Isaiah 32:16

32:16 Justice will settle down in the desert

and fairness will live in the orchard. ¹ 

Isaiah 49:6

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 ²  of Israel? ³ 

I will make you a light to the nations, ⁴ 

so you can bring ⁵  my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth.”

Malachi 1:11

1:11 For from the east to the west my name will be great among the nations. Incense and pure offerings will be offered in my name everywhere, for my name will be great among the nations,” ⁶  says the Lord who rules over all.

Matthew 12:18

12:18 “Here is ⁷  my servant whom I have chosen,

the one I love, in whom I take great delight. ⁸ 

I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.

Acts 9:15

9:15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, because this man is my chosen instrument ⁹  to carry my name before Gentiles and kings and the people of Israel. ¹⁰ 

Acts 11:18

11:18 When they heard this, ¹¹  they ceased their objections ¹²  and praised ¹³  God, saying, “So then, God has granted the repentance ¹⁴  that leads to life even to the Gentiles.” ¹⁵ 

Acts 26:17-18

26:17 I will rescue ¹⁶  you from your own people ¹⁷  and from the Gentiles, to whom ¹⁸  I am sending you 26:18 to open their eyes so that they turn ¹⁹  from darkness to light and from the power ²⁰  of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share ²¹  among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Acts 28:28

28:28 “Therefore be advised ²²  that this salvation from God ²³  has been sent to the Gentiles; ²⁴  they ²⁵  will listen!”

Romans 15:8-16

15:8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised ²⁶  on behalf of God’s truth to confirm the promises made to the fathers, ²⁷  15:9 and thus the Gentiles glorify God for his mercy. ²⁸  As it is written, “Because of this I will confess you among the Gentiles, and I will sing praises to your name.” ²⁹  15:10 And again it says: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” ³⁰  15:11 And again, “Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him.” ³¹  15:12 And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, and the one who rises to rule over the Gentiles, in him will the Gentiles hope.” ³²  15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in him, ³³  so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Paul’s Motivation for Writing the Letter

15:14 But I myself am fully convinced about you, my brothers and sisters, ³⁴  that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another. 15:15 But I have written more boldly to you on some points so as to remind you, because of the grace given to me by God 15:16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. I serve ³⁵  the gospel of God ³⁶  like a priest, so that the Gentiles may become an acceptable offering, ³⁷  sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 3:8

3:8 To me – less than the least of all the saints ³⁸  – this grace was given, ³⁹  to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ

[32:16]  ¹ sn This new era of divine blessing will also include a moral/ethical transformation, as justice and fairness fill the land and replace the social injustice so prevalent in Isaiah’s time.

[49:6]  ² tn Heb “the protected [or “preserved”] ones.”

[49:6]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn See the note at 42:6.

[49:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “be” (so KJV, ASV); CEV “you must take.”

[1:11]  ⁶ sn My name will be great among the nations. In what is clearly a strongly ironic shift of thought, the Lord contrasts the unbelief and virtual paganism of the postexilic community with the conversion and obedience of the nations that will one day worship the God of Israel.

[12:18]  ⁷ tn Grk “Behold my servant.”

[12:18]  ⁸ tn Grk “in whom my soul is well pleased.”

[9:15]  ⁹ tn Or “tool.”

[9:15]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “the sons of Israel.” In Acts, Paul is a minister to all nations, including Israel (Rom 1:16-17).

[11:18]  ¹¹ tn Grk “these things.”

[11:18]  ¹² tn Or “became silent,” but this would create an apparent contradiction with the subsequent action of praising God. The point, in context, is that they ceased objecting to what Peter had done.

[11:18]  ¹³ tn Or “glorified.”

[11:18]  ¹⁴ sn Here the summary phrase for responding to the gospel is the repentance that leads to life. Note how the presence of life is tied to the presence of the Spirit (cf. John 4:7-42; 7:37-39).

[11:18]  ¹⁵ sn In the Greek text the phrase even to the Gentiles is in an emphatic position.

[26:17]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “rescuing.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the participle ἐξαιρούμενος (exairoumeno") has been translated as a finite verb and a new sentence started in the translation at the beginning of v. 17.

[26:17]  ¹⁷ tn That is, from the Jewish people. Grk “the people”; the words “your own” have been supplied to clarify the meaning.

[26:17]  ¹⁸ tn The antecedent of the relative pronoun is probably both the Jews (“your own people”) and the Gentiles, indicating the comprehensive commission Paul received.

[26:18]  ¹⁹ sn To open their eyes so that they turn… Here is Luke’s most comprehensive report of Paul’s divine calling. His role was to call humanity to change their position before God and experience God’s forgiveness as a part of God’s family. The image of turning is a key one in the NT: Luke 1:79; Rom 2:19; 13:12; 2 Cor 4:6; 6:14; Eph 5:8; Col 1:12; 1 Thess 5:5. See also Luke 1:77-79; 3:3; 24:47.

[26:18]  ²⁰ tn BDAG 352-53 s.v. ἐξουσία 2 states, “Also of Satan’s power Ac 26:18.” It is also possible to translate this “the domain of Satan” (cf. BDAG 353 s.v. 6)

[26:18]  ²¹ tn Or “and an inheritance.”

[28:28]  ²² tn Grk “Therefore let it be known to you.”

[28:28]  ²³ tn Or “of God.”

[28:28]  ²⁴ sn The term Gentiles is in emphatic position in the Greek text of this clause. Once again there is the pattern: Jewish rejection of the gospel leads to an emphasis on Gentile inclusion (Acts 13:44-47).

[28:28]  ²⁵ tn Grk “they also.”

[15:8]  ²⁶ tn Grk “of the circumcision”; that is, the Jews.

[15:8]  ²⁷ tn Or “to the patriarchs.”

[15:9]  ²⁸ tn There are two major syntactical alternatives which are both awkward: (1) One could make “glorify” dependent on “Christ has become a minister” and coordinate with “to confirm” and the result would be rendered “Christ has become a minister of circumcision to confirm the promises…and so that the Gentiles might glorify God.” (2) One could make “glorify” dependent on “I tell you” and coordinate with “Christ has become a minister” and the result would be rendered “I tell you that Christ has become a minister of circumcision…and that the Gentiles glorify God.” The second rendering is preferred.

[15:9]  ²⁹ sn A quotation from Ps 18:49.

[15:10]  ³⁰ sn A quotation from Deut 32:43.

[15:11]  ³¹ sn A quotation from Ps 117:1.

[15:12]  ³² sn A quotation from Isa 11:10.

[15:13]  ³³ tn Grk “in the believing” or “as [you] believe,” with the object “him” supplied from the context. The referent could be God (15:13a) or Christ (15:12).

[15:14]  ³⁴ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[15:16]  ³⁵ tn Grk “serving.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but in keeping with contemporary English style, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[15:16]  ³⁶ tn The genitive in the phrase τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ θεοῦ (to euangelion tou qeou, “the gospel of God”) could be translated as either a subjective genitive (“the gospel which God brings”) or an objective genitive (“the gospel about God”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, an interplay between the two concepts is intended: The gospel which God brings is in fact the gospel about himself.

[15:16]  ³⁷ tn Grk “so that the offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable.” This could be understood to refer to an offering belonging to the Gentiles (a possessive genitive) or made by the Gentiles (subjective genitive), but more likely the phrase should be understood as an appositive genitive, with the Gentiles themselves consisting of the offering (so J. D. G. Dunn, Romans [WBC 38], 2:860). The latter view is reflected in the translation “so that the Gentiles may become an acceptable offering.”

[3:8]  ³⁸ sn In Pauline writings saints means any true believer. Thus for Paul to view himself as less than the least of all the saints is to view himself as the most unworthy object of Christ’s redemption.

[3:8]  ³⁹ sn The parallel phrases to proclaim and to enlighten which follow indicate why God’s grace was manifested to Paul. Grace was not something just to be received, but to be shared with others (cf. Acts 13:47).