:18

4:18 For I have received everything, and I have plenty. I have all I need because I received from Epaphroditus what you sent – a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, very pleasing to God.

Hebrews 13:21

13:21 equip you with every good thing to do his will, working in us ²⁸  what is pleasing before him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever. ²⁹  Amen.

Hebrews 13:1

Final Exhortations

13:1 Brotherly love must continue.

Hebrews 5:11

The Need to Move on to Maturity

5:11 On this topic we have much to say ³⁰  and it is difficult to explain, since you have become sluggish ³¹  in hearing.

Revelation 4:9-11

4:9 And whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, ³²  and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 4:10 the twenty-four elders throw themselves to the ground ³³  before the one who sits on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever, and they offer their crowns ³⁴  before his ³⁵  throne, saying:

4:11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honor and power,

since you created all things,

and because of your will they existed and were created!” ³⁶ 

Revelation 5:9-14

5:9 They were singing a new song: ³⁷ 

“You are worthy to take the scroll

and to open its seals

because you were killed, ³⁸ 

and at the cost of your own blood ³⁹  you have purchased ⁴⁰  for God

persons ⁴¹  from every tribe, language, ⁴²  people, and nation.

5:10 You have appointed ⁴³  them ⁴⁴  as a kingdom and priests ⁴⁵  to serve ⁴⁶  our God, and they will reign ⁴⁷  on the earth.”

5:11 Then ⁴⁸  I looked and heard the voice of many angels in a circle around the throne, as well as the living creatures and the elders. Their ⁴⁹  number was ten thousand times ten thousand ⁵⁰  – thousands times thousands – 5:12 all of whom ⁵¹  were singing ⁵²  in a loud voice:

“Worthy is the lamb who was killed ⁵³ 

to receive power and wealth

and wisdom and might

and honor and glory and praise!”

5:13 Then ⁵⁴  I heard every creature – in heaven, on earth, under the earth, in the sea, and all that is in them – singing: ⁵⁵ 

“To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb

be praise, honor, glory, and ruling power ⁵⁶  forever and ever!”

5:14 And the four living creatures were saying “Amen,” and the elders threw themselves to the ground ⁵⁷  and worshiped.

Revelation 7:12-17

7:12 saying,

“Amen! Praise and glory,

and wisdom and thanksgiving,

and honor and power and strength

be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”

7:13 Then ⁵⁸  one of the elders asked ⁵⁹  me, “These dressed in long white robes – who are they and where have they come from?” 7:14 So ⁶⁰  I said to him, “My lord, you know the answer.” ⁶¹  Then ⁶²  he said to me, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation. They ⁶³  have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb! 7:15 For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve ⁶⁴  him day and night in his temple, and the one seated on the throne will shelter them. ⁶⁵  7:16 They will never go hungry or be thirsty again, and the sun will not beat down on them, nor any burning heat, ⁶⁶  7:17 because the Lamb in the middle of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” ⁶⁷ 

[1:6]  ¹ tn Or “to the praise of his glorious grace.” Many translations translate δόξης τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ (doxh" th" carito" autou, literally “of the glory of his grace”) with τῆς χάριτος as an attributed genitive (cf., e.g., NIV, NRSV, ESV). The translation above has retained a literal rendering in order to make clear the relationship of this phrase to the other two similar phrases in v. 12 and 14, which affect the way one divides the material in the passage.

[1:6]  ² tn Grk “the beloved.” The term ἠγαπημένῳ (hgaphmenw) means “beloved,” but often bears connotations of “only beloved” in an exclusive sense. “His dearly loved Son” picks up this connotation.

[1:1]  ³ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ⁴ tc The earliest and most important mss omit “in Ephesus” (Ì⁴⁶ א* B* 6 1739 [Mcion^T,E]), yet the opening line of this epistle makes little sense without the phrase (“to the saints who are and are faithful…”? or perhaps “to the saints who are also faithful,” though with this sense the οὖσιν [ousin] is redundant and the καί [kai] is treated somewhat unnaturally). What is interesting is Marcion’s canon list which speaks of the letter to the Laodiceans among Paul’s authentic epistles. This, coupled with some internal evidence that the writer did not know his audience personally (cf. 1:15; 3:2; absence of personal names throughout), suggests that Ephesians was an encyclical letter, intended for more than one audience. Does this mean that the shorter reading is to be preferred? Yes and no. A plausible scenario is as follows, assuming Pauline authorship (though this is strongly contested today; for arguments on behalf of Pauline authorship, see M. Barth, Ephesians [AB 34], 1:36-50; P. T. O’Brien, Ephesians, 4-47; and H. W. Hoehner, Ephesians, 2-61): Paul sent the letter from Rome, intending it first to go to Ephesus. At the same time, Colossians was dispatched. Going counterclockwise through Asia Minor, this letter would first come to Ephesus, the port of entry, then to Laodicea, then Colossae. Tychicus’ instructions may well have been for each church to “fill in the blank” on the address line. The church at Ephesus would have certainly made the most copies, being Paul’s home base for nearly three years. Hence, most of the surviving copies have “in Ephesus” in v. 1 (so א² A B² D F G Ψ 0278 33 1881 Ï latt sy co). But one might expect a hint of evidence that Laodicea also made a few copies: Both Marcion’s list and Col 4:16 may well imply this. What is to account for the early Alexandrian evidence, then? These mss were perhaps made from a very early copy, one reflecting the blank line before each church filled it in. Although it is of course only speculation (as is necessary in a historical investigation lacking some of the pieces to the puzzle), this scenario accounts for all of the data: (1) “in Ephesus” in most mss; (2) Laodicea in Marcion’s list and Col 4:16; (3) the lack of an addressee in the earliest witnesses; (4) why the earliest witnesses’ reading must be rejected as too hard; and (5) why the author seems not to know the readership. In sum, is “in Ephesus” original? Yes and no. Some address belongs there; ἐν ᾿Εφέσῳ (en Efesw) is the predominant address, but several other churches also received this circular letter as their own. For this reason the phrase has been placed in single brackets in the translation. NA²⁷ also lists the words in brackets, indicating doubt as to their authenticity.

[1:1]  ⁵ tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style [and even if this letter is not by Paul it follows the general style of Paul’s letters, with some modifications]) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated. See M. Barth, Ephesians (AB 34), 1:68 and ExSyn 282.

[1:11]  ⁶ tn Grk “in whom,” as a continuation of the previous verse.

[1:11]  ⁷ 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.

[29:1]  ⁸ sn Psalm 29. In this hymn of praise the psalmist calls upon the heavenly assembly to acknowledge the royal splendor of the Lord. He describes the Lord’s devastating power as revealed in the thunderstorm and affirms that the Lord exerts this awesome might on behalf of his people. In its original context the psalm was a bold polemic against the Canaanite storm god Baal, for it affirms that the Lord is the real king who controls the elements of the storm, contrary to pagan belief. See R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “The Polemic against Baalism in Israel’s Early History and Literature,” BSac 150 (1994): 280-82.

[29:1]  ⁹ tc Heb “sons of gods,” or “sons of God.” Though אֵלִים (’elim) is vocalized as a plural form (“gods”) in the MT, it is likely that the final mem is actually enclitic, rather than a plural marker. In this case one may read “God.” Some, following a Qumran text and the LXX, also propose the phrase occurred in the original text of Deut 32:8.

[29:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.”

[29:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name.” The Hebrew term שֵׁם (shem, “name”) refers here to the Lord’s reputation. (The English term “name” is often used the same way.)

[29:2]  ¹² tn That is, properly dressed for the occasion.

[72:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “[be] blessed.”

[72:19]  ¹⁴ tn Or “glory.”

[72:19]  ¹⁵ 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.

[115:1]  ¹⁶ sn Psalm 115. The psalmist affirms that Israel’s God is superior to pagan idols and urges Israel to place their confidence in him.

[115:1]  ¹⁷ tn Or “give glory.”

[115:1]  ¹⁸ sn The psalmist asks the Lord to demonstrate his loyal love and faithfulness, not simply so Israel may benefit, but primarily so that the Lord will receive honor among the nations, who will recognize, contrary to their present view (see v. 2), that Israel’s God is committed to his people.

[6:3]  ¹⁹ tn Some have seen a reference to the Trinity in the seraphs’ threefold declaration, “holy, holy, holy.” This proposal has no linguistic or contextual basis and should be dismissed as allegorical. Hebrew sometimes uses repetition for emphasis. (See IBHS 233-34 §12.5a; and GKC 431-32 §133.k.) By repeating the word “holy,” the seraphs emphasize the degree of the Lord’s holiness. For another example of threefold repetition for emphasis, see Ezek 21:27 (Heb. v. 32). (Perhaps Jer 22:29 provides another example.)

[6:3]  ²⁰ tn Perhaps in this context, the title has a less militaristic connotation and pictures the Lord as the ruler of the heavenly assembly. See the note at 1:9.

[42:12]  ²¹ tn Heb “Let them ascribe to the Lord glory.”

[42:12]  ²² tn Heb “and his praise in the coastlands [or “islands”] let them declare.”

[6:13]  ²³ tn Or “into a time of testing.”

[6:13]  ²⁴ tc Most mss (L W Θ 0233 ˹³ 33 Ï sy sa Didache) read (though some with slight variation) ὅτι σοῦ ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία καὶ ἡ δύναμις καὶ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας, ἀμήν (“for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, amen”) here. The reading without this sentence, though, is attested by generally better witnesses (א B D Z 0170 ˹ pc lat mae Or). The phrase was probably composed for the liturgy of the early church and most likely was based on 1 Chr 29:11-13; a scribe probably added the phrase at this point in the text for use in public scripture reading (see TCGNT 13-14). Both external and internal evidence argue for the shorter reading.

[2:14]  ²⁵ sn Glory here refers to giving honor to God.

[2:14]  ²⁶ tn This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") referring to both males and females.

[2:14]  ²⁷ tc Most witnesses (א² B² L Θ Ξ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï sy bo) have ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκία (en anqrwpoi" eudokia, “good will among people”) instead of ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκίας (en anqrwpoi" eudokia", “among people with whom he is pleased”), a reading attested by א* A B* D W pc (sa). Most of the Itala witnesses and some other versional witnesses reflect a Greek text which has the genitive εὐδοκίας but drops the preposition ἐν. Not only is the genitive reading better attested, but it is more difficult than the nominative. “The meaning seems to be, not that divine peace can be bestowed only where human good will is already present, but that at the birth of the Saviour God’s peace rests on those whom he has chosen in accord with his good pleasure” (TCGNT 111).

[13:21]  ²⁸ tc Some mss (C P Ψ 6 629* 630 1505 pm latt sy^h) read ὑμῖν (Jumin, “in you”) here, but ἡμῖν (Jhmin) has stronger external support (Ì⁴⁶ א A D^vid K 0243 0285 33 81 104 326 365 629^c 1175 1739 1881 pm sy^p co). It is also more likely that ἡμῖν would have been changed to ὑμῖν in light of the “you” which occurs at the beginning of the verse than vice versa.

[13:21]  ²⁹ tc ‡ Most mss (א A [C*] 0243 0285 33 1739 1881 Ï latt) include the words “and ever” here, but the shorter reading (supported by Ì⁴⁶ C³ D Ψ 6 104 365 1505 al) is preferred on internal grounds. It seemed more likely that scribes would assimilate the wording to the common NT doxological expression “for ever and ever,” found especially in the Apocalypse (cf., e.g., 1 Tim 1:17; 2 Tim 4:18; Rev 4:9; 22:5) than to the “forever” of Heb 13:8. Nevertheless, a decision is difficult here. NA²⁷ places the phrase in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[5:11]  ³⁰ tn Grk “concerning which the message for us is great.”

[5:11]  ³¹ tn Or “dull.”

[4:9]  ³² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[4:10]  ³³ tn Grk “the twenty-four elders fall down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”

[4:10]  ³⁴ sn See the note on the word crown in Rev 3:11.

[4:10]  ³⁵ tn The pronoun “his” is understood from the demonstrative force of the article τοῦ (tou) before θρόνου (qronou).

[4:11]  ³⁶ tc The past tense of “they existed” (ἦσαν, hsan) and the order of the expression “they existed and were created” seems backwards both logically and chronologically. The text as it stands is the more difficult reading and seems to have given rise to codex A omitting the final “they were created,” 2329 replacing “they existed” (ἦσαν) with “have come into being” (ἐγένοντο, egeneto), and 046 adding οὐκ (ouk, “not”) before ἦσαν (“they did not exist, [but were created]”). Several mss (1854 2050 Ï^A sa) also attempt to alleviate the problem by replacing ἦσαν with “they are” (εἰσιν, eisin).

[5:9]  ³⁷ tn The redundant participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated here.

[5:9]  ³⁸ tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”

[5:9]  ³⁹ tn The preposition ἐν (en) is taken to indicate price here, like the Hebrew preposition ב (bet) does at times. BDAG 329 s.v. ἐν 5.b states, “The ἐν which takes the place of the gen. of price is also instrumental ἠγόρασας ἐν τῷ αἵματί σου Rv 5:9 (cp. 1 Ch 21:24 ἀγοράζω ἐν ἀργυρίῳ).”

[5:9]  ⁴⁰ tc The Greek text as it stands above (i.e., the reading τῷ θεῷ [tw qew] alone) is found in codex A. א 2050 2344 Ï sy add the term “us” (ἡμᾶς, Jhmas), either before or after τῷ θεῷ, as an attempt to clarify the object of “purchased” (ἠγόρασας, hgorasa"). A few mss (1 vg^ms) delete the reference to God altogether and simply replace it with “us” (ἡμᾶς). This too is an attempt to remove ambiguity in the phrase and provide an object for “purchased.” The shorter reading, supported by the best witness for Revelation, best accounts for the other readings.

[5:9]  ⁴¹ tn The word “persons” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[5:9]  ⁴² tn Grk “and language,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[5:10]  ⁴³ tn The verb ἐποίησας (epoihsas) is understood to mean “appointed” here. For an example of this use, see Mark 3:14.

[5:10]  ⁴⁴ tc The vast majority of witnesses have αὐτούς (autous, “them”) here, while the Textus Receptus reads ἡμᾶς (Jhmas, “us”) with insignificant support (pc gig vg^cl sa Prim Bea). There is no question that the original text read αὐτούς here.

[5:10]  ⁴⁵ tn The reference to “kingdom and priests” may be a hendiadys: “priestly kingdom.”

[5:10]  ⁴⁶ tn The words “to serve” are not in the Greek text, but are implied by the word “priests.”

[5:10]  ⁴⁷ tc The textual problem here between the present tense βασιλεύουσιν (basileuousin, “they are reigning”; so A 1006 1611 Ï^K pc) and the future βασιλεύσουσιν (basileusousin, “they will reign”; so א 1854 2053 Ï^A pc lat co) is a difficult one. Both readings have excellent support. On the one hand, the present tense seems to be the harder reading in this context. On the other hand, codex A elsewhere mistakes the future for the present (20:6). Further, the lunar sigma in uncial script could have been overlooked by some scribes, resulting in the present tense. All things considered, there is a slight preference for the future.

[5:11]  ⁴⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[5:11]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “elders, and the number of them was.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[5:11]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “myriads of myriads.” Although μυριάς (murias) literally means “10,000,” the point of the combination here may simply be to indicate an incalculably huge number. See L&N 60.9.

[5:12]  ⁵¹ tn The words “all of whom” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to indicate the resumption of the phrase “the voice of many angels” at the beginning of the verse.

[5:12]  ⁵² tn Grk “saying.”

[5:12]  ⁵³ tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”

[5:13]  ⁵⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[5:13]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “saying.”

[5:13]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “dominion.”

[5:14]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “fell down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”

[7:13]  ⁵⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[7:13]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “spoke” or “declared to,” but in the context “asked” reads more naturally in English.

[7:14]  ⁶⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the previous question.

[7:14]  ⁶¹ tn Though the expression “the answer” is not in the Greek text, it is clearly implied. Direct objects in Greek were frequently omitted when clear from the context.

[7:14]  ⁶² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[7:14]  ⁶³ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[7:15]  ⁶⁴ tn Or “worship.” The word here is λατρεύω (latreuw).

[7:15]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “will spread his tent over them,” normally an idiom for taking up residence with someone, but when combined with the preposition ἐπί (epi, “over”) the idea is one of extending protection or shelter (BDAG 929 s.v. σκηνόω).

[7:16]  ⁶⁶ tn An allusion to Isa 49:10. The phrase “burning heat” is one word in Greek (καῦμα, kauma) that refers to a burning, intensely-felt heat. See BDAG 536 s.v.

[7:17]  ⁶⁷ sn An allusion to Isa 25:8.