Ephesians 1:9

1:9 He did this when he revealed ¹  to us the secret ²  of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth ³  in Christ, ⁴ 

Ephesians 1:11

1:11 In Christ ⁵  we too have been claimed as God’s own possession, ⁶  since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will

Daniel 4:35

4:35 All the inhabitants of the earth are regarded as nothing. ⁷ 

He does as he wishes with the army of heaven

and with those who inhabit the earth.

No one slaps ⁸  his hand

and says to him, ‘What have you done?’

Matthew 1:25

1:25 but did not have marital relations ⁹  with her until she gave birth to a son, whom he named ¹⁰  Jesus.

Matthew 11:26

11:26 Yes, Father, for this was your gracious will. ¹¹ 

Luke 10:21

10:21 On that same occasion ¹²  Jesus ¹³  rejoiced ¹⁴  in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise ¹⁵  you, Father, Lord ¹⁶  of heaven and earth, because ¹⁷  you have hidden these things from the wise ¹⁸  and intelligent, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your gracious will. ¹⁹ 

Luke 11:32

11:32 The people ²⁰  of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented when Jonah preached to them ²¹  – and now, ²²  something greater than Jonah is here!

Romans 9:11-16

9:11 even before they were born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose in election ²³  would stand, not by works but by ²⁴  his calling) ²⁵  – 9:12 ²⁶  it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger,” ²⁷  9:13 just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” ²⁸ 

9:14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not! 9:15 For he says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” ²⁹  9:16 So then, ³⁰  it does not depend on human desire or exertion, ³¹  but on God who shows mercy.

Romans 9:1

Israel’s Rejection Considered

9:1 ³² I am telling the truth in Christ (I am not lying!), for my conscience assures me ³³  in the Holy Spirit –

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ³⁴  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:21

Paul’s Goal in Ministry

1:21 And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your ³⁵  minds ³⁶  as expressed through ³⁷  your evil deeds,

Philippians 2:13

2:13 for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort – for the sake of his good pleasure – is God.

Philippians 2:2

2:2 complete my joy and be of the same mind, ³⁸  by having the same love, being united in spirit, ³⁹  and having one purpose.

Philippians 1:11

1:11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.

[1:9]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Or “mystery.” In the NT μυστήριον (musthrion) refers to a divine secret previously undisclosed.

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

[1:9]  ⁴ tn Grk “in him”; the referent (Christ) has been specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[1:11]  ⁵ tn Grk “in whom,” as a continuation of the previous verse.

[1:11]  ⁶ 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.

[4:35]  ⁹ tc The present translation reads כְּלָא (kÿla’), with many medieval Hebrew MSS, rather than כְּלָה (kÿlah) of BHS.

[4:35]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “strikes against.”

[1:25]  ¹³ tn Or “did not have sexual relations”; Grk “was not knowing her.” The verb “know” (in both Hebrew and Greek) is a frequent biblical euphemism for sexual relations. However, a translation like “did not have sexual relations with her” is too graphic in light of the popularity and wide use of Matthew’s infancy narrative. Thus the somewhat more subdued but still clear “did not have marital relations” was selected.

[1:25]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “and he called his name Jesus.” The coordinate clause has been translated as a relative clause in English for stylistic reasons.

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

[10:21]  ²² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:21]  ²³ sn Jesus rejoiced. The account of the mission in 10:1-24 ends with several remarks about joy.

[10:21]  ²⁴ tn Or “thank.”

[10:21]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ tn Or “that.”

[10:21]  ²⁷ sn See 1 Cor 1:26-31.

[10:21]  ²⁸ 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.

[11:32]  ²⁵ tn See the note on the word “people” in v. 31.

[11:32]  ²⁶ tn Grk “at the preaching of Jonah.”

[11:32]  ²⁷ tn Grk “behold.”

[9:11]  ²⁹ tn Grk “God’s purpose according to election.”

[9:11]  ³⁰ tn Or “not based on works but based on…”

[9:11]  ³¹ tn Grk “by the one who calls.”

[9:12]  ³³ sn Many translations place this verse division before the phrase “not by works but by his calling” (NA²⁷/UBS⁴, NIV, NRSV, NLT, NAB). Other translations place this verse division in the same place that the translation above does (NASB, KJV, NKJV, ASV, RSV). The translation has followed the latter to avoid breaking the parenthetical statement.

[9:12]  ³⁴ sn A quotation from Gen 25:23.

[9:13]  ³⁷ sn A quotation from Mal 1:2-3.

[9:15]  ⁴¹ sn A quotation from Exod 33:19.

[9:16]  ⁴⁵ sn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.

[9:16]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “So then, [it does] not [depend] on the one who desires nor on the one who runs.”

[9:1]  ⁴⁹ 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]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “my conscience bears witness to me.”

[1:1]  ⁵³ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:21]  ⁵⁷ tn The article τῇ (th) has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[1:21]  ⁵⁸ tn Although διανοία (dianoia) is singular in Greek, the previous plural noun ἐχθρούς (ecqrous) indicates that all those from Colossae are in view here.

[1:21]  ⁵⁹ tn The dative ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τοῖς πονηροῖς (en toi" ergoi" toi" ponhroi") is taken as means, indicating the avenue through which hostility in the mind is revealed and made known.

[2:2]  ⁶¹ tn Or “and feel the same way,” “and think the same thoughts.” The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated “and be of the same mind” to reflect its epexegetical force to the imperative “complete my joy.”

[2:2]  ⁶² tn The Greek word here is σύμψυχοι (sumyucoi, literally “fellow souled”).