Exodus 25:1-11

The Materials for the Sanctuary

25:1 ¹ The Lord spoke to Moses: 25:2 “Tell the Israelites to take ²  an offering ³  for me; from every person motivated by a willing ⁴  heart you ⁵  are to receive my offering. 25:3 This is the offering you ⁶  are to accept from them: gold, silver, bronze, 25:4 blue, ⁷  purple, ⁸  scarlet, ⁹  fine linen, ¹⁰  goat’s hair, ¹¹  25:5 ram skins dyed red, ¹²  fine leather, ¹³  acacia ¹⁴  wood, 25:6 oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for fragrant incense, 25:7 onyx stones, and other gems to be set in the ephod and in the breastpiece. 25:8 Let them make ¹⁵  for me a sanctuary, ¹⁶  so that I may live among them. 25:9 According to all that I am showing you ¹⁷  – the pattern of the tabernacle ¹⁸  and the pattern of all its furnishings – you ¹⁹  must make it exactly so. ²⁰ 

The Ark of the Covenant

25:10 ²¹ “They are to make an ark ²²  of acacia wood – its length is to be three feet nine inches, its width two feet three inches, and its height two feet three inches. ²³  25:11 You are to overlay ²⁴  it with pure gold – both inside and outside you must overlay it, ²⁵  and you are to make a surrounding border ²⁶  of gold over it.

Exodus 35:4-10

Willing Workers

35:4 ²⁷ Moses spoke to the whole community of the Israelites, “This is the word that the Lord has commanded: 35:5 ‘Take ²⁸  an offering for the Lord. Let everyone who has a willing heart ²⁹  bring ³⁰  an offering to the Lord: ³¹  gold, silver, bronze, 35:6 blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, fine linen, goat’s hair, 35:7 ram skins dyed red, fine leather, ³²  acacia wood, 35:8 olive oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, 35:9 onyx stones, and other gems ³³  for mounting ³⁴  on the ephod and the breastpiece. 35:10 Every skilled person ³⁵  among you is to come and make all that the Lord has commanded:

Psalms 16:2-3

16:2 I say to the Lord, “You are the Lord,

my only source of well-being.” ³⁶ 

16:3 As for God’s chosen people who are in the land,

and the leading officials I admired so much ³⁷  –

Isaiah 42:1-7

The Lord Commissions His Special Servant

42:1 ³⁸ “Here is my servant whom I support,

my chosen one in whom I take pleasure.

I have placed my spirit on him;

he will make just decrees ³⁹  for the nations. ⁴⁰ 

42:2 He will not cry out or shout;

he will not publicize himself in the streets. ⁴¹ 

42:3 A crushed reed he will not break,

a dim wick he will not extinguish; ⁴² 

he will faithfully make just decrees. ⁴³ 

42:4 He will not grow dim or be crushed ⁴⁴ 

before establishing justice on the earth;

the coastlands ⁴⁵  will wait in anticipation for his decrees.” ⁴⁶ 

42:5 This is what the true God, ⁴⁷  the Lord, says –

the one who created the sky and stretched it out,

the one who fashioned the earth and everything that lives on it, ⁴⁸ 

the one who gives breath to the people on it,

and life to those who live on it: ⁴⁹ 

42:6 “I, the Lord, officially commission you; ⁵⁰ 

I take hold of your hand.

I protect you ⁵¹  and make you a covenant mediator for people, ⁵² 

and a light ⁵³  to the nations, ⁵⁴ 

42:7 to open blind eyes, ⁵⁵ 

to release prisoners ⁵⁶  from dungeons,

those who live in darkness from prisons.

Isaiah 49:1-8

Ideal Israel Delivers the Exiles

49:1 Listen to me, you coastlands! ⁵⁷ 

Pay attention, you people who live far away!

The Lord summoned me from birth; ⁵⁸ 

he commissioned me when my mother brought me into the world. ⁵⁹ 

49:2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword,

he hid me in the hollow of his hand;

he made me like a sharpened ⁶⁰  arrow,

he hid me in his quiver. ⁶¹ 

49:3 He said to me, “You are my servant,

Israel, through whom I will reveal my splendor.” ⁶² 

49:4 But I thought, ⁶³  “I have worked in vain;

I have expended my energy for absolutely nothing.” ⁶⁴ 

But the Lord will vindicate me;

my God will reward me. ⁶⁵ 

49:5 So now the Lord says,

the one who formed me from birth ⁶⁶  to be his servant –

he did this ⁶⁷  to restore Jacob to himself,

so that Israel might be gathered to him;

and I will be honored ⁶⁸  in the Lord’s sight,

for my God is my source of strength ⁶⁹  –

49:6 he says, “Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant,

to reestablish the tribes of Jacob,

and restore the remnant ⁷⁰  of Israel? ⁷¹ 

I will make you a light to the nations, ⁷² 

so you can bring ⁷³  my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth.”

49:7 This is what the Lord,

the protector ⁷⁴  of Israel, their Holy One, ⁷⁵  says

to the one who is despised ⁷⁶  and rejected ⁷⁷  by nations, ⁷⁸ 

a servant of rulers:

“Kings will see and rise in respect, ⁷⁹ 

princes will bow down,

because of the faithful Lord,

the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you.”

49:8 This is what the Lord says:

“At the time I decide to show my favor, I will respond to you;

in the day of deliverance I will help you;

I will protect you ⁸⁰  and make you a covenant mediator for people, ⁸¹ 

to rebuild ⁸²  the land ⁸³ 

and to reassign the desolate property.

Ephesians 4:11-13

4:11 It was he ⁸⁴  who gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, ⁸⁵  4:12 to equip ⁸⁶  the saints for the work of ministry, that is, ⁸⁷  to build up the body of Christ, 4:13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God – a mature person, attaining to ⁸⁸  the measure of Christ’s full stature. ⁸⁹ 

Titus 3:8

Summary of the Letter

3:8 This saying ⁹⁰  is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on such truths, ⁹¹  so that those who have placed their faith in God may be intent on engaging in good works. These things are good and beneficial for all people.

[25:1]  ¹ sn Now begin the detailed instructions for constructing the tabernacle of Yahweh, with all its furnishings. The first paragraph introduces the issue of the heavenly pattern for the construction, calls for the people to make willing offerings (vv. 2-7), and explains the purpose for these offerings (vv. 8-9). The message here is that God calls his people to offer of their substance willingly so that his sanctuary may be made.

[25:2]  ² tn The verb is וְיִקְחוּ (vÿyiqkhu), the Qal imperfect or jussive with vav; after the imperative “speak” this verb indicates the purpose or result: “speak…that they may take” and continues with the force of a command.

[25:2]  ³ tn The “offering” (תְּרוּמָה, tÿrumah) is perhaps better understood as a contribution since it was a freewill offering. There is some question about the etymology of the word. The traditional meaning of “heave-offering” derives from the idea of “elevation,” a root meaning “to be high” lying behind the word. B. Jacob says it is something sorted out of a mass of material and designated for a higher purpose (Exodus, 765). S. R. Driver (Exodus, 263) corrects the idea of “heave-offering” by relating the root to the Hiphil form of that root, herim, “to lift” or “take off.” He suggests the noun means “what is taken off” from a larger mass and so designated for sacred purposes. The LXX has “something taken off.”

[25:2]  ⁴ tn The verb יִדְּבֶנּוּ (yiddÿvennu) is related to the word for the “freewill offering” (נְדָבָה, nÿdavah). The verb is used of volunteering for military campaigns (Judg 5:2, 9) and the willing offerings for both the first and second temples (see 1 Chr 29:5, 6, 9, 14, 17).

[25:2]  ⁵ tn The pronoun is plural.

[25:3]  ³ tn The pronoun is plural.

[25:4]  ⁴ sn The blue refers to dye made from shellfish. It has a dark blue or purple-blue, almost violet color. No significance for the color is attached.

[25:4]  ⁵ sn Likewise this color dye was imported from Phoenicia, where it was harvested from the shellfish or snail. It is a deep purple-red color.

[25:4]  ⁶ sn This color is made from the eggs and bodies of the worm coccus ilicus, which is found with the holly plant – so Heb “worm of brilliance.” The powder made from the dried maggots produces a bright red-yellow color (W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:452). B. Jacob takes the view that these are not simply colors that are being introduced here, but fabrics dyed with these colors (Exodus, 765). At any rate, the sequence would then be metals, fabrics, and leathers (v. 5).

[25:4]  ⁷ sn This is generally viewed as a fine Egyptian linen that had many more delicate strands than ordinary linen.

[25:4]  ⁸ sn Goat’s hair was spun into yarn (35:26) and used to make the material for the first tent over the dwelling. It is ideal for tenting, since it is loosely woven and allows breezes to pass through, but with rain the fibers expand and prevent water from seeping through.

[25:5]  ⁵ sn W. C. Kaiser compares this to morocco leather (“Exodus,” EBC 2:453); it was skin that had all the wool removed and then was prepared as leather and dyed red. N. M. Sarna, on the other hand, comments, “The technique of leather production is never described [in ancient Hebrew texts]. Hence, it is unclear whether Hebrew me’oddamim (מְאָדָּמִים), literally ‘made red,’ refers to the tanning or dyeing process” (Exodus [JPSTC], 157).

[25:5]  ⁶ tn The meaning of the word תְּחָשִׁים (tÿkhashim) is debated. The Arabic tuhas or duhas is a dolphin, and so some think a sea animal is meant – something like a dolphin or porpoise (cf. NASB; ASV “sealskins”; NIV “hides of sea cows”). Porpoises are common in the Red Sea; their skins are used for clothing by the bedouin. The word has also been connected to an Egyptian word for “leather” (ths); see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 265. Some variation of this is followed by NRSV (“fine leather”) and NLT (“fine goatskin leather”). Another suggestion connects this word to an Akkadian one that describes a precious stone that is yellow or ornge and also leather died with the color of this stone (N. M. Sarna, Exodus [JPSTC], 157-58).

[25:5]  ⁷ sn The wood of the acacia is darker and harder than oak, and so very durable.

[25:8]  ⁶ tn The verb is a perfect with vav (ו) consecutive; it follows in the sequence initiated by the imperative in v. 2 and continues with the force of a command.

[25:8]  ⁷ tn The word here is מִקְדּשׁ (miqdash), “a sanctuary” or “holy place”; cf. NLT “sacred residence.” The purpose of building it is to enable Yahweh to reside (וְשָׁכַנְתִּי, vÿshakhanti) in their midst. U. Cassuto reminds the reader that God did not need a place to dwell, but the Israelites needed a dwelling place for him, so that they would look to it and be reminded that he was in their midst (Exodus, 327).

[25:9]  ⁷ tn The pronoun is singular.

[25:9]  ⁸ sn The expression “the pattern of the tabernacle” (תַּבְנִית הַמִּשְׁכָּן, tavnit hammiskan) has been the source of much inquiry. The word rendered “pattern” is related to the verb “to build”; it suggests a model. S. R. Driver notes that in ancient literature there is the account of Gudea receiving in a dream a complete model of a temple he was to erect (Exodus, 267). In this passage Moses is being shown something on the mountain that should be the pattern of the earthly sanctuary. The most plausible explanation of what he was shown comes from a correlation with comments in the Letter to the Hebrews and the book of Revelation, which describe the heavenly sanctuary as the true sanctuary, and the earthly as the copy or shadow. One could say that Moses was allowed to see what John saw on the island of Patmos, a vision of the heavenly sanctuary. That still might not explain what it was, but it would mean he saw a revelation of the true tent, and that would imply that he learned of the spiritual and eternal significance of all of it. The fact that Israel’s sanctuary resembled those of other cultures does not nullify this act of revelation; rather, it raises the question of where the other nations got their ideas if it was not made known early in human history. One can conclude that in the beginning there was much more revealed to the parents in the garden than Scripture tells about (Cain and Abel did know how to make sacrifices before Leviticus legislated it). Likewise, one cannot but guess at the influence of the fallen Satan and his angels in the world of pagan religion. Whatever the source, at Sinai God shows the true, and instructs that it all be done without the pagan corruptions and additions. U. Cassuto notes that the existence of these ancient parallels shows that the section on the tabernacle need not be dated in the second temple period, but fits the earlier period well (Exodus, 324).

[25:9]  ⁹ tn The pronoun is plural.

[25:9]  ¹⁰ sn Among the many helpful studies on the tabernacle, include S. M. Fish, “And They Shall Build Me a Sanctuary,” Gratz College of Jewish Studies 2 (1973): 43-59; I. Hart, “Preaching on the Account of the Tabernacle,” EvQ 54 (1982): 111-16; D. Skinner, “Some Major Themes of Exodus,” Mid-America Theological Journal 1 (1977): 31-42; S. McEvenue, “The Style of Building Instructions,” Sem 4 (1974): 1-9; M. Ben-Uri, “The Mosaic Building Code,” Creation Research Society Quarterly 19 (1982): 36-39.

[25:10]  ⁸ sn This section begins with the ark, the most sacred and important object of Israel’s worship. Verses 10-15 provide the instructions for it, v. 16 has the placement of the Law in it, vv. 17-21 cover the mercy lid, and v. 22 the meeting above it. The point of this item in the tabernacle is to underscore the focus: the covenant people must always have God’s holy standard before them as they draw near to worship. A study of this would focus on God’s nature (he is a God of order, precision, and perfection), on the usefulness of this item for worship, and on the typology intended.

[25:10]  ⁹ tn The word “ark” has long been used by English translations to render אָרוֹן (’aron), the word used for the wooden “box,” or “chest,” made by Noah in which to escape the flood and by the Israelites to furnish the tabernacle.

[25:10]  ¹⁰ tn The size is two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. The size in feet and inches is estimated on the assumption that the cubit is 18 inches (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 267).

[25:11]  ⁹ tn The verbs throughout here are perfect tenses with the vav (ו) consecutives. They are equal to the imperfect tense of instruction and/or injunction.

[25:11]  ¹⁰ tn Here the verb is an imperfect tense; for the perfect sequence to work the verb would have to be at the front of the clause.

[25:11]  ¹¹ tn The word זֵר (zer) is used only in Exodus and seems to describe something on the order of a crown molding, an ornamental border running at the top of the chest on all four sides. There is no indication of its appearance or function.

[35:4]  ¹⁰ sn The book now turns to record how all the work of the sanctuary was done. This next unit picks up on the ideas in Exod 31:1-11. But it adds several features. The first part is the instruction of God for all people to give willingly (35:4-19); the next section tells how the faithful brought an offering for the service of the tabernacle (35:20-29); the next section tells how God set some apart with special gifts (35:30-35), and finally, the narrative reports how the faithful people of God enthusiastically began the work (36:1-7).

[35:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from with you.”

[35:5]  ¹² tn “Heart” is a genitive of specification, clarifying in what way they might be “willing.” The heart refers to their will, their choices.

[35:5]  ¹³ tn The verb has a suffix that is the direct object, but the suffixed object is qualified by the second accusative: “let him bring it, an offering.”

[35:5]  ¹⁴ tn The phrase is literally “the offering of Yahweh”; it could be a simple possessive, “Yahweh’s offering,” but a genitive that indicates the indirect object is more appropriate.

[35:7]  ¹² tn See the note on this phrase in Exod 25:5.

[35:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “and stones.”

[35:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “filling.”

[35:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “wise of heart”; here also “heart” would be a genitive of specification, showing that there were those who could make skillful decisions.

[16:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “my good [is] not beyond you.” For the use of the preposition עַל (’al) in the sense of “beyond,” see BDB 755 s.v. 2.

[16:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “regarding the holy ones who [are] in the land, they; and the mighty [ones] in [whom is/was] all my desire.” The difficult syntax makes the meaning of the verse uncertain. The phrase “holy ones” sometimes refers to God’s angelic assembly (see Ps 89:5, 7), but the qualifying clause “who are in the land” suggests that here it refers to God’s people (Ps 34:9) or to their priestly leaders (2 Chr 35:3).

[42:1]  ¹⁷ sn Verses 1-7 contain the first of Isaiah’s “servant songs,” which describe the ministry of a special, ideal servant who accomplishes God’s purposes for Israel and the nations. This song depicts the servant as a just king who brings justice to the earth and relief for the oppressed. The other songs appear in 49:1-13; 50:4-11; and 52:13-53:12.

[42:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “he will bring out justice” (cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[42:1]  ¹⁹ sn Like the ideal king portrayed in Isa 11:1-9, the servant is energized by the divine spirit and establishes justice on the earth.

[42:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “he will not cause his voice to be heard in the street.”

[42:3]  ¹⁹ sn The “crushed reed” and “dim wick” symbolize the weak and oppressed who are on the verge of extinction.

[42:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “faithfully he will bring out justice” (cf. NASB, NRSV).

[42:4]  ²⁰ tn For rhetorical effect the terms used to describe the “crushed (רָצַץ, ratsats) reed” and “dim (כָּהָה, kahah) wick” in v. 3 are repeated here.

[42:4]  ²¹ tn Or “islands” (NIV); NLT “distant lands beyond the sea.”

[42:4]  ²² tn Or “his law” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV) or “his instruction” (NLT).

[42:5]  ²¹ tn Heb “the God.” The definite article here indicates distinctiveness or uniqueness.

[42:5]  ²² tn Heb “and its offspring” (so NASB); NIV “all that comes out of it.”

[42:5]  ²³ tn Heb “and spirit [i.e., “breath”] to the ones walking in it” (NAB, NASB, and NRSV all similar).

[42:6]  ²² tn Heb “call you in righteousness.” The pronoun “you” is masculine singular, referring to the servant. See the note at 41:2.

[42:6]  ²³ tn The translation assumes the verb is derived from the root נָצַר (natsar, “protect”). Some prefer to derive it from the root יָצַר (yatsar, “form”).

[42:6]  ²⁴ tn Heb “a covenant of people.” A person cannot literally be a covenant; בְּרִית (bÿrit) is probably metonymic here, indicating a covenant mediator. The precise identity of עָם (’am, “people”) is uncertain. In v. 5 עָם refers to mankind, and the following reference to “nations” also favors this. But in 49:8, where the phrase בְּרִית עָם occurs again, Israel seems to be in view.

[42:6]  ²⁵ sn Light here symbolizes deliverance from bondage and oppression; note the parallelism in 49:6b and in 51:4-6.

[42:6]  ²⁶ tn Or “the Gentiles” (so KJV, ASV, NIV); the same Hebrew word can be translated “nations” or “Gentiles” depending on the context.

[42:7]  ²³ sn This does not refer to literal physical healing of the blind. As the next two lines suggest, this refers metonymically to freeing captives from their dark prisons where their eyes have grown unaccustomed to light.

[42:7]  ²⁴ sn This does not refer to hardened, dangerous criminals, who would have been executed for their crimes in ancient Near Eastern society. This verse refers to political prisoners or victims of social injustice.

[49:1]  ²⁴ tn Or “islands” (NASB, NIV); NLT “in far-off lands.”

[49:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “called me from the womb.”

[49:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “from the inner parts of my mother he mentioned my name.”

[49:2]  ²⁵ tn Or perhaps, “polished” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); NASB “a select arrow.”

[49:2]  ²⁶ sn The figurative language emphasizes the servant’s importance as the Lord’s effective instrument. The servant’s mouth, which stands metonymically for his words, is compared to a sharp sword because he will be an effective spokesman on God’s behalf (see 50:4). The Lord holds his hand on the servant, ready to draw and use him at the appropriate time. The servant is like a sharpened arrow reserved in a quiver for just the right moment.

[49:3]  ²⁶ sn This verse identifies the servant as Israel. This seems to refer to the exiled nation (cf. 41:8-9; 44:1-2, 21; 45:4; 48:20), but in vv. 5-6 this servant says he has been commissioned to reconcile Israel to God, so he must be distinct from the exiled nation. This servant is an ideal “Israel” who, like Moses of old, mediates a covenant for the nation (see v. 8), leads them out of bondage (v. 9a), and carries out God’s original plan for Israel by positively impacting the pagan nations (see v. 6b). By living according to God’s law, Israel was to be a model of God’s standards of justice to the surrounding nations (Deut 4:6-8). The sinful nation failed, but the servant, the ideal “Israel,” will succeed by establishing justice throughout the earth.

[49:4]  ²⁷ tn Or “said” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “I replied.”

[49:4]  ²⁸ tn Heb “for nothing and emptiness.” Synonyms are combined to emphasize the common idea.

[49:4]  ²⁹ tn Heb “But my justice is with the Lord, and my reward [or “wage”] with my God.”

[49:5]  ²⁸ tn Heb “from the womb” (so KJV, NASB).

[49:5]  ²⁹ tn The words “he did this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the infinitive construct of purpose is subordinated to the previous statement.

[49:5]  ³⁰ tn The vav (ו) + imperfect is translated here as a result clause; one might interpret it as indicating purpose, “and so I might be honored.”

[49:5]  ³¹ tn Heb “and my God is [perhaps, “having been”] my strength.” The disjunctive structure (vav [ו] + subject + verb) is interpreted here as indicating a causal circumstantial clause.

[49:6]  ²⁹ tn Heb “the protected [or “preserved”] ones.”

[49:6]  ³⁰ sn The question is purely rhetorical; it does not imply that the servant was dissatisfied with his commission or that he minimized the restoration of Israel.

[49:6]  ³¹ tn See the note at 42:6.

[49:6]  ³² tn Heb “be” (so KJV, ASV); CEV “you must take.”

[49:7]  ³⁰ tn Heb “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[49:7]  ³¹ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[49:7]  ³² tc The Hebrew text reads literally “to [one who] despises life.” It is preferable to read with the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a לבזוי, which should be vocalized as a passive participle, לִבְזוּי (livzuy, “to the one despised with respect to life” [נֶפֶשׁ is a genitive of specification]). The consonantal sequence וי was probably misread as ה in the MT tradition. The contextual argument favors the 1QIsa^a reading. As J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 2:294) points out, the three terse phrases “convey a picture of lowliness, worthlessness, and helplessness.”

[49:7]  ³³ tn MT’s Piel participle (“to the one who rejects”) does not fit contextually. The form should be revocalized as a Pual, “to the one rejected.”

[49:7]  ³⁴ tn Parallelism (see “rulers,” “kings,” “princes”) suggests that the singular גּוֹי (goy) be emended to a plural or understood in a collective sense (see 55:5).

[49:7]  ³⁵ tn For this sense of קוּם (qum), see Gen 19:1; 23:7; 33:10; Lev 19:32; 1 Sam 20:41; 25:41; 1 Kgs 2:19; Job 29:8.

[49:8]  ³¹ tn The translation assumes the verb is derived from the root נָצָר (natsar, “protect”). Some prefer to derive it from the root יָצָר (yatsar, “form”).

[49:8]  ³² tn Heb “a covenant of people.” A person cannot literally be a covenant; בְּרִית (bÿrit) is probably metonymic here, indicating a covenant mediator. Here עָם (’am, “people”) appears to refer to Israel. See the note at 42:6.

[49:8]  ³³ tn The Hiphil of קוּם (qum, “arise”) is probably used here in the sense of “rebuild.”

[49:8]  ³⁴ tn The “land” probably stands by metonymy for the ruins within it.

[4:11]  ³² tn The emphasis on Christ is continued through the use of the intensive pronoun, αὐτός (autos), and is rendered in English as “it was he” as this seems to lay emphasis on the “he.”

[4:11]  ³³ sn Some interpreters have understood the phrase pastors and teachers to refer to one and the same group. This would mean that all pastors are teachers and that all teachers are pastors. This position is often taken because it is recognized that both nouns (i.e., pastors and teachers) are governed by one article in Greek. But because the nouns are plural, it is extremely unlikely that they refer to the same group, but only that the author is linking them closely together. It is better to regard the pastors as a subset of teachers. In other words, all pastors are teachers, but not all teachers are pastors. See ExSyn 284.

[4:12]  ³³ tn On the translation of πρὸς τὸν καταρτισμὸν τῶν ἁγίων (pro" ton katartismon twn Jagiwn) as “to equip the saints” see BDAG 526 s.v. καταρτισμός. In this case the genitive is taken as objective and the direct object of the verbal idea implied in καταρτισμός (katartismo").

[4:12]  ³⁴ tn The εἰς (eis) clause is taken as epexegetical to the previous εἰς clause, namely, εἰς ἔργον διακονίας (ei" ergon diakonia").

[4:13]  ³⁴ tn The words “attaining to” were supplied in the translation to pick up the καταντήσωμεν (katanthswmen) mentioned earlier in the sentence and the εἰς (eis) which heads up this clause.

[4:13]  ³⁵ tn Grk “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” On this translation of ἡλικία (Jhlikia, “stature”) see BDAG 436 s.v. 3.

[3:8]  ³⁵ sn This saying (Grk “the saying”) refers to the preceding citation (Titus 3:4-7). See 1 Tim 1:15; 3:1; 4:9; 2 Tim 2:11 for other occurrences of this phrase.

[3:8]  ³⁶ tn Grk “concerning these things.”