Isaiah 19:23-25

19:23 At that time there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will visit Egypt, and the Egyptians will visit Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. ¹  19:24 At that time Israel will be the third member of the group, along with Egypt and Assyria, and will be a recipient of blessing ²  in the earth. ³  19:25 The Lord who commands armies will pronounce a blessing over the earth, saying, ⁴  “Blessed be my people, Egypt, and the work of my hands, Assyria, and my special possession, ⁵  Israel!”

Isaiah 56:5-6

56:5 I will set up within my temple and my walls a monument ⁶ 

that will be better than sons and daughters.

I will set up a permanent monument ⁷  for them that will remain.

56:6 As for foreigners who become followers of ⁸  the Lord and serve him,

who love the name of the Lord and want to be his servants –

all who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,

and who are faithful to ⁹  my covenant –

Zechariah 2:11

2:11 “Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on the day of salvation, ¹⁰  and they will also be my ¹¹  people. Indeed, I will settle in the midst of you all.” Then you will know that the Lord who rules over all has sent me to you.

Romans 11:17

11:17 Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them and participated in ¹²  the richness of the olive root,

Romans 11:1

Israel’s Rejection not Complete nor Final

11:1 So I ask, God has not rejected his people, has he? Absolutely not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.

Colossians 3:9

3:9 Do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man with its practices

Ephesians 2:19-22

2:19 So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, 2:20 because you have been built ¹³  on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, ¹⁴  with Christ Jesus himself as ¹⁵  the cornerstone. ¹⁶  2:21 In him ¹⁷  the whole building, ¹⁸  being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 2:22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Ephesians 2:1

New Life Individually

2:1 And although you were ¹⁹  dead ²⁰  in your transgressions and sins,

Ephesians 2:4-6

2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, 2:5 even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you are saved! ²¹  – 2:6 and he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

[19:23]  ¹ tn The text could be translated, “and Egypt will serve Assyria” (cf. NAB), but subjugation of one nation to the other does not seem to be a theme in vv. 23-25. Rather the nations are viewed as equals before the Lord (v. 25). Therefore it is better to take אֶת (’et) in v. 23b as a preposition, “together with,” rather than the accusative sign. The names of the two countries are understood to refer by metonymy to their respective inhabitants.

[19:24]  ² tn Heb “will be a blessing” (so NCV).

[19:24]  ³ tn Or “land” (KJV, NAB).

[19:25]  ⁴ tn Heb “which the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] will bless [it], saying.” The third masculine singular suffix on the form בֵּרֲכוֹ (berakho) should probably be emended to a third feminine singular suffix בֵּרֲכָהּ (berakhah), for its antecedent would appear to be the feminine noun אֶרֶץ (’erets, “earth”) at the end of v. 24.

[19:25]  ⁵ tn Or “my inheritance” (NAB, NASB, NIV).

[56:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “a hand and a name.” For other examples where יָד (yad) refers to a monument, see HALOT 388 s.v.

[56:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “name” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV).

[56:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “who attach themselves to.”

[56:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “and take hold of”; NAB “hold to”; NIV, NRSV “hold fast.”

[2:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “on that day.” The descriptive phrase “of salvation” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:11]  ¹¹ tc The LXX and Syriac have the 3rd person masculine singular suffix in both places (“his people” and “he will settle”; cf. NAB, TEV) in order to avoid the Lord’s speaking of himself in the third person. Such resort is unnecessary, however, in light of the common shifting of person in Hebrew narrative (cf. 3:2).

[11:17]  ¹² tn Grk “became a participant of.”

[2:20]  ¹³ tn Grk “having been built.”

[2:20]  ¹⁴ sn Apostles and prophets. Because the prophets appear after the mention of the apostles and because they are linked together in 3:5 as recipients of revelation about the church, they are to be regarded not as Old Testament prophets, but as New Testament prophets.

[2:20]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “while Christ Jesus himself is” or “Christ Jesus himself being.”

[2:20]  ¹⁶ tn Or perhaps “capstone” (NAB). The meaning of ἀκρογωνιαῖος (akrogwniaio") is greatly debated. The meaning “capstone” is proposed by J. Jeremias (TDNT 1:792), but the most important text for this meaning (T. Sol. 22:7-23:4) is late and possibly not even an appropriate parallel. The only place ἀκρογωνιαῖος is used in the LXX is Isa 28:16, and there it clearly refers to a cornerstone that is part of a foundation. Furthermore, the imagery in this context has the building growing off the cornerstone upward, whereas if Christ were the capstone, he would not assume his position until the building was finished, which vv. 21-22 argue against.

[2:21]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “in whom” (v. 21 is a relative clause, subordinate to v. 20).

[2:21]  ¹⁸ tc Although several important witnesses (א¹ A C P 6 81 326 1739^c 1881) have πᾶσα ἡ οἰκοδομή (pasa Jh oikodomh), instead of πᾶσα οἰκοδομή (the reading of א* B D F G Ψ 33 1739* Ï), the article is almost surely a scribal addition intended to clarify the meaning of the text, for with the article the meaning is unambiguously “the whole building.”

[2:1]  ¹⁹ tn The adverbial participle “being” (ὄντας, ontas) is taken concessively.

[2:1]  ²⁰ sn Chapter 2 starts off with a participle, although you were dead, that is left dangling. The syntax in Greek for vv. 1-3 constitutes one incomplete sentence, though it seems to have been done intentionally. The dangling participle leaves the readers in suspense while they wait for the solution (in v. 4) to their spiritual dilemma.

[2:5]  ²¹ tn Or “by grace you have been saved.” The perfect tense in Greek connotes both completed action (“you have been saved”) and continuing results (“you are saved”).